The Rumpelgeist

by Fiona McIntosh

  ‘What’s he saying, Your Highness?’ Flynn asked Ellin.

  Davren and Flynn waited expectantly.

  ‘Lex says we are close to Grevilya’s lair,’ Ellin relayed. ‘He says she has spies everywhere so we should pause here until we have a plan.’

  ‘Seems as good a place as any for us to tie up the horses, have a brief rest,’ Davren agreed.

  Flynn climbed down from Donkey and offered a hand to Ellin. She didn’t actually need assistance, but appeared happy to let him help.

  ‘Lex, can Grevilya sense your presence?’ Davren queried.

  ‘Rarely. Starling can. But there are so many of us ghosts there that I could slip in and out of the compound and it wouldn’t disrupt Grevilya’s magic.’

  Ellin repeated this.

  ‘What about Simeon?’

  ‘He has no magic of his own. Only what she’s given to him but he is like you, Davren.’

  Ellin frowned and repeated it.

  ‘Me? A centaur?’

  ‘No, but a beast all the same,’ Ellin repeated after Lex.

  ‘Which one?’ he demanded.

  ‘He’s unsure,’ Ellin finally said. ‘He overheard Grevilya in a foul temper once accuse him of being a serpent.’

  ‘Serpent?’ Davren repeated, before walking away. They waited, unsure of the centaur’s sudden pensiveness. He returned slowly. ‘I believe he could be a creature that our race called the basilisk although I have never seen one; it is not from these parts but hails from a land far away to the east. They kill without remorse. It is said their skin is poisonous, that even their breath is lethal. They were so feared that all the warlords of the east – enemies normally – worked together to amass an army of sorcerers to kill the loathed serpents. It is a story I learned from my elders.’

  ‘How do you think this relates to Simeon?’ Flynn asked.

  Davren shook his head and frowned. ‘I do recall from the stories of my childhood that a few basilisk escaped. Not many, mind; a young male and two female.’ His frown deepened as he plunged deeper into his memories. ‘No one knew much about this trio. I remember my grandfather cautioning me on my interest in the male. He said it was the most cunning because he had not only learned the language of man but learned how to think like the men who hunted him.’

  ‘Why would this serpent creature of the east trouble the centaurs of the western forests?’ Ellin wondered.

  ‘Because we are the keepers of the forests and woodlands. We protect it from any sort of harm and I suppose my kind feared that the basilisk may head west to escape the sorcerers.’

  Ellin nodded. ‘Lex is wondering if you think Simeon is the escaped male?’

  Flynn held his breath. Lex had made the leap before he and presumably Ellin had. But it seemed Davren was already well ahead of them. ‘Yes, I fear so. Everything Lex has mentioned about this elusive creature smacks of the cunning and patience of the basilisk that so intrigued me. We named him Ophis, a very old word that means snake, but no one has spoken of him in so long that I had forgotten about him.’

  ‘Far more cunning and slippery than Grevilya, Lex wants us to know,’ Ellin said.

  Davren’s gaze sharpened. ‘Lex, was it Simeon’s idea to steal the children of Floris?’

  ‘He says yes. Everything is Simeon’s idea.’ Ellin blinked. ‘Lex, you never told the King or Pilo or even me any of this when you had the opportunity.’

  Flynn took a chance. He and Davren had privately practised moving in and out of the Silvering during the quiet moments of the ride until Flynn felt confident he could open the link himself. He took a breath and sliced open the connection to Davren. The centaur was instantly in his mind.

  Something wrong? asked Davren.

  Rather something’s not quite right. Lex looks uncomfortable. I think he’s hiding something. But I can’t imagine what or why.

  Davren closed the link, betraying no sign of having been in private communication with Flynn.

  ‘Lex,’ Davren said, ‘I know you used to eavesdrop on Grevilya. What do you think she hoped to achieve by stealing the children and turning them invisible?’

  ‘To threaten the Crown. If the people are frightened, they blame the King. They expect him and his soldiers to keep them safe,’ Lex said.

  Ellin repeated Lex’s answer but added, ‘Don’t get cross with us, Lex. We’re trying to understand so we can make a plan to save the children.’

  Flynn opened the link again. Ellin is picking up Lex’s defensiveness, even without being able to see him.

  I agree. We must be very watchful.

