The Boy in the Dark: Book 4 of the Middengard Sagas

by June Wilson

  “She over-reached herself. Tried to control the earth power when she wasn’t ready for it and lost her mind. I heard there was a daughter. Spirited too, by all accounts. But such madness isn’t hereditary.”

  Stanor took a while to digest this. If the madness wasn’t hereditary, there had to be another explanation. And Isolde had just suggested one, it seemed.

  “Then has Helaine accessed the earth power somehow? Her mother may have schooled her.”

  “Don’t be stupid. Enid wouldn’t be capable of passing on such knowledge – not after what happened to her.”

  “Then what causes her fits?”

  “Only the Gods know that,” Isolde said dismissively. “I cannot cure her – but I can ease her pain.” She took down a stoppered jar and emptied its contents into a leather pouch. “Dilute this in water – one pinch to a full glass, once a day. The headaches will ease – the fits too.”

  “Thank you Isolde.” He covered the old woman’s hands with his own. He didn’t have the explanation he’d sought, but at least the journey had not been wasted. “It’s more than I deserve.”

  “Maybe,” she grumbled. “But I do it for her, not you. Now be on your way. I’ve lore to read, before the light is gone.”

  *

  Isolde watched Stanor ride away. She waited until he was no more than a speck in the distance, sighed and retreated to the welcome solitude of her cave.

  She’d stretched the truth for Stanor’s benefit. It had been years since Isolde had given Enid a passing thought. The girl had come from one of the noble Skellstor families and defied her father to pursue her talent for healing. There’d been a young man too – Loric, if she remembered rightly. They’d been her best pupils, until they experimented with dark magic. Nothing too shocking – they’d been young and curious – but enough to eat away at the edges of Enid’s sanity. Loric took full blame, but Isolde had had to end their training and send them from Oerin. She’d heard Enid married well, which was a blessing, and that Cael had helped Loric establish himself as a sage in Skellstor.

  And now Stanor was to marry Enid’s daughter. There was something about the prospect that made her uneasy. Not that she would stand in his way – the boy was clearly besotted (she still thought of Stanor as a boy, despite his age and experience). And he deserved some happiness, loyal servant of Middengard that he was.

  The Aetheling only know, we can’t always save those we love, she thought as the image of her own dead husband flashed before her eyes. The powders she had given Stanor would alleviate Helaine’s symptoms, but nothing more. If, as she feared, the Gods were involved, then she couldn’t be saved, not in this life at least.

  ENGLAND – 1856

  Chapter 11

  Alice had forgotten how quickly it got dark during the English winter. She’d walked back to the small terrace house under a heavy grey sky; shivering despite the woolen coat Martha had given her.

  So far she’d spent three days with Martha in the spinning hall at Lister’s Mill. The work was difficult and she didn’t seem to be getting better at it. Martha had tried to give her the easy tasks (how hard could re-threading be?) but her fingers were too clumsy. So far she’d kept out of the way of the overseer, Bracegirdle, but she had the feeling she’d catch his attention sooner or later.

  She sighed and cut herself a slice of Martha’s excellent fruit loaf. Toby and Josh had a rendezvous with someone called Daniel and Martha had stayed behind to talk to the mill superintendent. At least the kitchen was warm and blissfully quiet after the deafening noise of the spinning hall.

  Three days and they hadn’t discovered anything useful – although Toby and Josh seemed to be making some headway. Toby had impressed the boys in the warehouse by getting into a fight. Which was typical, Alice thought. She’d warned him to keep out of trouble so what did he go and do? The exact opposite. She’d tried to be angry but she was secretly proud of him for taking on a man twice his size. So if he had a following amongst the local boys due to his unique fighting skills she should probably be grateful. And it was funny in a way, because everything Toby had learnt about fighting, he’d learnt from Iris. Those boys would be even more astounded to learn a girl could fight like that.

  She heard the front door slam and Martha tramped into the kitchen, her cheeks red from the cold. She deposited a sack of potatoes and carrots on the table then warmed her hands at the stove.

