by Helen Slavin
“If the Friends didn’t look after it, it would be bought up and turned into luxury flats or a casino,” Mrs Bentley continued, her voice lilting around the high-pitched noise before it dipped out again.
“Did you hear that?” Charlie asked and looked around. Faulty electricals somewhere? A noisy drinks cooler?
“Hear what?” Mrs Bentley asked. It was clear from her expression that she thought it was a ruse to avoid payment. Charlie listened for a second longer. The sound had dropped out of hearing. She gathered her thoughts.
“Yes. I get that Mrs Bentley, but it’s not a proper visit, I’m just picking someone up.” Charlie thought this was reasonable. She knew where Ailith would be because it was all in the weave of the sock, an item that Charlie had stowed in her jacket pocket. Charlie had no intention at this point of mooching round the castle. “I’m not going to be looking round.”
Mrs Bentley’s mouth pinched into a small prune shape. It struck Charlie that had Mrs Bentley been on the gate in the ancient past this castle would never have been taken; no one, not Edward II or Cromwell and his entire army, would have got past Mrs Bentley.
“Aha, so now you’ve explained your circumstances, I might be able to help you out.” Mrs Bentley smiled in triumph. As she did so the high-pitched sound whined into Charlie once more. What was that? Mrs Bentley didn’t hear it. She was still waffling on. What was she saying? Charlie could only focus on the high-pitched and insistent sound.
How she ended up joining The Friends of Woodcastle Castle and finding herself the owner of a Season Ticket, Charlie didn’t fully understand but at least now she was inside the castle walls. The sound dipped and became lower, deeper, as if the castle was a bell ringing with its vibration. Charlie halted. She could hear other sounds around it, birdsong, traffic, the beep of the till in the kiosk, which was a good sign surely. That must mean she wasn’t going deaf, it wasn’t tinnitus, therefore it was outside her. The castle stones relayed the sound for several moments, then it dropped into silence.
Charlie was uneasy for two reasons. The sound, she understood, meant something and it was speaking to her Strength. The fact was she couldn’t understand the sound. What was it trying to say? She took a few deep breaths and looked around the castle itself, regarding it the same way she did Havoc Wood when she was on patrol. Nothing stirred, just the grass in the breeze.
The sock map had told her that Ailith would be in the East Tower on the second floor by the fireplace and so Charlie walked over the greensward to the small doorway.
* * *
As her footsteps wound their way up the spiral stair the sound wrapped her up, the stones carrying the note of it through her, dark and prickling. Charlie halted half way up the twist and listened hard. The message of it was right at the very edge of her mind. She couldn’t reach for it. It was deeply unsettling. Then it faded. Charlie felt compelled to touch the stones, to feel the cold strength of them, her eye drawn out through the arrow slit to the view of the Old Castle Road edge of the motte. The breeze ruffled the grass, the chill clearing Charlie’s head for a moment. She gathered her thoughts again. Find Ailith. Upstairs.
She was feeling churlish and out of sorts, keen to escort Ailith back to Cob Cottage and sort out the mystery of Bone Resting and the severed head and stop being afraid. Ha. Yes. She could admit it as she took the last few steps. She was afraid.
As she reached the small stone landing she looked up into the solar. It was a wide high room, the floor above long since fallen through but with a distant ceiling, the cap for the tower. There was a table set with maps which were regularly graffitied or stolen and a couple of goblets nailed to the surface to make it look historic and welcoming and failing on both counts. The hearth was wide and bare and at one side of it Ailith sat on a small wooden stool. She was looking out towards the tall window, a long thin slice of light cutting through the heavy stonework. There was a chilly breeze blowing, wafting at Ailith’s wispy hair. She looked small, almost childlike, her arms folded around her knees as if trying to keep warm. The hearth, vast and empty and brushed with leaves that had strayed in from the trees outside looked forlorn, but not as lost and forlorn as Ailith. Charlie felt a twinge in her heart at the sight.