  Flynn closed the connection. He felt bad about keeping it secret from Ellin but it couldn’t be helped.

  ‘Are you sure you’ve told us everything you know, Lex?’ he pushed.

  Lex hesitated and Flynn watched him carefully; the Rumpelgeist seemed to be weighing his options. He said nothing. Ellin waited for the answer but her lips thinned with a growing irritation. ‘Did you lie to us?’

  ‘No!’ he yelled, but he sounded guilty.

  ‘He said he didn’t,’ she assured. She waited, nodding at the others to be patient.

  Finally, Lex capitulated. ‘I didn’t tell you everything.’

  Ellin closed her eyes as she told the others, and Flynn groaned, knowing something bad was coming.

  ‘Lex,’ he said, looking straight at the Rumpelgeist, who was suddenly standing alone by a tree. ‘Why?’ he asked, and it came out as a sigh. ‘The Crown Princess is risking her life to restore all of you. The royals deserved your honesty … so do I … and so does Davren, because this is not even his fight.

  Lex looked abashed. ‘I didn’t think anyone would help us if they knew the truth.’

  Ellin repeated what he’d admitted, her gaze lowered. ‘So now tell the truth so I can share it.’

  ‘Grevilya possesses the knowhow and the magic to command powerful spells but she’s a bit like Grendel; I mean, she’s not really interested in anything beyond her own life and needs. It’s Simeon who has given her ideas about using her magic to rule.’

  Ellin held up a hand and quickly told the others. ‘Lex, do you mean taking over the throne?’

  ‘Lex is nodding,’ Flynn offered.

  Lex began to explain. ‘Fear, Simeon told her, was a more effective weapon than any sword or spell. He wants her to frighten the people of Drestonia and show that the King is powerless. She can then promise the people the safe return of their children and the protection of her spellmaking for ever more in return for making her monarch. No bloodshed, no armies, no weapons required. Just a clever spell. But I suspect Simeon will actually be the ruler. You should know that she is obsessed by her grimoire and the recording of her life’s work. She doesn’t want the interruption of having to rule. I know Grevilya will be happy for Simeon to take control of the realm so long as she feels she’s in charge. But I’ve watched him. He says all the right things, treats her with deference but he intends for her to be his puppet.’

  ‘… her to be his puppet,’ Ellin repeated.

  Davren and Flynn regarded her silently, looking shocked by what they were hearing.

  ‘I’m afraid this is sounding more and more like the work of the basilisk. Only the most cunning of minds could hatch a plan such as this. He is controlling the witch, making her use her magic in ways she had never thought to,’ Davren said.

  ‘My father doesn’t stand a chance against this magic.’

  ‘Yes, he does, because he has us,’ Davren assured Ellin in a tight voice. ‘And we are not going to let any of this occur. I’m glad you’ve told us everything, Lex,’ he continued in his mellow, even tone.

  ‘Lex, how dangerous is Simeon?’ Ellin asked.

  ‘He still needs Grevilya’s power. Alone he is cunning but it is her magic that has allowed him to become a human or at least pretend to be one … or many.’

  Ellin repeated this as best she could.

  Flynn nodded. ‘So it’s still Grevilya we have to stop.’

 
‘But Simeon we need to fear,’ Davren reminded.

  ‘Lex, in this form of yours, can you see through Simeon’s magical guise?’ Ellin asked.

  ‘He’s shaking his head,’ Flynn said. ‘That’s a pity or we could have used you to warn us.’

  ‘Then we need a sign,’ Ellin decided.

  ‘What?’ the others said together.

  She gave a single-shouldered shrug. ‘Something that only the four of us know. A password perhaps?’

  Flynn caught on. ‘Of course. Your Highness, that’s brilliant.’

  Davren nodded, impressed. ‘So that any one of us who approaches the other must give the sign or phrase and if they don’t then we know it’s an imposter and likely to be Simeon in disguise.’

  ‘What will we use?’ Flynn wondered.

  ‘You need to make him talk so that you see his tongue,’ Lex suggested quietly and told Ellin why. He stuck his tongue out. ‘You need to see it.’

  ‘Very clever.’ She explained to the others about the forked tongue.

  ‘But what phrase?’ Ellin frowned.

  ‘Sticky syrup,’ Flynn offered.

  ‘Perfect!’ Ellin grinned.

