by D. R. Martin
Which was incredibly boring, as far as Bao was concerned. She went over and stood behind the children, who were talking about much more interesting things.
“When I’m done here,” said Basil, who couldn’t see Bao standing next to him, “I’m heading home to Royalton for a rendezvous with the parents and sibs. We managed to get a phone call through to them during the drive down here.”
Iris beamed at him. “Well, I expect Lord Hurley of Evansham will be delighted to have his youngest son safely back at home.”
Bao’s eyes widened. That was Evvie’s other name. She summoned her courage and spoke up.
“Lord Hurley’s here at Wickenham.”
Marko, Iris, Petunia, and Raj looked at Bao quizzically.
“What do you mean, Lord Hurley’s here?” asked Marko.
That got Basil’s attention.
“He’s here,” Bao insisted. “He’s a ghost. He’s my best friend.”
Marko told Basil what Bao had said.
Basil seemed dubious. “Ask her how she knows him.”
Marko did just that. And Bao briefly told how she had met Evvie and how they were nearly blown up together. Which Marko, in turn, related to Basil.
The St. Egbert’s School student looked quite astonished. “Well, I’m flabbergasted. That’s got to be my dad’s big brother. The chap who drowned in the Roobuco River. And he’s here? Ask her, the ghost, to please go fetch him. I’ve dreamt about meeting Uncle Edward ever since I was little.”
Bao went and found Evvie and brought him to the sitting room. A smashingly good introduction was made between uncle and nephew—with the help of Marko and Iris.
“Uncle Edward” told how he had recently visited the family home in Royalton, but was unable to make contact.
“Well,” said Basil, “we’ll just have to arrange a proper reunion, won’t we, Uncle? Grandmother will be over the moon to talk to you again. So will Father.”
Basil and his dead uncle chatted for hours, until their “translators,” Marko and Iris, went hoarse.
Chapter 45
Saturday, February 8, 1936
Castle Henry
Johnny, Mel, and Dame Honoria piled into the town car and drove away from the king’s estate at about four o’clock in the afternoon. And as unlikely as it would have seemed a few hours earlier, Nina left with them.
Johnny had been worried sick that she would never regain her freedom. After all, dozens of people and ghosts had witnessed her attempt on the life of King Robert.
It was touch-and-go, nerve-wracking.
Brigadier Stafferton—who had seemed to Johnny to be such a nice guy—had insisted that Nina be charged and hauled off to jail immediately, to await her trial. When Johnny saw the look of helplessness on his friend’s face as the police came to take her away, it cut right into his heart.
Johnny had protested emphatically that it wasn’t Nina who had committed the crime. It was the wraith Checheg, who had somehow possessed and commandeered his friend. Dame Honoria, in her most imperious voice, had argued that it would be a grave injustice to prosecute the child for anything—that she deserved a medal instead. Mel had pointed out that, more than anyone else, Nina was responsible for the defeat of the bog zombies. She had provided the essential clue that led to victory.
But the brigadier had said that, as much as he appreciated their opinions, he was bound by the laws of the land to take Nina into custody.
Then, quite unexpectedly, the king himself had spoken up.
In that soft, small voice of his, he made a very eloquent case for Nina’s release. Although he couldn’t see Checheg, his manservant Oates had described the horrifying scene of the Steppe Warrior rising out of Nina’s mouth like a puff of poison gas. With Checheg under round-the-clock guard by the Special Ghost Service, the king said he felt no further threat to his well-being.
And he pointed out that the country, and perhaps the world, was still in grave danger from rogue ghosts. Nina, being the only living person they knew of who had been possessed by a ghost, would be far more valuable aiding Dame Honoria and Melanie in their efforts than sitting in a frigid jail somewhere in the Royal Kingdom.
The brigadier had finally relented, with the proviso that Nina make herself available for questioning before she left to fly home to the Plains Republic. Nina assured him she wouldn’t go anywhere until she had revealed every last detail about her stay at Bilbury Hall.
