by Gill, J. G.
“So how did it end?” asked Bede.
“Vince ran off and I started chasing him. I was just coming around the corner of the park and had almost caught up with him when I saw a gang hanging about near the entrance. There were about eight of them, all at least Vince’s size, some even bigger. Vince had been running too fast to stop but I still time to hide before they saw me. The gang looked like trouble, big time. I heard one of them call out to him, something like, “What you looking at?” and Vince calling back some sort of fighting talk. Man, he just didn’t know when to shut up sometimes. I kept watching from behind the wall and before I knew it, the gang and circled him. They were giving him some real grief…”
Justin stared blankly at the hearth in front of him, as Bede waited for him to continue. But no words came. In the light of the fire, Bede could see the gleam of tears forming in Justin’s eyes.
“You all right?” asked Bede.
“Yeah, fine,” said Justin defensively, as he wiped his face with the back of his hand.
“So, what happened?” said Bede.
“They killed him,” said Justin. “Killed him right while I was standing behind the wall, saving my own skin.” He looked away.
“Hey, what could you possibly have done?” said Bede. “There were eight of them. You would have ended up dead as well, no two ways about it.”
“It wasn’t the gang that killed him,” said Justin quietly.
“What?” said Bede. “I don’t get it.”
“The gang didn’t do it. They’d gone by then. It was Morana. I watched her do it, the whole thing.”
“Morana?” said Bede in disbelief.
Justin nodded. “Vince and the gang were still doing the ‘fighting talk’ thing when Morana and Stanley suddenly turned up out of nowhere. For some reason the whole gang scattered instantly. It was really weird to watch. Vince would have known those two from Demarge’s place though, so he stuck around. Probably figured Demarge had sent them to look after him.” Justin rolled his eyes derisively. “Anyway, I saw Morana come up close to Vince with these fingernails that suddenly looked more like talons. It all happened so fast, but it was like she just swiped them across his chest and he fell...” Justin was now making no attempt to hide the tears that were rolling down his cheeks.
“Hey, it’s okay,” said Bede, putting his hand on Justin’s arm. Justin shook it off.
“Nah, it’s not okay. You wouldn’t believe the nightmares I’ve had since then.
Sometimes I wake in the middle of the night with voices in my head saying, ‘it should have been you, coward’. And the worst part is, I know the voices are right.”
“But if you’d stepped out you would’ve been killed as well,” said Bede.
“Yeah, but at least Vince would have known that he wasn’t alone,” said Justin. “I didn’t even try to stop Morana, what kind of friend am I?”
Bede sighed. “Well, I guess you feel the way you feel, and no one can really change that. But, maybe some things aren’t just about ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. Maybe some things depend more on whether or not you can understand why a person has done something? I kind of think what you did was pretty understandable.”
“Yeah, well it still feels pretty wrong to me,” said Justin.
“So did you think about going to the cops or anything?”
Justin shook his head. “No, I was way too freaked. Besides, who would have believed me? “Excuse me officer, I just saw a woman kill my friend with her bare fingernails.” I don’t think so. I figured the best I could do was make an anonymous call and then make a run for it, back to Demarge’s.”
“You went back to Demarge’s after seeing that?” said Bede.
“I had to,” said Justin. “He was expecting me to turn up for a job later that night. At the Cathedral as it turned out. I had to make him think that I hadn’t seen what had happened and that I was still loyal to him. At least until I’d worked out how to get myself out of the mess.”
“So how come you’re here?”
“Well, I think I can safely say I’m on Demarge’s blacklist now,” said Justin.
“What did you do?” said Bede.
“Well...” Justin paused. “You know how I said I knew your sister…” He proceeded to explain the series of events leading up to the escape in St Bartholomew’s Cathedral. By the time he was finished, Bede was shaking his head in disbelief and anger.
“So you knew that Clare was in danger and you played along with it?”
“You’ve got to believe me, I didn’t realise that Demarge actually wanted Ecoli to snatch her. It was never part of the instructions. Even without Vince’s death, any plan to harm Clare was going way too far for me. So, when Eredus was about to leap at Clare’s friend I dived in to block him. I hadn’t planned on my back getting torn up but I was hoping Demarge would think I was useless and let me go. I didn’t bargain on him realising that I’d done it deliberately to mess things up.”
“So who were the people that Clare was with?” said Bede.
“I don’t know,” said Justin. “A woman and a boy. I didn’t get a good look at them though. One thing I do know is that they all disappeared somewhere that neither Demarge nor Ecoli could find.”
“What, in the Cathedral?” asked Bede.
“Yeah. It was really strange, one minute they were all racing up the stairs towards the Murmuring Gallery, and the next they were…gone.”
Bede looked at Justin, shaking his head.
“It doesn’t make any sense.”
