The Ondine Collection

by Ebony McKenna

  Naturally, Ondine was waiting for him. “How did it go?” She asked.

  “Weil, ye Da got away at least,” Shambles muttered, heading to his room to change back into human form and proper clothes.

  “He’ll be all right though, won’t he?”

  How could he answer that without crushing her spirits?

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  Chapter Seventeen

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  It was the first time they’d had overnight guests in months. Ondine, Hamish, Thomas and Alexei madly tidied five guest bedrooms, taking their own belongings out and shoving them into other rooms for the mean time. Alexei would share with his parents, Ondine, Melody and Cybelle were with Old Col, and GrannyMa and GrandDa were with with Ma and Da. That left Thomas and Margi with a room of their own (seriously unfair as far as Ondine was concerned) and Hamish would share with Henrik.

  Rooms sorted, Ondine hoped the two women in suits would be happy to share a twin room. It was the darkest room, with west-facing windows so the early morning light from the east wouldn’t wake the guests too early. Ondine loved this room because it guaranteed a sleep-in, especially in summer. With any luck, the two suited women would sleep long into morning.

  At the opposite end of the hotel, the early morning sun ripped through the south-east facing windows. Natalia and her resistance friends could stay in this room, wake early and head out before the two suited spies had even opened their eyes.

  A most excellent plan.

  An hour dragged by. It was past curfew and growing dark outside. In the dining room, everybody stayed in their seats, sipping tea and dabbing at the crumbs of their afternoon tea. In the kitchen, things were getting crowded as GrannyMa, GrandDa and Old Col arrived for their dinner. Not that there was much to eat. The miserly soup would have to do. Where was Da with the food? Ondine looked out the back door again, willing her father to walk back in, arms aching with all the food he’d said he’d bring back.

  “Looking isn’t going to make Da come home any faster,” Ma said.

  “I’m getting worried.” Ondine confessed.

  “We all are, love.”

  The radio news came on in the kitchen.

  “Duke Vincent has announced there will be no Brugel Daylight Saving Time. This means the clocks do not need to spring forward and nobody needs to be sleep deprived.”

  Everyone groaned amidst a chorus of “oh what?’s” and “come on’s”.

  “Duke Vincent also announced there would be no need for the public holiday on the Monday the clocks used to go forward, which will be excellent news for productivity.”

  Henrik said the rudest word Ondine had ever heard.

  “Can this night get any worse?” Ondine muttered to Old Col.

  “You should know by now not to say things like that,” Old Col said as she collected her soup and dinner roll.

  Another hour dragged by. The oldies retired to the family room behind the kitchen and the rest of the DeGroots and Bergers prepared a thin dinner for the paying customers.

  Margi, her pregnant belly bumping into everyone and everything, was relegated to the back corner of the kitchen where she sat at the bench and made dinner rolls out of flour and water (no yeast). She’d grown so large she had to sit side-on to the bench, but at least she was productive and contributing.

  Where was Da? Ondine fretted. He had to come back soon.

  Melody was up to her elbows in hot soapy water. Every few minutes she’d magic up more hot water and bubbles, saving the family money in heating and detergent costs. Unfortunately, using magic only made the girl hungrier, so she ate the raw dough from Margi’s tray.

  “Ooooh!” Margi sucked in her breath.

  Everyone froze for a second, until Margi composed herself. “Kick in the kidneys, nothing to worry about.”

  Everyone sighed with relief. Margi’s baby wasn’t allowed to arrive early, not without Da home yet. Where was he?

  As the minutes turned into hours and the evening wound down, Ma showed their assorted guests to their respective rooms for the night. Ondine dared open the gate to the beer garden to sneak a look down the alley.

  “Where are ye awff tae?” Hamish gave Ondine a cuddle from behind.

  “I wish I knew where Da was,” she snuggled into Hamish. “He should have been back ages ago.”

  In the distance, sirens wailed and tyres screeched.

  “I bet he’s being extra careful coming home, that’s all lass,” Hamish said. “He’s probably spotted trouble and is laying low until it all blows over.”