Johnny had even been allowed to take a few shots of the battle scene before cleanup took place. All around, the grounds were littered with bog zombie remains, shrunken and lifeless, no longer a threat now that the ghosts had vacated them.
The brigadier gave assurances that the corpses would be returned to the north and given honorable re-burial in the bogs they had come from.
“These bog men, these warriors were victims, too,” he had said. “Their graves in the bogs were desecrated for the sole purpose of giving Percy Rathbone a ready-made military force. They deserve to again rest in peace.”
In the aftermath of the Battle of Castle Henry, Colonel MacFarlane had watched Johnny like a hawk. He explained that he still felt awful about losing Johnny and Nina the day of the train wreck. He blamed it on that odd, heavy fog that blanketed the northern areas. “We don’t get weather like that in Zenith,” he remarked. “Strangest thing is, it seemed to make me feel muddled and uneasy. The lads, too. I really didn’t start feeling normal again until we arrived back at Wickenham.”
Just before their departure from Castle Henry, the king had taken Mel aside and said a few words to her. She explained in the car that he had asked her to send him a pair of etheric goggles. He was “awfully keen” to see ghosts whenever he felt like it. And “cost was no object.” But Mel had already decided that they would be a gift, in gratitude for the king’s spirited defense of Nina.
Back at Wickenham, Johnny was delighted to be reunited with his MacFreithshire companions. Over a delicious supper whipped up by Dame Honoria’s cooks, everyone caught up on the news. Johnny didn’t mention it, but he knew that Marko, Iris, Basil, and Uncle Ez would be receiving a special letter of commendation from his majesty. And the SGS intended to similarly acknowledge the roles that Raj, Pet, and Centurion Quintus had played—with special medals minted for veterans of the MacFreithshire campaign.
Although Dame Honoria offered them lodging for the night, Uncle Ez loaded up Marko and Iris into his auto. They were following Bess Tippett back to her place, where they would spend the night. On the way, Uncle Ez was going to drop Basil and Professor DeNimes off at the Blackfield station to catch the late train to Royalton. They were taking Edward Hastings—also known as Evvie, the late Lord Hurley of Evansham—home for a proper reunion with his younger brother and his mother.
Johnny promised to send Marko and Iris copies of the photos he had shot during their adventure. And he told Marko that if he ever needed a bodyguard again, he’d know whom to ask for.
“I realize that we got off on the wrong foot back there in Higgsmarket,” Johnny allowed. “And that was maybe partly my fault, thinking that I always know best. But you have to admit that you did come on pretty strong.”
Marko clapped Johnny on the shoulder. “I suppose I did,” he agreed. “But I didn’t know much about you, except that you were some kind of star news photographer who was just twelve years old.”
“Twelve and three-quarters,” Johnny corrected him.
“Twelve and three-quarters, then,” Marko repeated. “I wasn’t about to let you go off half-cocked and get your head cut off. It was dangerous out there and we had to play it smart.”
“I think the problem,” Iris said, “comes down to two young male egos bashing into each other at full speed. Bound to be fireworks.”
Nina was standing by Johnny and Mel. “Boys,” she said, winking at Iris. “Who can figure them out?”
“In the end, Marko and Johnny made a fine team,” Iris concluded. “All those kids from Bilbury Hall owe you two a big debt.”
>
“And we owe a debt of gratitude to you and Petunia, too,” Mel said to Iris. “As soon as I get back home, I’m making three pairs of etheric goggles pronto. One for the king, one for Evvie’s family, and another for you. So your mom can see Petunia whenever she wants to.”
With that, Iris and Pet rushed to embrace Mel. Johnny figured the hug lasted a full minute.
By the time everyone had left, it was close to midnight. Weary and exhausted, Johnny, Mel, Nina, and Dame Honoria were about to head up the staircase to their bedrooms. Suddenly, there came a loud knocking at Wickenham’s front door. As if by magic, Gilligan the butler appeared out of nowhere, in his bathrobe. He opened the door and in marched Uncle Louie, suitcase in hand.
