I stared up at Samuel while my mouth worked soundlessly. ‘What,’ I stopped and coughed up more blood, ‘was that?’ My voice came out in a painful rasp.
‘A ‘retcher’.’ He squatted beside me and started to unravel the net. ‘We did try to warn you.’
I should have been thankful that they had saved me, and I was, but I was also a bit pissed about the warning. ‘Beware? That’s the warning? How about next time a little more information. Dear Izzy, Do not leave the party by yourself or a retcher will try to eat your heart.’
He chuckled as he continued his work. Three of the others came to help him and it didn’t take them long to peel it over my head.
‘Not that I’m not grateful,’ I added, nodding my head at them. Mum would slap me if she heard me being so ungracious.
Samuel held out a hand and helped me to my feet. I put my hand to my chest and pressed. ‘Why has it stopped hurting?’
‘The Retcher’s saliva has unique healing properties. It hides how the victim was killed by sealing up the wound.’
I could still feel the tongue forcing its way down my throat. That was going to give me nightmares for weeks. ‘It was going to eat my heart wasn’t it?’
He nodded and led me out the door and down the hill. ‘By swallowing your heart it would have gained your powers and then it would have been unstoppable. Come, we must get you back to the party before they start searching for you.’
‘But,’ I stopped and stared at him. The other Ubanty were pulling the night faery corpses from the building. ‘The night faeries tried to kill me.’
He shrugged. ‘Only a small faction of them. The ones that worshipped the retcher. The others are oblivious to tonight’s activities.’
There were so many other questions I wanted to ask as he led me back towards the castle. How did they know? Why had they saved me? But the only one I had time for was, ‘Why me?’
He stopped near the fountain and turned to face me. I could see the other Ubanty fanning out around me. I was guessing I still wasn’t safe from the retcher.
‘There are things you do not know,’ he said. ‘Things I cannot tell you.’ He stopped and unclipped one of the metal armbands from his wrists and then flipped it back into place. ‘All I can tell you is that you have freed us, and that we will be there with you at the end. But it will not be because of us that you will triumph. It will be because of who you are.’ He put a hand over his heart and then backed away from me and into the trees. The others did the same.
I stared after them for a second before I remembered the retcher. The whole incident could not have taken more than half an hour. I lifted up my skirts and raced back towards the marquee.
‘Izzy?’ Wilfred called my name from the darkness to my left.
‘Over here.’ I heard rustling and then he pushed out from between two bushes.
‘Where have you been?’ He peered at my face and then grabbed my arm, twisting me so that the light from the marquee shone onto my face. ‘Why is there blood all over your face?’
Whizbang. I’d forgotten about the blood. ‘I fell,’ I said, ‘and my nose started bleeding. I’ve been trying to make it stop.’ I wasn’t sure why I was lying to Wilfred.
He sighed and dragged me towards the party. ‘I’ve been worried sick. Scruffy started to cry and well, I assumed the worst.’
The rest of them were waiting out the front for me. I was happy to see that Ebony wasn’t with them.
I held up a hand to forestall them and said, ‘Nose bleed. Nothing to worry about.’
Scruffy ran to my side and jumped up, scrabbling up my body and into my arms. He let out a long, loud fart as he jumped.
‘Wilfred, what did you feed him?’ I waved my spare arm in front of my face.
‘Trifle and ice-cream.’
‘Don’t forget the meringue,’ Aethan said.
Isla reached over and scratched behind Scruffy’s ears. ‘It could have been the honey buns.’
‘Or perhaps the apple tart,’ Brent added.
‘It had to be the pecan pie,’ Luke said. ‘That stuff gets me every time.’
‘But I saw you eat a huge piece of pecan pie,’ Isla said.
Luke smiled an evil smile and everybody moved away from him.
I shook my head and smiled. From a near-death experience to this, all in a matter of minutes? It sure was good to be alive.
