The Clockwork Crow

by Catherine Fisher

  She took a breath.

  Then she ran on.

  Four steps took her to the top. There was the corridor, its walls of ice, and walking along it she came to the nursery door, and she opened it and went in.

  The room was a myriad of snow globes, and in all of them a slanting snow was falling, non-stop.

  On a table lay dishes of food and goblets of drink, looking fresh, and smelling so delicious Seren felt her mouth water with hunger.

  But in the centre of the room was a huge four-poster bed, its hangings all white, and lying on the bed, staring up at the ceiling with wide blue eyes, was a boy.

  As the door creaked, he turned his head.

  Then he sat up and stared at her in amazement. ‘Who are you?’

  Seren breathed out in awe. ‘I’m Seren,’ she said. ‘And you’re Tomos.’

  Don’t let them whisper in your ear.

  Don’t let anger keep you here.

  If she expected him to be glad to see her she was wrong.

  He frowned. ‘I don’t know any Seren.’

  She slipped in and slammed the door behind her on soft fingers that tapped and scratched. ‘I know you don’t! I’m here to rescue you. Don’t you…’

  ‘That’s just it,’ the boy said thoughtfully. ‘Where is here? I’ve been lying on this bed for a few minutes trying to work it out. It’s like home, but it’s not. As if They tried to make a copy, and couldn’t.’

  He was so calm! She shook her head in irritation. ‘Have you any idea what I’ve had to do to find you? All the trouble I’ve taken? And you just sit there!’

  He was wearing a dark suit and boots and there was a clear intelligence in his eyes. He looked at her carefully and said, ‘But how do I know?’

  ‘Know what?’

  ‘That you’re real, and not just one of Their tricks.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Any minute now you’ll tell me to eat some of Their food. That’s what They really want.’ He waved a hand at the piled plates. ‘Look at it. All the things I like best – custard tarts, cream horns, syllabub. But I won’t touch any of it, because if I eat it They’ll have my soul and I’ll have to stay here forever.’

  Seren stared, impressed. ‘That’s right … at least that’s what it says in the books. But honestly, I’m not from Them. I’m real. I’m human.’

  ‘Prove it.’

  She came and grabbed his hand. ‘Does that feel warm?’

  ‘Yes.’ He looked down at her rather dirty fingers. ‘All right, but…’

  ‘And I’ve got this.’ She put her hand in her pocket and pulled out the diary.

  He stared at it, then snatched it and riffled through the pages. ‘This is mine! How did you get it?’

  ‘I found it in your bedroom.’

  He looked up. ‘When?’

  ‘A few days ago. At least…’ She shook her head. ‘I think it was… I don’t know how long I’ve been here.’

  He stuffed it inside his jacket, annoyed. ‘Have you read it?’

  ‘Bits.’

  ‘You shouldn’t have.’

  ‘I had to find you! You’ve been gone a year…’

  His laugh startled her. ‘Don’t be silly. Of course I haven’t! I went for a walk this morning, in the snow. I ran down by the hollow near the lake and then I … well, somehow I was here.’ He frowned. ‘I can’t quite remember how. But it was only an hour or so ago.’

  Seren shook her head. She grabbed his arm and pulled him from the bed, and he was exactly the same height as she was. ‘No, it wasn’t! Listen to me! It was a year ago. A whole year. And your mother … all of them, they don’t know what’s happened to you. They say you’re missing, but some of them think you’re dead.’

  His blue eyes were hard with amazement, and then anger. ‘A year?’

  ‘And a day.’

  ‘No … that’s not possible…’

  ‘Denzil says They can do all sorts of things.’

  ‘My mother…’

  Seren could see he believed her now. She said quietly, ‘Your mother locks herself away in London. I suppose she can’t bear it.’

  Her hand was tight on him. He shook her away. ‘How did you get here?’

  ‘I went down the golden stairs you wrote about. And a … friend came with me, but he’s lost. I think They’ve got him, because They’ve been after him for a while…’

  Tomos wasn’t listening. He had jumped up and already had the door open. ‘I’m going home right now!’

  He ran outside; Seren followed him, then she stopped in astonishment. ‘It’s all changed!’

  Everything was different. There was no corridor outside, and no stairs, only a dark tunnel that led both ways into silence.

  ‘You can’t trust anything here. They play tricks on your eyes and your mind,’ Tomos muttered. He looked right and left. ‘Which way?’

  ‘I came that way, but…’

  He hurried left. ‘I can’t believe it,’ he muttered, ‘about my mother. She’ll be so afraid.’

  Behind him, Seren was silent. He thought he had only been here hours. How long had she been here? Was another year gone? A hundred years? It scared her, that time might be flitting past in the world out there.

  They ran down the tunnel. Far off, cold voices laughed.

  Ahead was a strange blueish light. Tomos ran fast towards it and Seren was right behind him, thinking hard. Where was the Crow? She couldn’t go back without it but how could she ever find it in this mixed-up place?

  The tunnel grew narrow. Blue light shimmered. For a joyous moment she thought they were coming to the end, but then the roof changed from rock to a mass of seamed ice, and through it the sun – the real sun! – was shining.