Johnny felt a new surge of energy and ran to greet his uncle.
“I’m never letting you kids out of my sight again,” the big man said, giving them each a bear hug. He even gave Dame Honoria a quick squeeze, lifting her off the ground with a grunt.
It was another hour before Johnny’s head finally hit the pillow. It was so good to be reunited with his family again. Another near disaster had been averted and everyone was safe. He knew he would sleep like a log tonight.
Chapter 46
Sunday, February 9, 1936
Wickenham
The very next day, government officials insisted on debriefing everyone about the bog zombie uprising. So Johnny, Nina, Mel, and Dame Honoria were driven to a nearby army base, where they gave testimony to several severe-looking men and women in uniform.
These people wanted to know every detail about Nina’s attempted attack on his majesty the king. Nina was told that she could leave the country, if she wished. But she must return, in the event that they asked her to. Her word of honor was required, and she gave it. And Johnny knew that no one was more honest and trustworthy than Nina Bain.
But there was another reason why the four of them had been brought to the base. They were taken to a second grim room in another building. The home secretary himself was waiting there, along with Rex Ward. The two of them wanted to talk about Nina’s ghost possession and what it might mean to the security of the Royal Kingdom.
Nina described her capture and subsequent captivity in a bedroom at Bilbury Hall. “While I was being kept there, Miss Worthington-Smythe asked me if I’d like a cup of cocoa. Everything was kind of groggy after I drank it. She drugged me, I guess.”
“Did you feel anything strange while the ghost was inside your head?” the home secretary asked.
“Well, my right arm hurt. Guess that’s because Mel had chopped off Checheg’s arm, back in Zenith. And I had a lot of headaches. But I really didn’t notice I was out of control until the night at Castle Henry. It’s as if she waited until just the right moment to take over. I think that’s why she didn’t help the bad guys sooner. She was waiting for a big target.”
“How Checheg managed to, well, infect Nina is a mystery to me,” Dame Honoria said. “Until we have some idea of how the trick was pulled off, we won’t know how to stop it from happening again.”
“Or how to cure people who are infected,” Mel added.
The home secretary’s face turned slightly gray. “So no notion of how the ghost was able to possess a living person?”
“None whatsoever,” sighed Dame Honoria.
“But if that knowledge gets out into the general ghost world, look out,” Johnny said ominously. “Do you know Captain Justice, Mr. Home Secretary?”
The grim, silver-haired politician confessed that he was unacquainted with the gentleman.
“Well, it could be like ‘The Plague of the Brain Snatchers,’ which is a Captain Justice story. Only this time it’s for real.”
“The living world would be turned upside down,” Dame Honoria intoned.
The home secretary shook his head. “Paranoia and fear everywhere. Who could be trusted anymore? Imagine if a possessed general started a war. Or an important banker with a ghost under his skull crashed a national economy.”
Percy now had the power to cause huge disasters, Johnny realized. There’s really no limit to what that crumb-bum could do, if he got away with this possession thing. He could change the face of the whole world.
“But we have a plan, Home Secretary,” said Dame Honoria.
He looked at her hopefully. “Yes?”
“We may have some idea of where my son learned his new dark arts, and from whom. In two or so weeks, we plan to fly by aeroboat to Okkatek Island, mount a dogsled expedition, and find the ghost shaman Morbrec. If he is willing to talk, I believe we may find some answers. That is, of course, if he even exists.”
* * *
Back at Wickenham that afternoon, Johnny joined everyone else in the main-floor sitting room. They were all gathered around a cozy fireplace, ensconced in overstuffed chairs and on the big sofa, enjoying a pot of afternoon tea and biscuits.
Uncle Louie was talking about the weather, a favorite topic of pilots everywhere. He explained that the planes he had worked on during the last couple of weeks were rarely able to take off.
“The heavy ground clouds made it impossible. The pilots said they had never seen such peculiar weather. The fog was real thick, but it didn’t seem to have any moisture in it. You couldn’t see any dampness on the ground or on the windshields. It was like a weird kind of smoke.”
