The Key to Rondo

by Emily Rodda

  Officer Begood began to run towards Leo and Mimi, his heavy boots pounding on the stones. The old man tottered after him, still hand in hand with the two little girls, who were both squealing, ‘Get them! Get them! Get them!’ in high-pitched voices.

  Mimi and Leo looked at one another, then, without a thought, they dodged around the rubbish bin, and ran.

  There was nowhere to go but further down the alley. Hearts pounding, the voices of their pursuers echoing in their ears, they ran blindly through the dimness.

  Brick walls rose high on both sides of them. There was nowhere to hide.

  We shouldn’t be running, Leo thought wildly. That just makes us look guilty. We should stop, turn around, explain …

  But somehow the squeals of the girls, the angry shouts of the old man, the sound of Officer Begood’s thundering feet, were making it impossible to stop. His legs just kept moving as if they had a will of their own.

  Behind them there was a crash and a furious yell. Leo and Mimi glanced over their shoulders. Through the shadows they saw Officer Begood sprawled on the ground. He’d collided with the rubbish bin, which was rolling on its side, its contents spilling all over the paving stones.

  Hope flared in Leo’s heart. What a stroke of luck! Maybe he and Mimi could get away after all. Maybe …

  Then his stomach turned over as he saw, blocking the way ahead, another wall as blank and high as all the rest. He heard Mimi’s sobbing cry of despair as she, too, realised that the alley was a dead end.

  Together they reached the wall. Together they spun around, pressing their backs to it, frantically looking for a way out.

  But there was no way out. They were trapped.

  Chapter 9

  The Hidey-Hole

  ‘Psst!’ The hissing sound seemed to come from right beside Leo’s ear. He jumped violently and looked around, meeting Mimi’s startled eyes.

  ‘What was that?’ she whispered.

  Both of them thought of snakes at the same time. Nervously they looked down, shifting their feet, but nothing was moving on the slimy paving stones – or nothing they could see.

  They could hear clanging and bumping as the rubbish bin rolled on the stones and Officer Begood grunting with pain as he clambered to his feet. They could hear the old man furiously complaining, and the piping, excited cries of the two little girls.

  ‘Don’t you worry, Master Whitebeard,’ they heard Begood say, between moans. ‘They can’t get away. They’ve got nowhere to go. You’ll have your wallet back in no time.’

  ‘He didn’t see Tom escape into the toy factory,’ whispered Mimi. ‘He thinks we’re all here together.’

  ‘We shouldn’t have run,’ Leo groaned. ‘We shouldn’t have –’

  ‘I’ll teach them to try to escape from the law,’ said Officer Begood angrily. ‘Oh, my back!’

  There was a dull clank, as if he’d given the rubbish bin a final kick. Then his boots thudded on the paving stones as he began to stride down the alley again.

  Leo and Mimi stood paralysed, their minds numb.

  ‘Psst!’ The hissing sound came again, and this time there was no doubt where it had come from. Mimi and Leo jumped away from the wall as if they’d been stung. Cautiously they turned, and froze in shock.

  A large black blob had appeared among the dingy bricks. It looked like a huge blot of ink shaped like… like a huge mouth. As they gaped at it, the mouth moved.

  ‘Hurry up!’ it said. ‘I can’t stay here all day.’

  Mimi gave a muffled shriek. Leo felt hairs rise on the back of his neck.

  ‘Well?’ said the mouth in the wall irritably. ‘Are you getting in, or aren’t you?’

  ‘Where –?’ gasped Mimi.

  ‘What –?’ gasped Leo at the same moment.

  The mouth pursed in annoyance. ‘Oh, save me from beginners!’ it snapped. ‘You wanted a hidey-hole, didn’t you? I distinctly heard –’

  ‘Yes,’ squeaked Mimi, before Leo could say a word. ‘Do we just –?’

  ‘Just get in,’ the mouth sighed. ‘I’ll do the rest.’

  The heavy footsteps were growing louder. Any minute…

  ‘Last chance, folks,’ said the mouth in the wall. ‘Here, I’ll make it easy for you.’ It opened wide, as if it was yawning.

  Leo felt Mimi grip his hand and tug. He had a mad urge to laugh. This was impossible! This was insane! ‘All right,’ he heard himself saying. ‘Why not?’

  And he and Mimi ran to the wall and plunged head first into thick, warm darkness.