  “I know you’re trying to make me feel better, but I won’t stop worrying until Da’s home.”

  “Then I’ll go find him meself.”

  “But then I’ll have two people to worry about.”

  Ma came to the back door. “If you want something to do Ondi, I’ve got a list.”

  “I’m so worried about Da.”

  “We all are lovvie,” Ma stepped forward and embraced Ondine.

  “I’ll find him,” Hamish said.

  “Don’t you –” The word ‘dare’ hadn’t even reached her mouth before Hamish shrank himself into ferret form.

  He stood up on his furry hind legs. “It might be illegal for folks tae be oot in thae street, but nae ferrets.”

  “Please be careful,” Ondine said.

  “Aye, I’ll be right back, and I’ll bring Da with me.”

  Just like that, he was out the gate and down the street. Ondine’s gaze fixed on his furry tail until it and the rest of him dissolved into the dark night.

  Something crept into her side vision. A pair of urban foxes slinked around the corner. With a metallic clunk, they tipped over a rubbish bin and helped themselves to the contents. In the absence of people, animals now owned the night. Animals that wouldn’t think twice about snapping a ferret in their jaws. The animals turned towards Shambles, their ears pricking, senses on alert as they detected his scent.

  Fear charging through her body, Ondine ran out onto the street. “Shoo! Shoo!”

  The foxes stopped but didn’t back away.

  Two cadets came around the corner. “Get back inside Miss, it’s long past curfew,” one of them said. She looked familiar. Ondine rummaged around in her brain until she remembered where she’d seen the girl before. It had been via Melody’s astral projection. This was the cadet whose powers had mutated so much under Mrs Howser’s tutelage that she was capable of anything.

  Fear tied knots in her lungs as she struggled to breathe.

  “Everything all right?” The cadet asked.

  Silently, Ondine nodded.

  The other cadet picked up some debris from the ground and hurled it at the foxes. “Go-on, get!”

  The foxes took a few steps back. The cadet hurled something else and it shattered into pieces on the ground. The foxes slunk back into the shadows.

  “Miss, you need to be back inside,” that first cadet said.

  The other said, “We’ll take care of the foxes.”

  “You’d better,” Ondine said, full of bluster to hide her terror. “They’re sniffing around our chickens. They’ve scared them so much they’ve stopped laying.”

  They looked like they were trying not to laugh. Good, at least they weren’t angry with Ondine or suspicious. “We’ll do that Miss,” the first one said. “And you get back inside.”

  AT BREAKFAST THE NEXT morning, food was scarce. Sleep had completely eluded the over-worried Ondine, who was none-too-gentle as she ruffled each hen’s feathers in the laundry, looking for eggs. Four eggs, five eggs, six. Her elbow biffed the wall and she dropped one, tears spritzing her eyes as the gloop oozed out over the floor.

  Back to five eggs. She used Henrik’s swear word from the night before. It sounded good and purposeful, so she said it again. Cursing herself, her tiredness, the mess she’d made and the reduced food they’d have. For good measure she cursed Vincent a few times too. Even though he was Duke, refusing to call him by his new title made her feel be
tter.

  Taking extra care, she took the eggs to the kitchen, saying nothing of the broken one because that would only make everyone upset, and they didn’t need any more upset.

  Ma said, “Only five eggs? We’ll need to add a fair slosh of milk to make the scramble go further.”

  “I’ll add bread crusts,” Cybelle said.

  “Curfew will be lifted in half an hour, we can send them across to Fang’s if they’re still hungry.” Ma said.

  Ondine peeked into the dining room, where the suited spies sat at their same table by the window. No sign of the novelist leeching their electricity out of the wall. That was a plus.

  “Did Natalia leave early then?” She asked.

  “No love, I don’t think she’s up yet.”

  What? Ondine wanted Natalia to get away early. Keeping her breathing steady, Ondine said, “I’d better wake her.”