  “Winter’s set in and that’s for sure,” she said. “We’re almost at the shortest day Alice. The Winter solstice – my mother was always fond of it. She always took us out to celebrate.”

  Martha hadn’t mentioned her family, other than explaining that Guardianship ran through the maternal line. And it was odd that she lived by herself when all the other houses were fit to bursting with large families.

  “Is your mother still alive?” Alice asked. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound rude, but…”

  “That’s all right.” Martha sighed and made a show of filling the kettle. “My mother’s dead. Before her time, mind you. We’re long livers, usually.”

  “Oh - I’m sorry.” She probably should have left it there, but she’d seen a portrait of three young girls in the parlour and she was curious. “What about the rest of your family? Have you got any brother or sisters?”

  Martha’s expression darkened. “Only sisters. There was three of us: Charlotte, me the baby, Mabel. Poor love, she died when just before her tenth birthday - consumption. It broke my mother’s heart, it did. What with that and our Charlotte… well, mother died not long after.”

  “Oh.” Alice didn’t know what to say. Consumption was one of those old-fashioned diseases there had been no cure for. It must have been awful. But she couldn’t help wondering what had happened to Charlotte. “Did Charlotte get sick as well?” she asked.

  Martha gave a sharp laugh. “Sick? That’s one way of putting it. Lovesick, more like. After all the training and work mother put into that girl! She was the eldest and the one mother trained first. Only went and ran away with a man, didn’t she?” Martha shook her head in disapproval. “Now – how about you help me peel these potatoes? With the carrots and a bit of ham and pea, they’ll make a grand soup.”

  Alice did as she was asked. It was a shame Martha wasn’t close to her remaining sister but the Guardian’s family circumstances were hardly what she should be thinking about. How was she going to find out anything useful about the breach? Martha had already told them everything she knew, which other than her concerns about the drowned boy wasn’t very much at all. As for Alice’s own attempts to gain the confidence of the some of the other women, she’d made virtually no progress. Molly Watson hadn’t tried to talk to her again and Alice wasn’t sure how to go about striking up a friendship. Even Alice’s Stone seemed to be completely dormant – it had been neither hot nor cold the whole three days. Which meant there was no sign of anything to do with the breach, Middengard or anything else remotely non-human.

  She sighed and dropped a potato into the big soup pan. She really wasn’t very good at this detecting thing. She could only hope that Toby and Josh were having better luck.

  *

  Toby had agreed to meet Daniel Laidlow at the edge of the woods, near the ruined abbey. It was far enough away from the mill so as not to attract unwanted attention – particularly Joe’s attention, as Daniel explained. His older brother didn’t approve of fist fighting, which was grossly unfair according to Daniel given Joe himself had been a well-known bare-knuckle fighter in his time.

  Toby wasn’t really interested in brotherly squabbles but he was interested in what else Daniel might be able to tell him. He already knew from Will Watson that Daniel was some sort of gang leader who all the younger boys looked up to. So if there were anything strange happening in the area, it seemed highly likely that Daniel would know about it.

  Josh was with him and Will had tagged along too. Toby half-expected to see Daniel surrounded by his cronies but the boy was alone, leaning against a gatepost, che
wing what Toby could only assume was tobacco.

  “Glad you keep your promises Southie,” he said, spitting the soggy brown mess onto the ground. “Hope you’re going to keep it fair though – I’m not going to fight the both of you.” He gave Josh the once over and grinned at Will. “Maybe you can take him on Will, eh?”

  “Not likely,” Will said, grinning back. “We’ve just come to watch, haven’t we Josh?”

  “Totally. Toby’s the champ round here – not me. He’s got all the moves.”

  “Yeah – thanks Josh.” Toby gave him an eye roll then took off his coat and rolled up his sleeves. He wasn’t sure how his footwork would go, since he was wearing heavy hobnailed boots, but Daniel was similarly encumbered. And after all he was here to give a lesson, not engage in a real fight – it would be like the training sessions Iris had given him in the Academy at Skellstor. But he couldn’t help wondering if Daniel would see the funny side of it if he kept landing on his backside.