  It was rather like sinking into a bath of half-set jelly – jelly that was black as the blackest ink. Mimi and Leo didn’t know where they were. They certainly weren’t in the alley any more, but they weren’t on the other side of the wall either. They were in a soft, black place that was… nowhere.

  Cautiously Leo stretched out his hands. They slid smoothly through the thick blackness and his fingertips touched cold, rough bricks. It’s as if we’re inside the wall, he thought. But how can that be?

  ‘Sit still!’ The grumbling voice seemed to come from all around him. ‘Where are your manners?’

  ‘Oh – sorry,’ Leo stammered, pulling his hands back.

  ‘How will we get out of here?’ Mimi quavered.

  ‘It’s a bit late to start thinking about that now,’ Leo snapped. He was feeling sick again. He’d never liked enclosed spaces very much.

  ‘Sshh!’ the darkness hissed. ‘They’re coming!’

  Mimi and Leo huddled together and waited. It was impossible to see anything at all, but soon they heard the muffled sounds of Officer Begood stamping and swearing on the alley side of the wall. Then they heard the furious, cracked voice of the old man complaining bitterly, and the piping voices of the two little girls.

  ‘Where are they?’ Officer Begood cried in frustration. ‘They ran down here, I know they did. I heard them! And they didn’t creep back and get through the tavern window, because I was expecting that and I was keeping my eye on it all the time. But they couldn’t have climbed over this wall. That’s impossible!’

  ‘Nothing’s impossible, Begood!’ the old man snapped. ‘You’re only young, but surely you’ve learned that by now!’

  ‘Well, I –’ spluttered Officer Begood. But the old man interrupted him.

  ‘Spoiler was their leader, remember!’ he said furiously. ‘I heard his voice distinctly. I just wish I’d noticed him hanging around me at the pie stall. I’d have held onto my wallet more tightly if I had.’

  ‘We don’t actually know that Spoiler was your pickpocket, Master Whitebeard,’ said Begood, obviously trying to sound sensible and firm. ‘Just because he was seen walking away from –’

  ‘Of course it was him!’ snorted the old man. ‘He’s a villain and a twister. He’s a liar, a cheat and a thief. Everyone knows that. I can’t understand why you let him run around loose, Begood! You heard what Jolly said about the tavern storeroom. If he doesn’t watch it every minute, dots take half of what’s in there, and Spoiler gets the rest.’

  ‘People are always saying things like that,’ the policeman burst out in injured tones. ‘And it’s true that somehow someone has always seen Spoiler lurking around just before something goes missing. But there’s never any proof he’s responsible, and I can’t just clap him in gaol on suspicion, can I?’

  ‘I don’t see why not,’ grumbled the old man. ‘There’s no smoke without fire. Anyway, what was I saying? Oh, yes. Spoiler was one of the gang, so they probably did get over this wall, whatever you say.’

  Spoiler, Leo thought. Not Tom – Spoiler. And he was very glad he’d convinced Mimi not to go with the man in the checked coat, whose real name probably revealed far more about him than he would like.

  ‘Oh, yes,’ the old man was saying crossly. ‘Spoiler managed it somehow. That slippery villain is capable of anything.’

  ‘Well, now, I think that’s a little bit of an exaggeration, Master Whitebeard,’ said Officer Begood cautiously. ‘Spoiler�
��s not capable of anything any more, is he? I mean, he used to be capable of anything, but that was… stopped, wasn’t it? That wizard broke the Blue Queen’s power, and ended the Dark Time, and –’

  There was a sharp banging sound as if Master Whitebeard had pounded his stick on the paving stones. ‘That’s the trouble with you young fellows,’ he roared. ‘You think happy endings are forever!’

  ‘Well, now –’ Officer Begood began.

  ‘Yes, you do!’ Master Whitebeard insisted, banging his stick again. ‘You think that once a villain’s been defeated, he’ll stay defeated and you can relax! Poppycock!’

  ‘Poppycock! Poppycock!’ chanted the two little girls.

  ‘Master Whitebeard, I –’ protested Officer Begood.

  ‘Do you think Spoiler likes sneaking round picking pockets and raiding storerooms for a living, when he used to get anything he wanted just by snapping his fingers?’ raged the old man. ‘Do you think that he and that evil woman aren’t plotting night and day to get their power back?’

  Leo’s heart gave a great thud, and he heard Mimi draw a quick, startled breath.