  ‘Good,’ Davren said. ‘Now if for any reason we get split up then “sticky syrup” is our password.’

  ‘I should go back, put in an appearance,’ Lex said. ‘If I go on ahead I can see if anything has changed since I left and be able to warn you.’

  Ellin told the others what Lex was suggesting.

  ‘All right,’ she said and quickly got nods from her companions.

  ‘Wait for me here. Promise you won’t move,’ Lex said. He disappeared so fast he was gone within a blink.

  ‘Why do you look so puzzled?’ Ellin asked Flynn.

  ‘Just a feeling,’ he said.

  Davren nodded. ‘Me too.’

  ‘Have we been found out?’ Ellin said, looking around, suddenly fearful.

  ‘No, it’s not that,’ Flynn said. ‘It’s …’

  ‘Go on,’ she urged.

  ‘It’s Lex,’ he finally said.

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Well, I suppose you hear his words but I am watching his expression.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘There’s something amiss. He looked …’

  ‘Looked what?’ she repeated.

  ‘Say whatever’s in your heart, Flynn,’ Davren encouraged. ‘It may be very important.’

  ‘I’m probably imagining it but I thought Lex looked sly and more nervous than us.’

  Ellin considered this. ‘I’ve had those feelings but then I remind myself that he’s having to walk back into the clutch of the witch.’

  ‘I know, I know …’ Flynn agreed but still looked unsure. He stole a glance at Davren but the centaur’s attention had been whipped away.

  ‘Hush!’ Davren murmured.

  ‘What?’ Ellin mouthed, but the centaur shook his head and dragged the pair of them closer and behind him to hide beneath the nearby copse of trees.

  ‘I hear voices. We are far too exposed. Come.’

  ‘But Lex said not to –’ Ellin protested.

  ‘Your Highness,’ Davren said politely. ‘Don’t make me pick you up. You know I can.’

  She gave a soft groan of irritation and followed her minders. With Davren’s help, Flynn managed to convince Ellin that perhaps they shouldn’t completely trust Lex.

  ‘Our best bet is to set off in search of Grevilya ourselves, rather than wait for Lex’s return,’ Flynn said. ‘Come on. Let’s trust our instincts.’

  22

  Bitter Olof’s plan was simple. ‘We’re going to steal Grevilya’s grimoire,’ the dwarf explained to Grace and Little Thom.

  Calico Grace, who had been puffing quietly on her pipe, let out a thin strand of blue smoke as she opened her mouth to spit a gob overboard. ‘You’re as crazy in the head as I’ve always thought, Olof,’ she snapped. ‘First of all, the book of spells won’t allow itself to be stolen.’

  ‘Why?’ Little Thom asked.

  Calico Grace poked Bitter Olof in the ribs, causing him to jump as if stung. ‘Tell him, numbskull,’ she said.

  ‘Gracie, if you’ll just –’ Bitter Olof began, but she spat again, this time at his boots.

  ‘Tell him!’ she ordered.

  The dwarf sighed, feigned a tolerant smile and addressed his large companion. ‘The grimoire is a living thing. It can talk.’

  Little Thom’s mouth fell open. ‘You jest.’

  Calico Grace poked Bitter Olof again.

  ‘Not just talk,’ Bitter Olof continued, heeding his wife’s prompt; ‘it has a mind of its own and it will warn Grevilya if anyone attempts to steal it.’

  Little Thom blew a soft whistle of awe.

  ‘Oh, there’s more,’ Calico Grace said with a scowl, and prodded Bitter Olof in the ribs. ‘Go on,’ she urged, ‘tell him.’

  ‘Ow, Gracie!’ Bitter Olof yelped. ‘That hurt.’ Bitter Olof looked seriously grumpy now. ‘If it’s picked up by a stranger and it feels threatened, it screams,’ he said, unhappily.

  ‘Screams?’

  ‘What are you, a parrot?’ Bitter Olof snapped.

  ‘You heard right, Little Thom,’ Calico Grace cut in, ‘the wretched book screams, like this,’ she said, letting out an ear-piercing shriek.

  ‘That’s some scream, Grace,’ Little Thom agreed.

  ‘How do you reckon we’ll go trying to steal the grimoire now?’ Calico Grace demanded, glaring at them. ‘Is that really the best idea you have, husband?’