“I know. But at least you know Demarge didn’t get her. Otherwise she’d be in here with us.”
“That’s something I guess,” said Bede. “Still, it doesn’t explain where she is now. I really need to get out of here and find her!”
CHAPTER XXI
I knew it was selfish, but the thought of Bede being in danger made the troubles of the Slipworld pale into insignificance. I’d already lost my parents, the last thing I needed was to lose my brother too. He was the only connection I had left to my family, my old life, my sense of normality.
“So when do we leave?” I said to Min and Thomas, checking that I still had money in my pockets. Everything seemed in check. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m ready,” I said.
Thomas looked at me, gnawing the corner of his lip awkwardly. I could tell that he wanted to say something, but didn’t quite know how to put it. I could also tell that it wasn’t something I wanted to hear. He glanced at Min uncomfortably.
“You need to stay here, Clare,” she said. “It will only be Thomas and I who will go back.”
“Whoa, hang on a minute,” I blurted. “The only reason I agreed to come here in the first place was on the condition we’d go back for Bede afterwards. “You promised me.”
“And we’re keeping that promise,” said Min calmly. “We’re going back now and we’ll find him.”
“He’s my brother, Min,” I said, pleadingly. “You’ve got to let me come too, I’m begging you, I can’t just sit here and wait.”
“Clare…” said Min gently, before pausing to take a deep breath. “As we’ve explained, you are in extreme danger at the moment if you go back to your world. Demarge will be scouring the planet for you and he won’t give up. I know it’s hard but you have to stay here.”
“But…!” I began, before Min interrupted me.
“Trust me,” she said in a tone that clearly said “conversation over.”
“Min, Thomas, you will both need to be very careful,” said the man dressed in red who had been standing silently beside us. “Demarge will be only too aware that we know he is close to finding the entrance to the Slipworld. He will also have guessed that we will be shutting down the Wiltsdown entrance and relocating it as soon as all the Shards are back safely. No doubt he will make it particularly difficult to rescue them so he has more time to thoroughly inspect the Cathedral.”
“Of course Daden, you’re right,” said Min, turning to Thomas. “Do you know al
l the prisons Demarge has in Wiltsdown?”
“Most of them,” said Thomas. “But you know Demarge, he changes things all the time. There’s simply no way of knowing if we have them all covered.”
“We may need back up,” said Min, turning to the man in red.
“Okay. Freya and I will remain here, close to the entrance,” he said. “Take Hester with you. She can report back if further help is needed.”
As he spoke a sparrow flew across the courtyard and into the library. It landed on Daden first, chirped a couple of times, then jumped across onto Min’s shoulder.
“Hello Hester,” said Min. To my surprise, the bird chirped back a response as if it had fully understood.
“You must go now,” said Daden, ushering Min and Thomas into the courtyard.
“Please let me come with you,” I said one last time. I knew I was seriously pressing my luck, but I had to try.
Daden slowly shook his head.
“No, I’m sorry Clare, Min’s right, it’s much too risky. It would be dangerous enough in normal circumstances, but given how little time there will be between rescuing the Shards and closing the portal, it would be inconceivable to allow you to go.”
“But…” I stammered.
Daden placed his hand on my shoulder. “No,” he said firmly.
I glanced imploringly at Min and Thomas.
“I understand that you’re worried Clare, but Daden’s word on this is final,” said Min. “You may come with us as far as the Valley of Flowers, but then you must stay here until we return.”
“If it’s any consolation we can at least fly you back to the entrance,” said Thomas, smiling at me slyly. I was still annoyed, but it was hard to stay mad when he was looking at me like that.
“Okay,” I said reluctantly.
Min and Thomas looped their arms in mine and I felt my stomach lurch as my feet left the ground. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, letting the wind brush my face and the delicious scent of pine, then flowers, wash over me. For a few seconds I felt like I was a kid again, playing on the swings, except that this was the best swing in the world. Then, all too soon, my feet hit something solid and I opened my eyes to find that we were now back in the Valley of Flowers.
“You know how to get back to the farmhouse again, don’t you?” said Thomas.
I nodded. “Yeah, thanks, I’ll be fine.”
“Try not to worry Clare,” said Min. “We’ll have Bede back as soon as we can.”
I nodded as I watched her fingers starting to comb the air for something. It looked as if she was stroking an invisible curtain.
“What are you doing?” I said.
“Finding the seam,” said Min. “Ahh, here it is.” Suddenly her hand disappeared, then her arm, straight into thin air. Her body quickly followed, and with a final twitch of her brown hair, Min had disappeared.
“Is Min back in the other world now?” I said.
“Yes.” Thomas leaned forward and kissed me on the forehead and I felt my knees jellify. “We’ll be back soon.”