  “You’ll do nothing of the sort. I gave them the north room.” Ma beamed. “The former First Minister deserves a dark room and a restful sleep.”

  Great. Not that she could tell Ma anything about the Brugelish Resistance and why Natalia should get away quickly. Best to change the subject. “Speaking of people sleeping in, what time did Da and Hamish get back last night?”

  With a sigh and a chin wobble, Ma said, “They didn’t.”

  “They’re still out there?”

  “Keep your voice down. Yes, they’re still out there.”

  “We have to find them! What if . . .” Ondine couldn’t comprehend the horrible possibilities facing the most important man in her life. And her dad.

  “Go watch some telly. You’re no good to me distracted.”

  Stomach rumbling with hunger, Ondine poured a cup of tea (not to the brim, because her nerves would slosh it out) and flicked on the set in their private lounge.

  Huh? Brugel six had a static picture. “What’s wrong with it?”

  GrannyMa, sitting in the corner with her crochet and wool, looked up. “It’s a test pattern, Belle. I mean, Margi.”

  “I’m Ondine.”

  “Course you are.”

  “What’s a test pattern?” Ondine flicked channels, only to find all the regular stations had similar static pictures. “Why are they all on test patterns?” At last she found a station that was working.

  “That will be the government broadcaster,” GrannyMa said. “Takes me back to the old days, it does. One channel, one message. Isn’t that right Col?”

  Old Col had walked in and seated herself beside her sister, kissing her papery thin cheek. “Have they pulled the plug on the media?”

  “It’s Stalin one-oh-one all over again,” Granny Ma said.

  “Nothing if not predictable,” Col said.

  The two spoke in sister-speak, laughing about the old days. It wasn’t a laughing matter as far as Ondine was concerned.

  The only channel working was the government broadcaster, which had an exercise program.

  “I knew they’d run that!” GrannyMa said. “Come on Col, up we get.”

  The two of them rose from their seats and imitated the action on screen. Young men and women in exercise gear bent and stretched and marched on the spot. “Gets the blood flowing, does the heart good,” Col laughed as she spoke. “Oooh, eye candy. That’s an improvement.”

  Grannyma and Great-Auntie acted like they were under hypnosis, moving their arms about and lifting their knees (not lifting them by much, but lifting them nonetheless). The world had officially gone mad. Twitchy with nerves and bored with only one channel to watch, Ondine went back to the kitchen and grabbed Melody by the arm. “Let’s go to the market.” The subtext being, “and find Hamish.”

  “I have to wash these dishes,” Melody said, loudly enough for Ma to hear.

  “The dishes can wait.”

  Just as they headed out of the kitchen, they came face to face with Natalia Cebotari.

  “Quick, out the back,” Ondine said, shoving them towards the rear door.

  “Ahoy-hoy, going somewhere interesting?”

  Uh oh. It was the two suited women.

  “We’re going to market,” Natalia said to them, bright and cheery and as un-guilty as can be. “Would you like to come?”

  Was she mad? They were supposed to be getting away from these spies, not entertaining them!

  “What a splendid idea,” and “lovely,” the spies said.

  Natalia, Ondine, Melody and the two spies headed for the back door. Natalia’s friends were nowhere to be found. Which was when the twig snapped. If Natalia kept the spies pre-occupied, her friends could get home without being followed.

  “Can I come too?” Alexei popped his head around the corner. “This place is so boring.” Then he quickly added, “No offence.”

  THE WINDS HOWLED OVER Mount Verka Seduchka, sending petals and spring pollen through the air. Rugged up against the elements, Duke Vincent stood beside Birgit Howser, observing the team of Fort Kluff cadets dismantling the commercial broadcast towers.

  “Don’t bend it!” Birgit yelled. “You break, you pay!”

  Such admirable people skills, Vincent thought.

  “Once we move these towers to the old castle, they’ll provide a huge boost to the dampening field,” Mrs Howser said.

