‘No doubt we’ll soon find out,’ said Fogarty.
The Archimandrake filled a vial from a ewer of sacred oil.
Two priests stepped forward carrying the State Crown between them. It was heavily encrusted with polished amethysts and surrounded by a purple aura.
Archimandrake Podalirius poured oil into the palm of his left hand, dipped his right thumb and used it to trace a mystic sigil on Pyrgus’s tonsured scalp. ‘I prepare the head that God has called to wear the crown,’ he intoned.
Pyrgus looked straight ahead, his face expressionless.
From somewhere in the body of the church a female choir began to sing. Their high, clear voices swooped and dived like birds. Above them, the distinctive tones of an Endolg Chorus began a descant. A slow procession of chanting monks paced through the body of the church towards the altar.
Archimandrake Podalirius took the Purple Crown from the two priests, held it aloft, then set it gently down on Pyrgus’s head. Crackling energies flowed down into his body. All sound ceased.
‘Behold your Emperor!’ the Archimandrake proclaimed in ringing tones.
Henry found he was holding his breath. From the corner of his eye he could see Lord Hairstreak leaning forward slightly, a self-satisfied expression on his face.
‘And now the Emperor’s first proclamation,’ said Mr Fogarty quietly.
Pyrgus stood. The crown must have been enormously heavy, but he wore it well. When he spoke, he spoke quietly, but spell amplification around the throne carried his words to every corner of the Cathedral.
‘It is tradition,’ he said, ‘that an Emperor must make the first official proclamation of his reign here in the Cathedral at the very moment of his Coronation. I hold to that tradition today and herewith proclaim my abdication, effective immediately, in favour of my sister, Her Serene Highness, the Princess Holly Blue, who shall, by this my imperial proclamation, henceforth rule as Faerie Queen and Sovereign Empress of the Realm, Champion of —’
Despite the spell amplification, the remainder of his words were drowned out by the tumult that erupted throughout the entire Cathedral. Hairstreak was on his feet, the parchment treaty crumpled in his fist. ‘He can’t do that!’ he roared.
‘He just has,’ Mr Fogarty said mildly. Henry’s idea and a very neat one. He glanced at the parchment. ‘Looks like your treaty’s worthless now—I don’t recall anything that makes it binding on Blue.’
Hairstreak rounded on him furiously. ‘It’s not over, Gatekeeper. We both know what Pyrgus did, and believe me, I shall bring the boy to justice for it.’
Mr Fogarty never even blinked. ‘I think you’ll find the Purple Empress will pardon all her brother’s misdemeanours.’ He gave one of his most chilling, feral smiles. ‘She may even make it her first proclamation.’
Epilogue
Henry wondered why he felt so miserable. Blue was Queen now, which was wonderful. She wouldn’t have much time for him, of course, not with her new position and titles and being busy and so forth, but that was all right. The important thing was that she was Queen, which she’d be very good at, and Pyrgus wouldn’t have to be Emperor, which he’d been dreading, and she’d pardoned Pyrgus so Hairstreak couldn’t make trouble over the things Pyrgus did, which meant everything was all right and everyone was happy and it didn’t matter a bit, not a bit, that Blue would never again have time for somebody like Henry who wasn’t even a faerie or a hero or a wizard or anything exciting really. It didn’t matter at all. It wasn’t like they’d been going out or anything.
Maybe it was the thought of going home that was depressing him. The lethe cones would help, but there was still the fact that he’d got multicoloured hands, although they were fading a bit now. And there was Mr Fogarty’s house to sort out. And Aisling. The thought of Aisling was always depressing. That had to be it. Nothing to do with Blue at all.
He closed the door of his palace quarters and immediately peeled off his golden britches. The relief was astonishing. He was on his way to the wardrobe to find a pair of really baggy trousers when he saw the single rose left on his table. Beside it was a tiny phial of amber liquid. Although the room was warm, the rose had dewdrops on its petals.
Henry picked up the phial and uncorked it. He thought it might be perfume, but the scent, while pleasant, proved far too mild. Cautiously he tilted a single drop on the tip of his tongue.
It was like a silent explosion. His depression disappeared like morning mist and ecstasy crashed over him. The palace dissolved into a pulse of pure white light. His soul burst from his breast to fill the universe. He was all and everything and it was bliss.
The experience lasted a lifetime and ended in a second. His hands were trembling as he pushed the cork back in the phial. As he turned it over, he caught sight of the tiny lettering engraved in the glass:
Essence of Love
Henry wondered who had sent it.
Glossary
Key:
FOL: Faerie of the Light
FON: Faerie of the Night
HMN: Human
Analogue World (a.k.a. the Earth Realm). Names used in the Faerie Realm to denote the mundane world of school and spots and parents who look like they might end up getting divorced.