  Neither man replied and Calico Grace’s scowl deepened.

  ‘And even if – by one of Lo’s miracles – we can get the grimoire away from Grevilya, tell him what else it does,’ Grace said to her husband.

  ‘It’s not that bad,’ the dwarf said, but at the scowl from his wife his shoulders slumped. ‘The grimoire talks a lot.’

  ‘Incessant, I think, is the right description,’ Calico Grace suggested. ‘In fact, it rarely shuts up!’

  Bitter Olof took a deep breath. ‘No one said that what we are setting out to achieve is without its dangers. But I’m prepared to risk everything to reclaim what was taken from us. Alone if I have to.’

  ‘No, we’re here now and we’ve agreed,’ Calico Grace said, scowling.

  ‘I’m not walking away,’ Little Thom said.

  Bitter Olof smiled. ‘You’re a good friend, Little Thom. I know I can count on you to do whatever you have to, including shaving off your beard and wearing a dress.’

  The Princess and her companions set out in the same direction that Flynn knew Lex had taken. Before long, they could see the water sparkling in the distance through the trees ahead.

  As they neared the edge of the forest that led towards Hellion’s Hole they could see the full extent of the bay, which its cliffs embraced. Standing nearby – a more isolated spot Ellin couldn’t imagine – they saw the peak of a circular tower built at one end of an old manor house.

  ‘There!’ she said pointing. ‘That must be Grevilya’s house. It’s exactly as Lex described it.’

  The manor, made from a light grey stone, would have been a grand old home once but now it was neglected and decaying. Parts of the slate roof had fallen in and one area of the stonework had subsided, causing the house to lean on an angle. The crumbling structure was surrounded by a wild garden. Carefully planned flowerbeds had become overgrown masses of intertwining weeds where no flowers could thrive. A few hardy bushes survived, but the sea winds had flattened the grasses, and the trees all bent sadly, as if having given up the fight.

  Davren nodded in response to Ellin’s comment. ‘Yes, I believe we are in Grevilya’s lair,’ he said. ‘I’m going to let your aunt Tess know we’re here and how exactly to find us. Your father can’t be more than an hour behind us.’

  Little Thom rubbed his clean-shaven jaw. It felt strange and horribly naked; but it was Grace’s itchy underwear and dress that was giving him the most trouble. Calico Grace had pull
ed the dress reverently from a pine trunk in her cabin a short while earlier.

  ‘This was my sweetheart dress,’ she’d said, holding it up and regarding it with a sad expression. ‘Us girls used to wear a special colourful outfit the day after our weddings,’ she’d explained, wistfully. ‘I chose sky blue. Olof said it matched my eyes.’ Without another word, she had sat on the prow of Silver Wind and let down the hem to allow for Little Thom’s height.

  Now she tied a girdle around his waist and threw her largest, warmest cape around his shoulders.

  ‘I still don’t agree with you that a woman will be less threatening to Grevilya than a man,’ Calico Grace said to Bitter Olof. ‘I mean, look at me. Don’t I scare you?’

  ‘Every day, my love,’ Bitter Olof agreed, with great care and an innocent expression. ‘But you know as well as I do that Grevilya hasn’t trusted men ever since she and Grendel parted ways. And she would recognise us. So we have a better chance of getting our hands on that grimoire if Little Thom goes in there pretending to be a helpless maiden in need of a spell. If Little Thom can distract her, I can snatch the grimoire before she even knows it’s gone. Of course if he can get to it first, all the better.’

  ‘If the book doesn’t raise merry hell first, you mean,’ Calico Grace said.

  Little Thom stared in the mirror with a look of pure misery. ‘Do you really think Grevilya is going to be fooled?’ he asked. ‘Because I’m quite sure I just look like a great big burly fellow walking around in a frock.’

  ‘Well, of course right now that’s exactly what you do look like,’ Bitter Olof said.

  ‘Well, then!’ Little Thom huffed. ‘For Lo’s sake, come up with a better plan!’

  ‘He has,’ Calico Grace said. ‘Chew this.’ She handed him what looked to be a dried flower.

  Little Thom shook his head. ‘Uh-uh, not on your life, Grace.’

  ‘It’s just seaweed,’ Grace said.

  Little Thom’s gaze narrowed. ‘It’s not just seaweed, is it?’