  “Ready?” he asked. The other boy nodded and they circled round each other, fists bunched. After a few seconds of sizing up, Toby saw Daniels’s punch coming and kicked out swiftly with his left leg, bringing him down with a heavy thud.

  “Whoa!” Will yelled. “You okay Dan?”

  “Course I am.” Daniel grunted and got to his feet. He was winded but clearly trying not to show it. “Can you show me how to do that?”

  “Sure. The hard part is keeping your balance and knowing when to transfer your weight…”

  And so the lesson went on, with Toby recalling everything that Iris had taught him. He was surprised how easily he remembered, as if it had been just yesterday and not six months ago. And after a good hour of practice and plenty of falls, Daniel had made definite progress.

  “Enough! I’ve had it,” the other boy said now, breathing heavily. “Don’t want to bust any bones. I’ve got a fight next week.”

  “Joe doesn’t know about it,” Will piped up. “But all the bets are on Dan.”

  “Aye – and the odds should increase in my favour after this.” He winked at Toby. “Reckon I owe you one.”

  “That’s okay.” He was just trying to work out how he could introduce the subject of any strange events - he couldn’t just come out with it and ask him if he’d seen any ghosts - when Josh intervened.

  “You’re a quick learner,” he said, clapping Daniel on the back. “I’d put money on you, for sure.”

  “Thanks - the fight’s in Hodgkin’s barn, over by the canal. Eight o’clock next Friday.”

  “The canal? Where that boy drowned?” Josh said, his expression all innocence.

  “Yeah. The towpath’s right dangerous. You want to watch yourself Will – I’ve seen you hanging round there. Your sister wouldn’t be happy, if she knew.”

  Will reddened. “You ain’t going to tell her, are you?” he said. “I’m sick of our Moll fussing round me.”

  “Course not.” Dan ruffled his hair. “But there’s better places to play than by that canal.”

  “Yeah, alright.” Will chewed at his thumbnail and turned away. Toby thought he looked guilty about something, which was strange.

  “So – there haven’t been any other accidents then?” Josh pressed. “Or, um, anything else a bit out of the ordinary?”

  Dan gave Josh a sharp look. “Why’d you want to know? You’re not sniffing round for the gaffers are you? Because if you are…”

  “What? No – we hate the gaffers as much as you - don’t we Toby? Except Joe of course and he’s not really a gaffer is he? No, the thing is – and this is going to sound stupid – but I heard someone talking about a haunted house round here and I was interested, that’s all.”

  Dan sniffed. “Oh, right. Can’t be too careful – Bracegirdle’s always trying to find stuff out – any excuse to get one of us sacked. But ghosts like? Don’t be daft. Not unless you count the headless monk at the abbey – and everyone’s seen him, eh Will?”

  Will started, his face reddening again. There was definitely something going on with him and it didn’t have anything to do with Dan’s teasing. As they made their back, Toby pulled him to one side. Josh had conveniently engaged Dan in a detailed discussion about the merits of bare knuckle fighting and it was easy enough to keep him out of earshot.

  “Will, you know something about that drowned boy, don’t you?” he asked.

  Will fidgeted with his cap, his eyes not meeting Toby’s. “What? No. I don’t know about that. Honest Toby.”

  “Come on Will – we’re friends aren’t we?”

  Will nodded and swallowed. Toby didn’t want to push the boy too hard, but he had to find out what he was hiding.

  “Well, friends tell each other things - important things that are better shared. So if something’s worrying you, you can tell me about it. It can be our secret.”

  “Really?” Will looked as if he was about to say something then shook his head. “No – I can’t. I promised. That’s why Kit’s dead – because I told him stuff I shouldn’t have. So if I tell you, something bad will happen to you too.”

  “That’s really nice of you Will,” Toby said. “But I think I can take care of myself. No one’s ever beaten me in a fight, you know.” It was sort of true, except for the fight with Geraint – and Iris had fixed that.

  Will gave him an appraising look. “You’re a good fighter, I seen it for myself,” he sighed. “Well, if I do tell you, you promise you won’t tell anyone else?”

  “Of course,” Toby said, not missing a beat. Sometimes lies were necessary.