“Hey.” She kept her voice quiet, hovered in the arching doorway. Ailith turned and nodded and rose to her feet.
“Is it time to go?” she asked. Charlie shrugged.
“Want to look round?” She wanted to offer Ailith something and had nothing. Ailith gave a brief nod and stepped towards Charlie. As she did so the high-pitched sound strained into Charlie once more, so harsh and hard this time that she took a step back. It was worse if she stood by the stones. What was going on?
“Are you well?” Ailith looked concerned. Charlie nodded and ushered her out.
“Yes. Come on.” She could hear the rudeness in her voice, but she couldn’t stop it. The whine sank deeper once more and began to toll through the castle stones.
“Can you hear that?” Charlie asked. She was suspicious suddenly; after all, who was Ailith? Should she even be here in town? Was that what the castle was telling her?
Ailith looked flustered.
“Hear?” she looked afraid. “I can hear…” she listened, her head tilting a little, “the breeze. The town. Some birds.” She looked to Charlie with a puzzled expression. “What should I listen for?” Charlie was panicking, Ailith picking up on the tension.
“Let’s go.” Charlie could not find the message. Warning? Signal? Greeting? She had to leave. She took hold of Ailith’s arm and bustled her towards the steps. Ailith did not protest, instead moving quickly and quietly down the spiral of stones. Charlie, feeling more uneasy than ever, half bullied Ailith over the grass and out towards the car park.
11
Fears and Doubts
“What sort of sound?” Anna asked.
“I don’t know, what is this, a sound survey?” Charlie was snappish, rising from the table to clear away her plate.
“What sort of sound was it Ailith?” Anna asked, her voice smooth as ever, soft and calm. Ailith looked anxious, looked towards Charlie.
“I…”
“She didn’t hear it.” Charlie was rubbing her face with her hands, her fingers reaching up to smooth back the tendrils of her hair. “Right. I’m going to say this and it’s going to sound mad as a box of frogs.”
Anna looked at her; Charlie could see where she was calm as Pike Lake in July, a flat surface glinting, her poker tell that showed she was just as afraid of what Charlie was going to say.
“Okay.” Anna gave her the cue.
“The castle was talking to me.” Charlie threw the words down. “That’s what it felt like. Only it was talking, and I couldn’t quite hear the message. Like it was far away or, maybe a bit in French or something so I knew the sound but couldn’t catch the words.” Charlie took in a breath, leaned back against the sink, her hands finding the smoothed edges of it and trying to feel grounded.
For several moments Anna said nothing. Charlie pinched her lips together, her thoughts flying around in her head.
“Please say something, Anna,” Charlie pleaded at last. “You always do this. You always shut down and I need you to say something.”
“The Bone Resting? The castle is calling the warrior home.” Anna’s voice was low and soft but at the words Charlie seemed to relax a little.
“Oh. Maybe.” Charlie breathed easier. The words seemed to have the opposite effect on Ailith. She sat up straighter, her hand resting on the table top, her face questioning and suspicious.
“You have never done a Bone Resting.” Ailith stated the fact and neither Way sister denied it.
“This would be a first,” Anna nodded. “We only took over from Grandma, from Hettie Way, quite recently.”
Charlie cleared her throat at how recently and Ailith looked pained.
“What happened to Hettie Way?” Her tone had a hint of suspicion. Beside her Charlie felt Anna close up a little at the memor
y and stepped in.
“It was an accident,” she gestured towards the porch steps. “She fell down the steps.”
“Fell? You didn’t decide you would be the Gamekeepers and take her life?” Ailith was steady, her voice strong and her gaze fixed upon the stunned sisters. The breath caught in Charlie’s throat as she crushed back a sob. There was a long moment and Anna wiped at her eyes.
“We had no idea what we were going to inherit…” Anna began. Charlie spoke up, angry.
“Don’t say anything, Anna.”
Charlie could hear her heart pounding and it was no longer afraid. It was like a drum, one that was psyching her up for a battle.