  Officer Begood cleared his throat, but didn’t seem to be able to think of anything to say.

  ‘Well, there’s no sense in staying here,’ grumbled the old man. ‘The thieves have got clean away, and my wallet’s gone with them. Come on, girls. Let’s go home.’

  Leo heard the sound of footsteps moving away. He was just about to sigh with relief when Officer Begood suddenly spoke again.

  ‘They couldn’t – they couldn’t possibly – have found a hidey-hole, could they?’

  The footsteps stopped. Leo held his breath.

  ‘Hardly!’ the old man said scornfully. ‘Why, I haven’t seen or heard of a hidey-hole around here for years! There are still some running wild out in the country, they say. But right in the middle of town? I don’t think so.’

  The jelly-like darkness enclosing Leo rippled and heaved a little. ‘Heh, heh, heh!’ it chuckled softly. ‘A lot you know, fathead.’

  The footsteps began to move again. They grew fainter and fainter till at last Leo couldn’t hear them any more.

  ‘They’re gone,’ he whispered.

  ‘Sounds like it,’ the hidey-hole whispered back. ‘Still, you’d be amazed how tricky people can be. You know, they pretend to give up and leave, then they creep back, the sly things. But I’ve been in this game too long to be fooled. Hold on and I’ll have a squiz.’

  A tiny chink of dim light appeared beside Leo’s shoulder. It was too small for him to be able to see anything through it, but the hidey-hole seemed satisfied.

  ‘All clear,’ it announced.

  There was a sort of pop, and Leo and Mimi shot out of the darkness, landing painfully on the damp paving stones beside the wall. The hidey-hole had spat them out like cherry pips.

  They clambered to their feet, blinking and rubbing their eyes. Even the dimness of the alley seemed bright after their long minutes in complete darkness.

  The mouth in the wall smacked its lips and grinned at them. ‘All right then?’ it said jauntily. Clearly it was quite proud of itself.

  Mimi found her voice first. ‘Yes,’ she said politely. ‘Thank you very much for helping us.’

  ‘A pleasure!’ said the mouth. ‘I enjoy my work, and I’ve been a bit bored lately, to tell the truth, with nothing to do. Folk round here are a law-abiding lot. Call me anytime.’

  With that, it shrank to a tiny black blob, and sank back into the wall. A whisper floated out to them as it vanished.

  ‘I’ll be seeing you. But you won’t be seeing me. Heh, heh, heh!’

  Leo and Mimi looked at one another. They had so much to talk about that it seemed impossible to begin.

  ‘Let’s go,’ Mimi said abruptly. ‘While we just stand here, Mutt could be –’ She bit her lip and spun around to face the bustling street.

  ‘Mimi, no!’ Leo burst out.

  Mimi turned back to face him. ‘What?’ she demanded, pushing her fringe out of her eyes. The black and gold ring winked on her finger.

  ‘Mimi, we can’t do this. We’ve got to go home,’ Leo said in his firmest, most mature-sounding voice.

  Mimi’s mouth tightened. In silence, she zipped up her jacket all the way to her chin, as if she was putting on armour, and thrust her hands into the pockets. Then she shook her head.

  ‘I’m not going anywhere till I get Mutt,’ she said.

  ‘Mimi, you can’t –’ Leo broke off, fighting down the wave of fear, anger and frustration that was threatening to choke him. He made himself take a deep breath, then another.

  ‘All right,’ he said, forcing himself to sound reasonable and even cheerful. ‘Then take me home, and come back by yourself. I won’t try to stop you.’

  ‘I don’t believe you,’ Mimi snapped. ‘The moment we got home you’d hide the box – lock it up somewhere, or something.’

  As this was exactly what Leo had been planning to do, he was for a moment lost for words. Then guilt made his anger flare again. ‘Are you calling me a liar?’ he spat.

  ‘Yes,’ Mimi said simply. ‘You are a liar. You stopped me going with Tom by promising you’d help me find Mutt. You swore it. Langlanders stick together, you said.’

  Leo’s face grew hot at the memory. What an incredibly stupid, melodramatic thing to say!

  But it’s true, a voice said in his mind. It really is true. Langlanders stick together. Like in the old stories, it’s one for all, and all for one.

  Not when one is crazy! he argued with himself. Not when sticking together means everyone goes under.