Apatura Iris. (FOL) Father of Prince Pyrgus, Prince Comma and Princess Blue. Purple Emperor for more than twenty years.
Asloght. The major prison of the Faerie Realm.
Athame. Witch’s dagger.
Atherton, Aisling. (HMN) Henry Atherton’s younger sister and pain in the ass.
Atherton, Henry. (HMN) A young teenage boy living in England’s Home Counties who first made contact with the Faerie Realm when he rescued the faerie prince, Pyrgus Malvae, from a cat. Henry has a portal control, made by his old (i.e. ancient) friend, Mr Fogarty, which allows him to visit the Realm at will.
Atherton, Martha. (HMN) Headmistress of a girls’ school in the south of England. Wife of Tim Atherton, mother of Henry and Aisling.
Atherton, Tim. (HMN) Successful business executive. Husband of Martha Atherton, father of Henry and Aisling.
Beleth (a.k.a. the Infernal Prince; the Prince of Darkness). Prince of Hael, an alternative dimension of reality inhabited by demons.
Blue, Princess Holly. (FOL) Younger sister of Prince Pyrgus Malvae and daughter of Purple Emperor Apatura Iris. Blue runs her own private espionage service and keeps an illegal psychotronic spider that enables her to carry out certain difficult spying activities.
Brimstone, Silas. (FON) Elderly demonologist and former glue factory owner.
Bubble wand. Magical wand designed to produce a stream of coloured bubbles. Very popular at weddings and similar occasions.
Cardui, Madame Cynthia (a.k.a. the Painted Lady). (FOL) An elderly eccentric whose extensive contacts have made her one of Princess Blue’s most valued agents.
Chalkhill, Jasper. (FON) Business partner of Silas Brimstone and, secretly, former head of Lord Hairstreak’s intelligence service.
Cleopatra. Queen of the Feral Faerie.
Clutterbuck. An Orange Trinian hired by Chalkhill during his imprisonment.
Comma, Prince. (FOL/FON) Half-brother of Prince Pyrgus and Princess Blue. (Same father, different mothers.)
Cossus Cossus. (FON) Lord Hairstreak’s Gatekeeper.
Demon. Form frequently taken by the shape-shifting alien species inhabiting the Hael Realm when in contact with faeries or humans.
Dingy, Harold. (FON) Bodyguard and general dogsbody of Lord Hairstreak.
Endolg. An intelligent animal that looks much like a woolly rug. Endolgs have a unique ability to sense truth which makes them popular companions in the Faerie Realm.
Faerie of the Light (Lighter). One of the two main faerie types, culturally averse to the use of demons in any circumstances and usually members of the Church of Light.
Faerie of the Night (Nighter). One of the two main faerie types, physically distinguished from Faeries of the Light by light-sensitive cat-like eyes. Make use of dem
onic servants.
Faerie Realm. A parallel aspect of reality inhabited by various alien species, including Faeries of the Light and Faeries of the Night.
Feral Faerie. A wild, nomadic faerie people who live and hunt in the depths of the great primeval forest that covers much of the Faerie Realm. The Feral Faerie are not known to hold allegiance to either the Faeries of the Light or the Faeries of the Night.
Fogarty, Alan. (HMN) Paranoid ex-physicist and bank robber with an extraordinary talent for engineering gadgets. Fogarty was made Gatekeeper of House Iris in recognition of the help he gave to Prince Pyrgus, even though it was Fogarty’s cat which nearly ate Prince Pyrgus in the first place.
Forest Faerie. The way you refer to a Feral Faerie if you don’t want to give offence.
Gatekeeper. Ancient title used to describe the chief advisor of a Noble House.
Glaistig. Semi-feral intelligent bipedal blood-feeder, thinner and slightly shorter than the average male faerie. Wild Glaistigs are reputed to kill travellers and drain them of their blood.
Gnoma, Pheosia. (FON) A freelance necromancer.
Golem. A clay figure brought to life by magic.
Gonepterix. Consort of Cleopatra.
Graminis. (FON) Widow Mormo’s brother.
Grimoire. Black book of sorcery.
Hael. Polite name for Hell.
Hairstreak, Lord Black. (FON) Noble head of House Hairstreak and leader of the Faeries of the Night.
Halek knife (or blade). A rock-crystal weapon which releases magical energies to kill anything it pierces. Halek knives are prone to shattering occasionally, in which event the energies will kill the person using them.
Halek wizard. Non-human, non-faerie. Reputedly the most skilful of the magical practitioners in the Faerie Realm. Halek wizards typically specialise in weapons technology.
Haleklind. Homeland of the Halek wizards.
Haniel. Winged lion inhabiting forest areas of the Faerie Realm.
Hodge. Mr Fogarty’s tomcat.