“You are the one who came to Havoc Wood carrying a severed head,” Charlie kept her temper, her voice even. The room was beginning to resonate with her energy, pinning Ailith into her seat.
“I was at the castle with you when it chose to talk to me. Who says it wasn’t trying to warn me about you?” Charlie pulled in the resonance of the castle, the deep low sound joining in with her heartbeat to keep her going, feed her Strength. Ailith wavered a little but Charlie did not stop.
“We live here. Havoc Wood is our Wood and we, myself, my sisters, we are the Gamekeepers. You, Traveller, must tell us your tale.” Charlie was pointing at Ailith, her finger shaking.
“I have come.” Ailith’s voice was not strong, it cracked and so she took in a breath. “I have come to rest the warrior, for his Bone Resting.” She drew herself up.
“No. Not enough. More. I need more. I’m the Gamekeeper.” Charlie’s drumming heart began a more settled tattoo, a steady pound that made her feel strong. Within it she could hear the low sound of the castle and could almost hear its message. She focused on Ailith’s face and she was rewarded with the merest glimpse of fear, a little teaspoon of confusion dropped into it.
“I must rest the warrior. The Bone Resting.” Ailith said it as if they ought to know what she meant. She said it with confidence. “You know this. You are the Gamekeepers.”
Charlie knew at once she was lying. Somehow. There it was again, that annoying instinct. She was lying, but there were gradations to the lie. What was the lie? Not a wrong lie. A right lie. The words slid through her head.
“You’re lying.” Charlie stopped pointing, her voice calm. Ailith visibly quailed but shook her head and remained defiant.
“You’re lying.” Ailith flinched a little as she hurled the accusation, as if tamping down the desire to stamp her foot. “You have not Strengths. You know nothing. Hettie Way would know.” The light coming through the window off the lake altered as clouds scudded over the sky and Ailith looked thin and grubby and afraid. That was when Anna spoke up.
“She’s not lying, Charlie. It’s just she’s never done this before either.”
Ailith looked at Anna as if she’d hit her; a small thin sound squeaked out of her. Charlie looked at Anna, then at Ailith. Ailith was defensive again.
“You can’t help me. This is now made plain. Instead I must help myself.” Ailith still looked wan but there was an added sheen of brave.
“We can help you,” Anna said. “Sit down.”
“You cannot.” Ailith was agitated. Anna was nodding her head but Ailith continued.
“You don’t have the knowledge. You aren’t…”
Anna interrupted.
“We are.” Anna’s voice was loud. Everyone jumped. “We can help. Charlie…?” Anna turned to her sister. “How did you know where Ailith would be?”
Charlie, feeling the sock suddenly weigh heavily in her pocket, looked alarmed.
“What?”
“You went to the castle to find her. How did you know she would be there?”
Charlie was panicked, she gave Anna a warning look, but Anna pushed.
“Charlie, tell Ailith how you found her.”
Charlie felt like a small schoolchild caught out stealing. Anna looked so certain and Charlie wished she felt the same. Sock. Green lentils. Her grandmother’s hand on her shoulder, ‘Which way Charlie?’
Charlie put the sock on the table where it did not move into any sort of map at all: was just, once more, a mass of holes and frayed wool.
“That is not mine.” Ailith took a step back as if it might be a weapon.
“The sock showed me where you were,” Charlie said. Ailith looked as if she might run for the door. “The threads. I’m shown a map. If I need it. This morning…” she toyed with the sock, “I needed to know where you were. The sock wove me a map.”
Ailith was very thoughtful, her face lightening. She looked at Anna.
“You read into my memories,” she said. Anna nodded.
“We can help you,” Anna assured her. “If you let us.”
* * *
Ailith ate the cake in rushed wedges as Anna and Charlie attempted to formulate plans.
“So. Bone Resting.” Charlie poked at her cake with a fork, half hoping that the answer might surface.
“It’s obvious that the castle is the place.” Anna was certain. “When you think about it.” She had not, Charlie noticed, eaten any of the cake; she was chopping at it but not a morsel made it to her lips.