  ‘Quick.’ Tomos turned. ‘Let me hoist you up. Maybe we can break through!’

  He crouched, she climbed quickly onto his shoulders and he managed to stand. Seren’s knees gripped under his arms; she reached up and banged her fists against the ice slab of the roof, then splayed her hands flat against it. But it was so thick! There was no way of breaking it! And only a warped view of the world came through, the white snow drifting, the vague shapes of trees.

  ‘See anything?’

  ‘It’s the lake,’ she whispered. ‘We’re under the lake.’

  He couldn’t hold her anymore and she slipped, and they both fell in a heap. Seren looked up, imagining how her hands must have looked from outside, banging silently and spread out under the frozen surface.

  If only Denzil had seen them! There must be searchers out there.

  ‘We could find something,’ Tomos was looking round frantically, ‘and smash it.’

  ‘Maybe this.’ Seren grabbed a small stone at her feet. And then she remembered the Crow.

  The stone dropped from her hand. ‘Wait. I can’t leave the Crow in here.’

  ‘What Crow?’

  ‘It’s a long story. But I wouldn’t have got this far without him. He’s my friend. He knows magic. We have to find him. We have to go back.’

  She turned and began to walk sadly back the way they had come.

  ‘Wait!’ he said.

  ‘No, I can’t. You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.’

  There was silence. Then she heard his footsteps running after her, and his voice. ‘Don’t be sad, Seren. Of course I’ll come.’

  She was so pleased she smiled at him, and he smiled back. ‘I’m not afraid,’ he said. ‘Are you?’

  ‘No,’ she said quietly.

  The dark tunnel led a long way, then out of a cave into a forest of tall trees under a sky full of stars where there was no moon and it was very dark. They saw nothing of Them; though behind every tree Seren saw shadows and felt eyes that watched her.

  Then, far ahead she saw a small light through the trees.

  Tomos stopped. ‘What’s that?’

  The light was a glinting redness in the dark world.

  ‘I don’t know,’ Seren muttered, ‘but we’d better find out. Be careful.’r />
  They hurried towards it, creeping through snowy undergrowth and prickly brambles, until they were close enough to see what it was.

  A fire!

  A strange cold fire that burned without crackling, and all around it, fast asleep, lay a host of animals: weasels and foxes, stoats and mice, a badger and many birds. And above them, hanging on the branch of an oak tree, was a silver cage.

  Seren’s heart leaped.

  In the cage was the Crow.

  It was all hunched up in utter misery with its head under its wing, and the key in its side showed it had been wound up tight. But even when Seren ran up and grabbed the cage bars so that it swung wildly the Crow didn’t look up.

  ‘What’s wrong with you! It’s me, Seren! Wake up!’

  ‘I’m not asleep! Just fed up with all of it!’ Its voice was muffled.

  She stared at it in shock. ‘Look, I’ve found Tomos!’

  Curious, Tomos came up beside her. ‘Is it really alive?’

  ‘Go away,’ the Crow said, more distinctly. ‘Find a way back by yourself. I’ve finished with all of you.’

  Seren seethed. ‘You ungrateful little…’

  ‘What have They done to you?’ Tomos said.

  The Crow was silent. Then it withdrew its head from under its wing and fixed them both with a baleful glare. ‘So you’re the famous Tomos, are you? Well, this is all your fault! The torments I’ve had to put up with. My wings pulled, my key twisted, my shape shifted. And now I’m in this cage and I’ll never get out…’

  Seren said ‘But your magic.’

  ‘Oh, don’t think you can flatter me into this one!’ The Crow’s eye was a flash of angry blue. ‘I’ve already tried everything I know. They’ve got me tight in here. And if I can’t do anything, I don’t see what an orphan girl and a silly little boy can do to help me.’

  Seren said, ‘Don’t give up! There must be something…’ But the Crow was already looking anxiously over her shoulder. ‘Leave me and run! They’re coming back.’

  ‘But…’

  ‘Can’t you hear Them?’

  Of course she could. A growing murmur of voices, a snow-crunch of footsteps. Tomos’s hand grabbed hers. ‘We need to go!’

  ‘Not without the Crow! And anyway, where can we run? They’re all around.’ Her fingers tightened on his. Then, despite what she’d been told, despite the danger, she turned her head, and she saw Them.

  They waited in a wide circle. A host of tall beings, narrow-faced and silver-eyed, beautiful and strange. Their hair and clothes were the colour of snow, rippled with blue and purple. Their voices were softly harsh, like the cries of cats or the cold language of gulls. They called out to her, and she knew what they were saying, because it was her name, over and over.

  Seren. Bright star. Stay with us. Come with us.

  She stepped back.

  The fire flickered, its red light on the Crow’s eye and Tomos’s hair as he drew himself up.

  Seren! They called. Why go back? No one wants you. No one cares for you.

  She clamped her hands over her ears.

  Never be sad, Seren. Never die. Live here with us for ever and ever. Be our princess, Seren. Be our queen.

  ‘Don’t listen to them!’ Tomos growled. ‘It’s all lies!’