  Will bit his lip then finally came to a decision. “Okay then, I’ll tell you. But I’m only going to whisper, just in case.”

  *

  Toby and Josh came home later than Alice had hoped. She was on her way to bed when Toby said he’d like some hot milk. A silent look passed between them. Toby hated milk of any sort.

  Josh seemed to get the hint too. “Right, well I’m off upstairs. Watching Toby beat Dan was pretty exhausting stuff.” He grabbed two of Martha’s scones from the pantry and beat a hasty retreat. He probably thought they had some exclusive boyfriend/girlfriend stuff to share. Which they did – just not the kind Josh was thinking.

  “You’ve got some news, haven’t you?” she said.

  “Sure have.” Toby pulled her to him and kissed her. For a moment Alice’s mind went blank and she wished they could stay like that for the rest of the evening, close and snug in Martha’s kitchen. But she pulled away and pushed him into a chair.

  “Stop distracting me. I’ve been driving myself crazy because I haven’t the faintest clue why we’re here. Three days and I’ve got nothing to tell Dad. So spill.”

  “Spoil sport,” Toby grinned. Then his expression became serious as he recounted the night’s events. He skipped over the fight with Daniel and then came to the strange conversation he’d had with Will.

  “He was really frightened Alice. He was convinced it was his fault that Kit drowned.”

  “Kit?”

  “The boy in the canal. He was Will’s friend, it turns out.”

  “But why was it his fault?” Her heart skipped a beat, suddenly thinking the worst. “He didn’t push him in, did he?”

  “What? No, of course not. In fact, I’m sure he’s just jumping to conclusions. The thing is he’s got this other friend – a boy he says no one must ever know about. The boy’s guardian made him promise. So when Will told Kit, and Kit drowned, Will was convinced the guardian had something to do with it.”

  Alice felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. A guardian was a common enough term but she couldn’t help wondering if it had anything to do with Martha. Surely she hadn’t been keeping things from them? That was almost too awful to contemplate.

  “Alice – are you listening?” Toby snapped his fingers to catch her attention. “The other really weird thing is Will says this boy looks just like him – almost like a twin.”

  “A twin? Really?” Will’s story was beginning to sound ridi
culous. Perhaps there was nothing to worry about after all.

  “Yep – that’s what he says.”

  “Do you believe him? What if this boy is, I don’t know, just an imaginary friend?”

  Toby shook his head. “No way. He’s not that kind of kid. And I honestly got the sense he was telling the truth.”

  “I don’t know Toby, it sounds pretty out there to me. Does Molly know?”

  “I told you – no one does. Will’s paranoid. I had to assure him I could more than take care of myself before he even said a word.”

  “Right.” Alice drummed her fingers on the table. If the story was true, not only did Will have a mysterious friend, there was someone willing to kill to keep the secret safe. No, it was too far-fetched. And besides, there were plenty of unanswered questions.

  “But where does this boy live?” she said. “It’s hard to believe Will’s seen him but nobody else has.”

  Toby shrugged. “I know – but maybe his guardian’s super careful. Maybe he’s hiding him in a remote place.”

  “Hmm, maybe.”

  “Come on Alice – a guardian! You can’t tell me that’s not a coincidence. We should talk to Martha. I knew she was hiding something.”

  So Toby had come to the same conclusion she had – which was hardly surprising, she supposed. But they would have to approach the matter carefully. They couldn’t just come out and accuse her of lying.

  “Okay,” she said reluctantly. “But it sounds like Will’s got an over-active imagination to me. He’s probably lonely, given all his older brothers have left home and – ouch!”

  Toby was out of his seat in a heartbeat. “What is it? Are you okay?”

  Alice tugged the worn smock she was wearing away from her neck and grabbed her pendant. “It stung me! Just like before, when I found the Gate at the Shrine!”

  “So it’s trying to tell you something. You always say, when it’s either hot or cold…” He left the comment hanging.

  Alice stared at the Doom Stone. The jewel was glowing, brighter than she’d seen it for some time. She looked up to see that Toby was trying hard to conceal his “I told you so” grin.