  “Which will block Melody.” It irked him how much he’d felt the young witch’s absence. For one thing, it necessitated spending more time with Birgit Howser. Melody had been so easy to work with. He’d taken advantage of her desire to be near him. She’d been happy to do his bidding. At least, he’d thought she was. Mrs Howser on the other hand was a slippery fish. She’d become malleable since her time in the asylum, but would it last?

  “It will block all witches, not just Melody,” Mrs Howser said. “Can’t have the resistance using astral projection to bypass curfew.”

  “There’s a resistance group?” Vincent asked. “Already?”

  “There’s always a resistance group. Melody’s in it, you know.”

  “She can’t be.” The moment the words left his lips, he knew it had to be true.

  “You should have given her hope. Or at least the impression of it. A woman can only pine for so long before she eventually wakes up and smells the chicory.” [342]

  ​“Who else is in the resistance?” Vincent asked.

  “A couple of former politicians, of course. I’ve had my best witches keeping an eye on them. Melody tried to use astral projection to determine if they were spies. Oh don’t worry, she failed. The short-range dampening field around The Duke and Ferret is holding, the cadets I’ve stationed on their corner are making sure of that. This tower will spread the net far wider. Once we get it running, it will cover half of Brugel.”

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  Chapter Eighteen

  Tension stretched to snapping point, Ondine followed Natalia for a walk to the morning market. The two women in suits ­– she still didn’t know their names, which in ordinary circumstances would be considered extremely rude – followed a few steps behind. They wanted to visit the markets, which they’d ‘heard so much about’. Melody had her arm linked with Alexei’s; a sweet development for her friend and brother-in-law. Alas, it served to remind Ondine that she had nobody to link arms with because her beloved Hamish had not come home.

  “We won’t be too long, will we Natalia?” Ondine asked.

  The former first minister muttered, “Just long enough to lose these two.”

  Ondine didn’t feel right leaving the pub. “Because, I was thinking maybe you could stick with Alexei and Melody and . . . you know, I’m probably not needed.”

  “You want to be home in case your boyfriend returns and you’re not there?” Natalia said.

  “If it’s OK with you?”

  “It’s not. Stay with me, I’ll need your help to make a distraction.”

  Perhaps the trip to the market would distract Ondine from her stomach-churning worries of Hamish’s and Da’s welfare. No, nothing could make her
stop worrying. Instead, she carried her tight tummy and pained heart with her as they walked on.

  They neared the markets, the smells and noises hitting them from across the street. Considering how much life had changed since Lord Vincent became Duke of Brugel, it was good to visit something comfortingly familiar. The same rows and rows of fresh produce, crowds of people, colourful banners, music, hot donut vans and yet more noise as people called out their special deals, fast and jarring.

  “Apples, apples, apples! Get your bananas here.”

  It was the kind of call that dug into Ondine’s brain, making her pay even more attention to the fruit on display. Especially the bananas. Tummies rumbling from a scant breakfast, Ondine and Natalia bought a banana each and walked amongst the teeming crowds.

  Gee that Natalia was clever, Ondine realised. The market was heaving with people. Because of the curfew, the markets opened later and closed earlier. There was less time to shop, so people bought and traded with determination tinged with panic. In all the mayhem, it was seriously easy to lose sight of one another. The first to vanish from Ondine’s notice were Melody and Alexei. One moment she could have sworn the two were haggling over the price of potatoes and the next they weren’t. The two women in suits had halved, in that Ondine could only see one. The trouble was, they both looked so alike, she couldn’t tell if she kept seeing the same one, or both of them at different times. But perhaps the suits had split up, one of them following Melody and Alexei, the other sticking close to Natalia.

  “Apples, apples, apples. Get your bananas here.”

  A freshly crushed apple juice would go down nicely. Pushing against the flow of the crowds, Ondine guided Natalia towards a market stall selling juices and apple blinchikis. [343] Thankfully Natalia had a few schlips in her purse because Ondine’s pockets were empty.

  “Melody should be safely away by now,” Natalia said, her neck craning back and forth as she checked for their none-too-subtle watcher.

  Ondine looked around, “Has she gone back to the pub?”