  But she was already listening. It was all right for Tomos. His mother and father were longing for him. But no one was longing for her. No one would care if she never went back. The pale creatures smiled sweetly; some of them sidled forward. Hands reached for her.

  Come with us. Come, sweet girl. Come, silver star.

  She wanted to. She really did. For a moment it was all she wanted in the world. But she knew that Tomos was shivering, and that the sleeping animals were a warning. She stepped back, right next to the cage.

  And then the Crow was peering through the bars, its jewel eyes right next to hers, its beak whispering at her ear. ‘I thought you were too clever to listen to Them.’

  ‘I am too clever. But you don’t care.’

  ‘Well, actually, I do. Because you did come back for me.’

  She stared, and the Crow shook its head impatiently. ‘Oh, I know I’m a crotchety, tetchy old thing. All moth-holes and mildew. But that’s what I mean! No one else would have bothered. No one else would have rescued me from that newspaper. Only you.’

  It made her smile, sadly. ‘I didn’t think princes cared about orphans.’

  ‘Ah…’ The Crow blinked uneasily. ‘Well, actually, about that prince stuff…’ It glanced at the crowding shadows, whispering close. ‘I’m afraid I haven’t told you the … um … exact truth. You see…’ It wrinkled its beak in horrible embarrass­ment. ‘You see I’m not exactly … what you might call a prince.’

  Seren said nothing.

  ‘I’m – well I was, once – a…’

  ‘Schoolteacher,’ she said softly. ‘I know.’

  The Crow’s complete astonishment made her laugh. ‘How?’ it snapped.

  ‘I guessed. Probably because you’re always telling me off.’

  Tomos glanced back. ‘Seren. They’re so close!’

  The shadow people had crept to touching distance. Their fingers caught her sleeves and her hair, fingers white and frail-looking as lace but so strong. She squirmed and jerked back but there were so many of them she couldn’t pull away. Tomos cried out; their hands were all over him, pulling him away into the crowd. ‘Seren!’ he yelled.

  She turned to face Them. It was all up to her now. She said, ‘I can’t stay with you. I have to go back. I’m sorry.’

  Their smiles turned to ice. Their grip was a numbness of cold. Her hair was torn; they had her tight; they were pulling her after Tomos.

  But one hand was free, and she wriggled it into her pocket and brought out the object that she had brought all this way, that she had kept safe, because it was the most magical thing of all…

  The snow globe.

  Tomos gasped as she held it up. ‘That’s mine! A woman in a silver dress gave it to me!’

  Seren nodded. ‘It’s not yours,’ she said. ‘It’s Theirs.’

  All the white people’s eyes fixed on it. They gave a great howl and grabbed at it. But it was too late.

  With a scream of defiance Seren threw it down hard on the stone floor, and it exploded into a million shards.

  In the joyful Christmas dawn

  Even stars can find a home.

  The sky was black.

  At first that was all she knew, and that she lay under it, and it was like lying in bed, deep under a soft white quilt, because she was so warm and comfortable. Stars shone high above, and a sliver of moon.

  It was only the Crow’s voice that startled her.

  ‘Are you going to lie there forever?’ it croaked irritably.

  Seren sat up. She was in a bank of deep snow. Tomos was sprawled face down beside her, and around them all the sleepy animals were waking and fleeing into the wood, the foxes with yelps of joy, the weasel with a scutter through the snow.

  And there before her was Plas-y-Fran with its windows all blazing! People were running out from the house over the snowy lawn, a man and a woman, and behind them Denzil, racing as fast as he could manage, and Mrs Villiers behind them, amazed, on the steps.

  The woman was Lady Mair. She ran past Seren and swept up Tomos in her arms. She was crying out his name, over and over, just sobbing and sobbing, and she fell on her knees with her arms around him. The captain ran up and hugged both of them. There was so much emotion on their faces Seren couldn’t bear it, it was too much, and she looked away. Then she scrambled up in dismay because the Crow was lying scattered all around her, in bits.

  Its wings lay in the snow; one eye peered out and she had to search hard for the two claws and hurriedly gather up all the spilled clockwork of its chest. Its beak croaked, ‘key…’ before its voice ran down and the wheels in its chest creaked to a stop.

  Hastily she hunted for the key and found it trampled underfoot. She slipped it into her p
ocket, turned and realised they were all looking at her.

  Tomos pulled her close. ‘This is Seren. She found me. I would never have got back without her.’

  Lady Mair’s face was streaked with tears but she didn’t seem to care at all. She caught Seren by both hands. ‘Oh my dear, dear girl,’ she breathed. ‘How can we ever repay you!’

  Seren smelt her scent, and felt the fresh warmth of her skin. She said, ‘I only … wanted to help.’

  ‘You have saved us all,’ Lady Mair whispered. ‘I will never forget that.’

  Screeches of delight made them stare. Denzil and Tomos were dancing round and hugging each other stupidly in the snow.

  ‘Seren,’ Captain Jones was looking down at her. His eyes were wet and he seemed dazed. But he said, ‘You are going to be like a daughter to us now. I promise you that.’

  She was so stupefied she could barely answer.