10
All Hail The King
‘Isadora.’ Wolfgang’s voice accompanied a soft tap on the door.
‘Come in.’ I had showered and was sitting on the bed running a brush through Scruffy’s fur. I wasn’t ready to empty my head for sleep; too many bad memories from the evening were hovering in the back of my mind, waiting their chance to strike.
He closed the door behind him and crossed the room to sit on the edge of my bed. ‘I came to see if you were all right.’
‘My nose? Hunky dory.’
There was a pause before he said, ‘I think we both know that’s not what happened.’
I stopped brushing and stared at Scruffy’s coat. Tears welled in my eyes and I struggled to contain them. ‘Ridiculous,’ I said, wiping at my face with the edge of a blanket. ‘After everything that happened today now I start crying.’
He moved closer and wrapped his arms around me, rocking me gently. I buried my face in his robe. The horror of being helpless against that thing while it forced its way into me welled up, and before long my sniffles turned to sobs.
‘There, there.’ He continued to rock me while I cried myself out.
‘What was it?’ I sobbed.
‘From the blood around your mouth and what I felt during dinner, my guess would be a retcher.’
‘That’s what Samuel said.’ I hiccupped and pushed myself upright.
‘Samuel?’
‘The Ubanty saved me.’ I didn’t mention they had tried to warn me. I was guessing that would have earned me a sound lecture. And besides, it was now a moot point.
He sagged back against the headboard, staring at the ceiling.
‘Is that why you were staring at the corner of the marquee all dinner?’
‘I wasn’t sure,’ he said. ‘I haven’t felt one for so long.’
‘It was there?’ My voice came out more shrilly than I would have liked.
He sighed. ‘It seems things are progressing more quickly than I would have liked.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘That Santanas is already affecting our world.’
I stared at him while I tried to make the connection. ‘What does that thing,’ I shuddered, ‘have to do with Santanas?’
‘During the Dark Years, Santanas brought the retchers through to our world and set them free. The fear and panic they incited suited his purpose.’
‘Are they like dragons?’
‘No, he found them bodies and used black magic to bring them. But it took many bodies to bring one of them through.’
‘The animals,’ I said. ‘They kept changing.’
He nodded his head. ‘Yes, he used animals. It added to their fear. When he was trapped they were, for a better way of explaining this, sucked back into Trillania.’
‘Samuel said it was after my power.’
Wolfgang’s eyes widened in surprise. ‘That’s new. They normally hunt indiscriminately.’
‘But why would he send one after me? He said he needed me.’ I realised what I had said as soon as the words left my mouth.
Wolfgang’s eyes narrowed. ‘And when did he tell you this?’
I cringed and whispered, ‘Don’t tell Aethan.’
‘I can’t make promises like that till you tell me.’
‘Oh okay.’ I stuck my bottom lip out in a sulk and stared at the blankets as I plucked at them with my hands. ‘You know how I told you that Galanta trapped me in Trillania?’
His face didn’t lose its intent expression as he nodded.
‘Well she wasn’t alone.’ I turned to face him fully. ‘You and I need to
have a long talk about blood bonds. Anyway a mudman helped me escape, but Santanas had trapped my dragon. So I freed her.’
‘A mudman helped…? Never mind. I’m guessing you got those bonds freeing your dragon?’
I nodded. ‘When they first caught me, Santanas wouldn’t let Galanta hurt me. He said they needed me.’
Wolfgang rubbed his beard with his hands. ‘And why can’t I tell Aethan this?’
‘Cause he won’t let me go back in.’
He looked amused. ‘And when has that ever stopped you from doing what you wanted?’
‘Ha ha.’ I poked my tongue out. ‘It makes things difficult. I’d rather not have to fight him every time I turn up there.’
‘I see. And what about the retcher? Why have you kept that information from him?’