“I hadn’t thought about it,” Charlie confessed. “I was in too much of a blind panic.”
“You’ve only got to think about how much time we’ve spent there over the years. With Grandma. Drawn there by ourselves.”
“It’s a big, old, hub of…” Charlie faltered at the word.
“We’re going to have to say this word out loud eventually, Charlie. Make it smaller.” Anna was in her biggest sister mood, the one where she was most patronising.
“You say it then,” Charlie called her out. Anna fell silent and Charlie felt mean. There was a long moment of silence. Charlie suddenly knew how to redeem herself.
“Let’s go back there. See if you can hear it too,” she suggested.
* * *
Anna Way had no idea how she and Ailith had ended up joining The Friends of Woodcastle Castle nor how they were now, Ailith in particular, proud possessors of two Season Tickets.
“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Charlie sympathised as they made their way across the greensward of the yard. “I think Mrs Bentley might have a Strength.” The castle, to be fair, looked rather more menacing now as the sky had clouded over considerably. As the three young women headed up the steps onto the walls they could see where a storm was gathering over towards Castlebury.
“Okay. So, what do we do?” Charlie asked.
“Wait,” Anna shrugged. Charlie was impatient and watched as Ailith wandered off, trailing her hand along the curtain wall. They waited for a couple of minutes, the breeze snatching at Ailith’s hair again making Charlie think about the evenings when Grandma Hettie brushed her hair at Cob Cottage.
“I can’t hear anything different,” Anna admitted.
“Give it a chance,” Charlie nodded towards the East Tower, to where Ailith was about to go in through the doorway. “Let’s patrol, shall we?”
They moved up the steps, twisting around the tower, Ailith running on ahead. Charlie reached for Anna’s arm, held her back.
“What’s her hurry?” Charlie asked with a nod upwards. Anna paused until Ailith had disappeared through the doorway above.
“I think she likes it here,” Anna said. Charlie’s face creased with puzzlement and Anna continued, “I think she’s a long way from home.”
Charlie sagged a little.
“How do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Think like that?” Charlie pushed ahead of her. Anna took a few more steps, peered down from the wall to the dry moat and the banking on the outside of the wall and then continued up towards the Tower room.
They stood by the information board which bore artist’s impressions of ladies doing embroidery and knights clashing.
“Is this what it was like back home?” Anna asked Ailith who was standing nearby, looking out of the long thin window. Ailith shook her head
and looked sorrowful so that Anna regretted the thoughtless question. Charlie was making a circuit of the room glancing out of each of the arrow slit windows and finally joining Ailith at the broken edge of the tallest window looking out across town.
“Anything out of the ordinary going on in town today?” Charlie wondered as she looked out over the rooftops. “Something that might have made a lot of noise maybe?”
Anna considered for a moment.
“The primary school had a Harvest Festival, there would have been singing,” she said. “Was it at all like singing?”
“Not at all,” Charlie said, looking thoughtful. “The Hillman Wedding was on.”
Anna shrugged.
“And?”
“Maybe the sound was just reverb from the disco or something.”
They were neither of them convinced by this. They stood looking out, the wind blowing the sound of a distant siren towards them from the edge of Castlebury.
“Whatever it was, it isn’t here now,” Anna said. “Shall we have one more flick round the castle and then home?” Anna suggested, trying to chivvy their mood.
They paced the room and headed out through the door to the next set of spiral steps and wandered up to the tower.
It was very windy at the top and so their recce there was brief, and they were pushed down the steps by the gust of wind. They made their way through the tour of the castle, following the little arrows and reading all the information boards.
“Feels like the castle.” Anna admitted. “Stony. Ancient.”
Charlie nodded agreement.
“Silent,” she said and halted on the wooden walkway that gave an elevated view of what had once been the Great Hall. “Grandma always said this place soaked in power. It’s a fortress after all.”
The others stood for a moment considering.
“I think it was definitely a callout.” Anna turned a neat circle, her gaze rising up through the building to where the sky met the broken stones.