House Iris. The Royal House of the Faerie Empire.
Kitterick. An Orange Trinian in the service of Madame Cardui.
Malvae, Crown Prince Pyrgus. (FOL) Teenage heir to the throne of the Purple Emperor. Pyrgus likes animals a lot more than politics and at one time actually ran away from home to live as a commoner because of disagreements with his father.
Mormo, Widow Maura. (FON) Brimstone’s temporary landlady and even more temporary wife.
Ouklo. Levitating, spell-driven carriage.
Peacock. Chief Portal Engineer of House Iris.
Portal. Inter-dimensional energy gateway, either naturally occurring, modified or engineered.
Psychotronics. An obscure branch of Earth Realm science which studies the interaction of the human mind with physical reality. The practical application of psychotronics seems indistinguishable from some forms of Faerie Realm magic.
Purple Emperor. Ruler of the Faerie Empire.
Quercusia. (FON) Comma’s mother and Apatura Iris’s second wife.
Seething Lane. Former site of the Chalkhill and Brimstone Miracle Glue Factory.
Severs, Charlotte (Charlie). (HMN) Henry Atherton’s closest friend in the Earth Realm.
Silk Mistress. (FOL) Member of a (exclusively female) Guild trained in the control of spinners and the making of spinner silk into expensive and much-sought-after fashion items.
Simbala. An addictive form of music sold legally in licensed outlets and illegally elsewhere.
Sinderack. A savoury with a naturally smoky flavour, particularly popular among city-dwelling faeries.
Slith. Dangerous grey reptile inhabiting forest areas of the Faerie Realm. Sliths secrete a highly toxic acid which they can spit across considerable distances.
Spell cone. Pocket-sized cones, no more than an inch or so in height, imbued with magical energies directed towards a specific result. The old-style cone had to be lit. The more modern version is self-igniting and is ‘cracked’ with a fingernail. Both types discharge like fireworks.
Spinner. Giant spider used to manufacture a special silk much prized in the faerie fashion industry.
Steen. Small, easily concealed faerie military field weapon that generates a localised volcanic eruption at point of aim. Not recommened in enclosed spaces because of the danger to the user.
Trinian. Non-human, non-faerie dwarfen race living in the Faerie Realm. Orange Trinians are a breed that dedicate themselves to service, Violet Trinians tend to be warriors while Green Trinians specialise in biological nanotechnology and consequently can create living machines.
Vimana. Sanskrit, Faerie Realm and Hael name for a flying saucer.
Wildmoor Broads. A flat area of thorny shrubland north of the faerie capital much favoured by the wealthy of the Realm for their estates, since the difficulties of travelling through the area go a long way towards ensuring their privacy. The only really viable means of transport is by levitating carriage. Ground transport is attacked by prickleweed, a semi-sentient plant that will typically swarm over any vehicle and bring it to a halt in minutes. Crossing the area on foot is impossible—the prickleweed paralyses pedestrians, then rips them apart for their nutrients.
Yammeth Cretch. Heartland of the Faeries of the Night.
Also By Herbie Brennan
Faerie Wars
The Purple Emperor
Praise for
the Purple Emperor
A Book Sense Children’s Pick
"Colorful … fast-paced adventure" —Kirkus Reviews
"With the loathsome villains introduced in Faerie Wars still advancing toward crown prince Pyrgus Malvae, this sequel is off to a galloping start, and the fast-paced action continues throughout the story... There’s plenty of humor as well as dangerous adventure—and the conclusion promises more to come." —Booklist
"As in the first volume, pacing and inventiveness offer a roller coaster ride." —School Library Journal
"Crammed with the gruesome details and reprehensible characters that make it, like the earlier volume, attractive to fantasy buffs and gamers, while developing those characters sufficiently to give readers the happy sense that they truly are living in 3-D."
—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
"Brennan’s writing remains clever and humorous. … a third book will be welcome." —VOYA
"Mr. Brennan’s manner is both brisk and amusing."
—TheEconomist.com
Bloomsbury Publishing, London, Berlin, New York and Sydney
First published in Great Britain in October 2004 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
36 Soho Square, London, W1D 3QY
First published in the USA in October 2004 by Bloomsbury Books For Young Readers
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
This electronic edition published in May 2011 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Text copyright © Herbie Brennan 2004
The moral right of the author has been asserted
All rights reserved
You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise
make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means
(including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying,
printing, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the
publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication
may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 1 4088 2105 3
www.bloomsbury.com
www.faeriewars.com
Visit www.bloomsbury.com to find out more about our authors and their books
You will find extracts, author interviews, author events and you can sign up for
newsletters to be the first to hear about our latest releases and special offers
Herbie Brennan, The Purple Emperor
The Purple Emperor Page 31