“We’ve been thinking about that fog,” Mel said. “We’re worried that whatever Percy is up to, he might be causing some disruption in the weather.”
“But what I still don’t understand is why Percy kidnapped all those kids.” Johnny said. “What did he plan to do with them?”
“I fear that Percy is plotting to do something bigger and more disastrous in the future,” Dame Honoria replied. “After all, when the children grow up, their bodies will make fine vessels for ghost warriors to inhabit.”
“Or he could put them to other uses,” Mel added. “Imagine a spy network of possessed children who are secret agents.”
The idea made Johnny shudder. He’d always have to be suspicious of any kid he met.
“Whatever Percy’s up to,” Nina said, “we can’t let him possess any more people. I know how it feels. It was impossible for me to stop Checheg from attacking the king. I had no control at all. I was seeing it from inside my head and I couldn’t do a thing.”
“That’s why we have to end this madness before it can spread,” Mel said, putting her teacup down on the table in front of her. “The trip to Okkatek is the only hope we have now of finding out how Percy gained his knowledge of possession. And figuring out how to stop him.”
* * *
Over the next couple of days, Johnny helped Nina compose their news stories on Dame Honoria’s typewriter. They decided to share the byline. Every article would say “By Nina Bain and Johnny Graphic.” Mel also pitched in, and gave every article a close look, marking grammatical errors and typos with a red pencil. Their pieces on the train wreck, the destruction at St. Egbert’s, the great escape at Bilbury Hall, the nerve-wracking flight of old Thumper, and the Battle of Castle Henry all read like ripping adventure stories.
Johnny definitely saw more Newshawk awards in their future.
As soon as the stories were done, the three of them were driven by Dame Honoria’s chauffeur to the Royalton office of the World Press Association, where they dropped off the stories and Johnny’s pictures. Johnny had developed his many rolls of film in a darkroom that Gilligan the butler maintained at Wickenham.
Johnny was elated, knowing that Mr. Cargill would scoop everyone in the world, running the stories first in the Zenith Clarion. The articles were published a day later in Royalton newspapers. Johnny loved seeing his pictures and the headlines.
Government censors had changed a few things in the stories. Any mention of bog zombies was replaced with words like “ruffians,” “hooligans,” and “thugs.” Dame Honoria had warned Johnny that might be the case—the government wanted calm to return to the country as quickly as possible.
With the news assignments done, Johnny continued working on his photo essay about country life around Wickenham, hiking from one corner of the vast property to the other. He took hundreds of pictures, though he didn’t plan to develop them until he got back to Zenith. He’d had enough of darkroom chemicals for a while. The harsh smell got in your clothes and up your nose. But it was a price you had to pay if you were a news lensman.
One afternoon, Johnny was in his bedroom at Wickenham, unloading the roll of film he had shot that lunch hour at the pub where Ozzie had been captured. He pulled it out of the Ritterflex, licked the glued tab at the end of the paper that covered the film, and sealed the roll shut. No chance now of it accidentally getting exposed to light and ruined. Tired, he stretched out on his bed and began to daydream.
In just a few days, they were all heading for Okkatek Island. Danny Kailolu, Mel’s boyfriend, was going to fly the Zephyr Lines floatplane back to Rowestoft to pick them up. Johnny knew the reason for the trip was to find out where that rotten Percy had gotten his knowledge of zombification and possession of the living. Johnny couldn’t wait for that wretched wraith to get his proper comeuppance.
But Johnny had another goal, as well. Will and Lydia Graphic had disappeared on Okkatek. And it was his plan to go hunting for his parents there—all alone, if he had to. The zombie attack had delayed his and Mel’s search plans. Johnny Graphic wouldn’t be put off again. If he could get his folks back, he would never ask for another thing. Ever.
Still, even without parents in his life, Johnny was surrounded by people who cared for him. And he knew it. A great sister, a super uncle, the best friend and almost-cousin in the world, a remarkable godmother, a—
“Hey, Johnny…”