‘Night faeries tried to kill me. He is taking the heir to the night faery throne home to marry his brother. If you are correct in that Santanas is already active in this land, then we are going to need them on our side. I don’t want him doing the chivalrous thing on my behalf and destroying this mission.’
I felt chivalrous as the words came out of my mouth. I could have used this to my advantage as a way to get him away from Ebony. The eighteen-year-old girl inside me was screaming for it, but the Border Guard-trained part had taken over.
Wolfgang stared at me as his eyebrows rose up and down. They did that when he was deep in thought. ‘On one condition,’ he finally said. ‘I’ll keep these secrets if you promise not to go back into Trillania by yourself.’
‘No fear there,’ I said. ‘Galanta can tell when I am there.’
‘Blood bond? Yes, we really do have to have that conversation soon.’ He stood and walked towards the door. ‘How are you feeling?’
‘Better, thanks.’ It was the truth. I did feel better for having talked about it.
‘Well then, sleep well.’
‘Thanks,’ I said. And true to my word, I did.
***
‘Where are you off to?’ Isla had a sullen look on her face as she stood in the doorway to my room.
‘The library.’
‘Again?’ She strode to my bed, curling her legs up under her like a cat as she perched on the edge.
‘I thought there might be some stuff there that could help us.’ In truth, I’d been looking for information on retchers.
‘I’m bored,’ she said, sucking on a piece of her hair.
‘Who’s chaperoning today?’
‘Wilfred and Luke.’
I had been relieved from chaperoning Aethan and Ebony when I had accidentally/on purpose knocked her drink over her when she had leaned in too close to Aethan. That had been a week ago and I was much happier for not having to see them together.
‘How come you aren’t racing off to the garden every second you can?’ she asked.
I paused in the process of putting my writing pad and pen into a bag and turned to face her. ‘I hadn’t realised,’ I said. ‘But you’re right. Being in the castle doesn’t bother me any more.’
She yawned and stretched. ‘Me neither. Weird. Hey, how come you get flowers in your room?’
The flowers had started showing up the day after the banquet. I was guessing the Ubanty women were placing them there when they cleaned, but I had no idea why. If anything I should have been taking them flowers.
‘Not sure.’ I shrugged. ‘You can have them if you want.’
She hopped off the bed and danced over to them, bending over to smell them. ‘Thanks, but I might go and gather some of my own. You want to come?’
It was tempting. I hadn’t been out to see the garden since the party. But my gut told me I needed to find something on the retchers.
‘Maybe tomorrow,’ I said, picking up my bag.
Wolfgang was waiting for me in the main chamber. That was another advantage of going to the library; I got to pick Wolfgang’s brain. We had finally had the blood bond conversation – turned out I had pretty much worked most of it out myself. But he was researching a way for me to hide myself from Galanta. The day before he had pulled a particularly large and dusty book from the top, back corner of the library that he thought might contain some useful information.
‘I thought there would at least be librarians here,’ I said, as we pushed open the creaky door to the library.
‘There were the first couple of days I came,’ he said. ‘Now they all seem to be off scratching their heads over some problem. Ahhhh,’ he pulled the book toward him and blew some more dust off the cover. ‘Come to papa.’
I wandered off to scour the shelves for something that might be of use to me. I’d spent a lot of my school days hiding in the library and I felt quite at home in them. There was something peaceful about so much information just waiting to be found. As if a huge beast of knowledge slumbered within the walls.
I trailed a finger along the spines as I read them: History of the Seven Seas – interesting, but not likely to help me; A Hundred Ways to Light a Candle – I was sure that contained more than the title suggested, at least I hoped so; Hypnosis, How to Control People Without Them Knowing – that one should be burnt.
The ‘H’ area of the library wasn’t turning up anything that seemed remotely like what I was after. I grabbed the ladder on wheels and dragged it to the far end of the shelf, then I climbed to the very top. Rows and rows of books stretched out in front of me. You could spend a lifetime here and not read one tenth of the information. That made me feel very small.