By the time I’d come to my senses again, Thomas was gone and I was standing alone among the flowers. I turned slowly back towards the farmhouse, the long grass grabbing at my legs as I reluctantly drew my feet through it.
Why shouldn’t I go back and help look for my own brother? I thought to myself angrily. “It might be dangerous, but I’m easily as strong as Min and Thomas when it comes to running around in my own, I mean, Demarge’s world.”
I paused and glanced back at the vacant patch of air where I’d last seen Min and Thomas. A curious thought suddenly struck me.
I wonder if I could find that seam myself?
Another thought quickly followed.
No, you couldn’t, and besides you’ve been expressly told not to even try, so don’t.
But it’s not fair, I snarled inwardly. I want to find my brother!
Well you can’t, you’ve just got to wait, I growled back.
That was it. The final straw. No way was I going to let ‘self-righteous Clare’ stop me from doing what I knew was the right thing. Bede was the only family I had left and vice versa. If the police got hold of him – which it sounded as if they were highly likely to – he’d be tried for murder and could end up spending his life in jail. I had no choice – if I didn’t at least try to help him I’d never be able to live with the consequences.
I turned around and took a couple of steps forward, reaching out to feel the air between my fingers as I’d seen Min do. There was nothing. Not even the faintest hint of anything, let alone the gateway to a whole other world. I started to laugh.
Man, I must look like a real idiot, I thought. Standing in the middle of a field, feeling about in the air.
I quickly glanced behind me to make quite sure no one was watching. Phew. I was still alone. Having seen Min find the seam so easily, I was now determined to see if I could too. I tried again. And again. Still nothing.
Maybe I’m just doing it wrong, I thought to myself. Or maybe it’s only Aeons who can do it? I suddenly remembered what Min had said about Shards needing to be shown the entrance to the Slipworld before they could come in. But surely this was different? It was only a few minutes ago that I’d been shown exactly where the seam was. So why couldn’t I now find it myself?
I was getting more and more frustrated, cursing the seam under my breath, when all of a sudden, just as I was about to give up, my fingernail snagged something. I stopped and backed up, very slowly. There it was again, the edge of something, faint but distinct, like a thin piece of cardboard. I spread my fingers and ran them down the air in a vertical line. They were now all resting on some sort of invisible ledge.
Wiggling the heel of my palm forwards, I hooked my fingertips over the seam and they disappeared instantly. Freaky! It was like watching an optical illusion being performed in a magic show, although instead of feeling annoyed at not being able to work out how the trick was being played, this was incredibly addictive. I inched my fingers further into the seam, up to the first knuckle, then the second. Within seconds I was staring at my handless wrist.
“This is so weird,” I muttered to myself.
Now my right arm was in the seam up to its elbow. A shoulder slipped in, then half my body. I could now feel the rim of the two worlds resting on my nose, with one of my eyes staring at the flowers and the other looking down the spiral staircase of St Bartholomew’s Cathedral. It felt as though I’d become two separate people. I was virtually all the way through the seam when Daden suddenly appeared in the sky. I watched as he made a running landing and started tearing towards me.
“No Clare, no!” he shouted.
Somewhere in the background I could also hear a softer voice.
“Daden no. It’s far too dangerous.” A tall woman with long hair the colour of honey and ice had now grabbed his arm and was pulling him back.
Then everything went quiet. I was back in the Cathedral, standing on the middle step. It was almost dark, except for a shaft of soft, grey light that had spiralled its way up the stairs. Daden’s plaintive “no!” was still ringing in my ears and I was starting to feel mega-guilty about having deliberately ignored my instructions to stay put.
On the other hand though, maybe it’d be okay. If I could find my way out of the Slipworld, then surely I’d be able to find my way back in again? All I needed to do now was find Bede and bring him to the Cathedral and it would all work out fine. Just to double test the theory, I leant against the wall at exactly the same place that I’d just come through and waited for the rubbery sensation to kick in. Oddly, nothing moved. I took a step back from the wall, before leaning gently into it again. By the third time I simply threw my shoulder at the solid surface.
“Ooch!” I breathed. The wall was still as rigid as the day it had been built. I looked at the plaster accusingly.
“Come on, I know that’s where you let me out,” I said, automatically followed by “great, now I’m literally talking to a wall.”
I pressed my hands against it and pushed. Nothing even twitched. I kept pushing and prodding until my hands were sore, but it was no use.
“I can’t believe this,” I muttered to myself.
I now felt like the world’s biggest idiot, times a million. Min and Thomas were already likely to go crazy when they found out that I’d left the Slipworld, let alone that I was too stupid to find my way back in again.
They may not even want me back in the Slipworld after this, I thought. And who could blame them? I wouldn’t want some dizzy girl in there if I was running the place.
I sat down on the stairs and stared miserably at the marble, determined to feel sorry for myself. After a couple of seconds I realised there was really no point.