  ‘I said that to stop you going with Tom!’ he hissed furiously. ‘Spoiler, I should say. And it’s a good thing I did, isn’t it? It turns out he works for the Blue Queen!’

  Mimi shrugged. ‘That’s not the point,’ she said. ‘The point is, I believed you, and you were lying. I’m not stupid enough to believe you again. I’m here now, and I’m staying.’

  Leo lost his temper completely. ‘But what about me?’ he shouted. ‘You have to take me back. You can’t make me stay here against my –’

  ‘Keep your voice down,’ snapped Mimi, glancing towards the main street. ‘Listen, Leo, I didn’t ask you to come with me. I didn’t even want you to come. You did it all yourself, trying to stop me doing what I wanted to do. Now you’re stuck with it.’

  He glared at her, breathing hard. It crossed his mind that he could tackle her – force her hand out of her pocket, pull the ring from her finger and…

  She’d scream, he thought. She’d scream the place down. People would hear … come running to help … that policeman …

  ‘You can wait here – in a safe place,’ Mimi said. ‘I’ll come back for you when I’ve found Mutt.’

  Leo stared at her, speechless. She lifted her chin defiantly.

  She’s really going to try to do it, he thought dazedly. And there’s nothing I can do about it. Not here, anyway. Not now.

  ‘No,’ he muttered, trying not to think too hard about what he was saying. ‘I’ll come with you.’

  Mimi’s eyes flickered, whether in relief or irritation he couldn’t tell. ‘Yes, well, I don’t suppose you want to let the Key out of your sight,’ she jeered.

  ‘It’s not just that!’ Leo protested hotly.

  And strangely enough, it wasn’t. Certainly he didn’t want to lose sight of the Key. But just as strong was the feeling that he couldn’t – just couldn’t – hide himself away somewhere while Mimi hurled herself into danger all alone.

  Mimi gave a thin, disbelieving smile. ‘All right,’ she said. ‘Then let’s go.’ She turned and began walking up the alley towards the street.

  Well, now I’ve done it, thought Leo. Now I’m well and truly trapped.

  And, glumly, he thought of Uncle Henry.

  Chapter 10

  Conker

  Mimi was disappearing into the shadows of the alley. Leo hurried to catch up with her. ‘Mimi,’ he said urgently, put
ting a hand on her arm. ‘Wait a minute! We have to –’

  Mimi scowled and shook off his hand. ‘Leo, I told you –’ she began.

  ‘I’m not trying to stop you,’ Leo said quickly. ‘I’m just … I just want us to have some sort of plan. I know we’ve got to get out of this alley. It’s too dangerous for us to stay here, because there’s no escape route. But it’d be stupid to just go rushing off into that crowded street with no idea what we’re going to do next. That policeman might be still hanging around.’

  Mimi’s eyes narrowed suspiciously, but at least she was listening. Leo hurried on.

  ‘We’ve got to find a safe place where we can talk calmly, and work out what to do next,’ he said. ‘Maybe find someone who can give us some advice. That makes sense, doesn’t it?’

  Mimi hesitated, then nodded slightly. ‘I suppose,’ she said in a flat voice. ‘But I know what you’re doing, Leo. Maybe you’re right that we should make a plan and try to get help. But you’re trying to delay things, too. You’re hoping I’ll change my mind and forget about Mutt. But don’t you understand? I’ll never forget about him. I can’t!’ Her lips quivered, and she pressed them together angrily.

  Leo felt a painful stab of pity and guilt. He looked quickly aside and pretended to brush some dirt from his sleeve. ‘I’m not trying to delay things,’ he said untruthfully. ‘But I’m not going to rush into anything either. There’s lots of stuff about this place we don’t understand. We’ve got to find out a bit more about it.’

  ‘So what will we do?’ Mimi asked miserably. ‘Where can we go that’s safe?’ She thought for a moment. ‘I suppose we could call the hidey-hole back,’ she suggested, without very much enthusiasm. ‘It might be able to tell us a few things.’

  Leo couldn’t think of anything he’d like less. The idea of trying to have a sensible discussion inside a dark, claustrophobic blob of nothing was horrible. ‘If only Spoiler hadn’t locked the Toy Factory door,’ he muttered. Then he remembered something.

  ‘The tavern!’ he exclaimed. ‘One of its window opens onto this alley. Spoiler and Begood both said so.’

  ‘I didn’t see any window on our way down here,’ said Mimi dubiously.