I propped a hand on the shelf to support myself and stood on tiptoes, peering across the top of the bookshelves. It was a whole different world up here. While down below was an organised chaos of information battering to be read, up here was peaceful. Like floating above the clouds.
I swept my eye across the vastness of the library and noticed a small book sitting on the top of the bookshelf two rows down. That was weird. Perhaps someone had left it there while they had been doing the very same thing I was.
I climbed back down the ladder and continued my search, but the little book plucked at my mind.
‘Of fine,’ I muttered. ‘It’s not like I’ve found anything else useful.’
I moved to the correct row and dragged the ladder to the place where I thought the book had been. Then I climbed back to the top of the library. The book was sitting just out of reach. Rather than move the ladder, I leant on top of the bookshelf and stretched my fingers towards it, clawing at it with the tip of my nail till it was within reach.
It was smaller than it had looked; a hand-written book, dirty with years of dust. Tucking it under my arm, I climbed back down the ladder. I pulled it back out and blew at the dust while I walked towards Wolfgang.
‘Isadora.’ He pushed his glasses back up his nose and turned towards me. His obvious excitement made me forget about the book I had saved from obscurity. ‘It’s so simple.’
Before I could ask him what was so simple, the front door of the library banged open. ‘It’s inconceivable,’ a man said. ‘Impossible.’
‘And yet it has happened.’
‘We must tell the King.’
A chorus of voices shouted down that suggestion.
‘We need to find a cure.’
‘It is broken. There is no cure.’
‘That’s the problem with you Lactar. You always assume the impossible.’
Someone, probably Lactar, snarled in response and there was the sound of flesh smacking flesh. It seemed the librarians were a feisty lot.
‘Stop, stop. Fighting will not help. You are both right. We need to tell the King, but that news will go down better once we’ve found the cure. Spread out and start searching.’
In the time they had been arguing Wolfgang had closed the book he’d been reading and quietly returned it to the shelf. He beckoned to me and I picked up my notebook, hurriedly stuffing it into my bag. We crept towards the front of the library, pausing so Wolfgang could peer around the last bookshelf from where we had heard the voices. He nodded and w
e tiptoed towards the front door.
The librarians had their backs to us as they searched the shelves. Before anyone could notice, we slipped through the partly open door and out into the corridor.
‘What was that about?’ I waited till we were well clear of the area to ask.
‘I don’t know, and I’m guessing we’re not meant to.’
It wasn’t till I got back to my room that I realised I still had the little book. Buzznuckle. Now I’d have to take it back, and if the librarians were there, they weren’t going to be happy.
I wiped my sleeve across the title and tilted it to catch the light from the wall. Creatures of the Dark One. My breath caught in excitement. Was it possible that I had accidentally taken the exact book I needed?
I flipped open to the first page and started to read the old, spidery script.
Many animals have been used by the Dark One in his bid to rule the world. While some of these were trapped and forced against their will, others served him willingly. This book will attempt to categorise these creatures.
I flicked through the pages. Someone had painstakingly drawn pictures of the animals they were describing. On the back page, the following was written:
Very Good Cedric. Sound information presented in an interesting way. I particularly liked the illustrations. ‘A plus’.
I flopped back onto my bed. I had stolen somebody’s school assignment. That was typical of how my week had been going. Still, perhaps there was something in here that would help. I mean he had gotten an A plus.
I turned back to the beginning and started leafing through the pages. None of the animals in the book were ones I’d ever heard of. I was guessing by the names of some of them that the whole thing was made up.
Cedric had had a vivid imagination, painting creatures such as the snugalofs and six-toed gurantha as blood-thirsty killers, happy to do dark and dirty work. In contrast, the poor narathymia were trapped into serving the Dark One when their pups were stolen and held hostage.
I was chuckling by the time I got to the end of the book, really enjoying the graphic illustrations. That is, until I turned to the second last page.
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