The Skeleton Clock

by Justin Richards

  ‘What?’

  ‘The other boat is leaving. Where are they off to?’

  ‘And have they got Jake and Sarah and the Toymaker?’ Revelle wondered.

  The answer came in the form of a dark shape that rose out of the water beside the cabin. Silhouetted against the full moon, a Phibian pointed its webbed fingers at the boat pulling away from the end of Shaft Street.

  ‘They want us to follow it,’ Cath said.

  ‘Then we follow it,’ Revelle told her, and turned the wheel.

  *

  They saw only one of the Brotherhood on their way into Whispers. Miss Patterson spoke to him briefly, and he bowed his hooded head and disappeared into the shadows.

  The candles were burning all along the railing that ran round the gallery. Jake found it hard to believe so much had happened since he was last here – the place looked exactly the same. The massive dome rose up above them, fading into the darkness. The statues looked down impassively.

  He thought back to all the times he had come to Whispers with Geoff. Somewhere along the gallery was Geoff’s stash – his most treasured possessions and finds. But Jake was happy to leave it where it was.

  The Toymaker set down the chess table. It wobbled slightly on the uneven floor and almost filled the path round the gallery. Sarah put the bag of chess pieces on top of the table.

  Miss Patterson was looking round with interest. She turned to the two Defeaters who had followed them out on to the gallery, and frowned. ‘Where are the others?’

  The Defeaters looked round, equally puzzled. ‘Cooper was here just now,’ one of them said.

  ‘Markham might have gone back to the boat,’ the other offered.

  Miss Patterson sighed. ‘I’ll deal with them later.’

  ‘The White Knight,’ Azuras rasped impatiently. He was still wearing his cloak, the hood pushed back and his golden mask gleaming in the candlelight.

  ‘The boy will get it,’ Mandrake said. ‘If he wants to live.’

  ‘If he wants his friends to live,’ Miss Patterson added.

  ‘I’ll get it,’ Jake agreed. ‘But you have to let them go. Let them go now,’ he said defiantly, ‘or else you don’t get the Knight.’

  ‘Get the Knight, or they die now,’ Miss Patterson told him. He raised her hand, and the two Defeaters raised their guns, aiming them at Sarah and her father.

  ‘All right.’ Jake nodded. ‘All right. But I’ll go alone. It’s over there.’ He pointed across the dark empty centre beyond the rail to where his stash was hidden on the other side of the gallery.

  ‘You bring us the Knight, and you can all go free.’

  Jake shook his head. ‘I’ll find it, show it to you, and leave it on that side. Then I walk back here while you walk the other way round the gallery to get it. You leave Sarah and her dad here. Then you get what you want, and we get to leave the way we came in.’

  ‘We do not make bargains with children,’ Azuras snapped.

  ‘Then you don’t get your Knight. You don’t get your body back or whatever it is you want.’

  ‘It’s a fair deal,’ the Toymaker said. ‘You’ll see the Knight, you know what you’re getting.’

  ‘Just do it,’ Sarah said.

  She sounded nervous, but she smiled at Jake. It made him feel more confident. But would Miss Patterson and Mandrake – and Azuras – keep to their side of the agreement?

  Jake had no choice. He walked slowly round the gallery, aware that everyone was watching him. Aware that the Defeaters were tracking his progress with their guns. On the far side, he paused, and looked back, across the deep dark water below and between them.

  ‘You will let us go?’

  Miss Patterson laughed. ‘Of course. We have an agreement. I’ll make sure my Defeaters allow you safe passage out of here.’

  Jake nodded. He turned to the stone bench. As he turned he saw Miss Patterson moving to talk to the two Defeaters standing by the back wall opposite. Saw her lean forward and whisper to them. He knelt down, teasing out the loose stone that concealed his stash.

  Marianna Patterson’s voice sounded like it came from just behind his shoulder. Her whispered orders carried easily across the dome: ‘Once we have the Knight, kill them all.’

  Somehow, knowing what he had suspected made Jake calmer and more assured. He stood up and turned round, holding the Knight up so they could see it. ‘I’ll leave it here,’ he said, and placed it carefully on the railing. The figure on horseback balanced easily in the middle of the wide metal rail, looking out across the water.

  ‘Coming back now,’ Jake said. ‘You leave my friends there and you can come and get the Knight. Though I don’t know why you want it,’ he went on as he started to walk slowly round the gallery. ‘It’s just a toy.’

  ‘It is the final piece of the chess set made by Rahan the Wise,’ Azuras said. ‘It will guarantee eternal life. It will restore my body to me.’

  Jake took another step. ‘If you say so. Get it if you want it, but leave Sarah and the Toymaker there.’

  Mandrake moved first, Azuras close behind him. Miss Patterson glanced at the Defeaters, then followed.

  ‘You really think you’ll discover the secret of eternal life?’ Jake asked as he took another step, keeping Azuras and the others opposite him. ‘What about the Phibians? Aren’t they your vision of the future?’

  ‘A means to an end,’ Miss Patterson said. ‘Useful for a while, but ultimately of no consequence. With the secret of eternal life, my options are considerably greater and more interesting.’

  ‘What are you going to do with the Phibians?’ Sarah asked.

  Miss Patterson shrugged. ‘I haven’t decided. But they will be disposed of.’

  ‘You mean killed,’ Sarah said sharply.

  ‘They are animals. When they are no longer of any value, they’ll be put down.’

  Jake kept his attention on Miss Patterson and the others. He tried not to look as the dark shape of a Phibian slipped out of the shadowy doorway and on to the gallery. As it clamped a scaly hand over the mouth of the nearest Defeater and dragged him suddenly backwards – through the door and out of sight.

  Azuras paused. ‘Rahan promised to restore my true body to me, when I solved his riddle, when I completed his challenge,’ he said, his voice laced with contempt. ‘And once I have – ’

  But his words were lost in Mandrake’s sudden shout of warning. He was pointing across the gallery – at the last Defeater, and at the two Phibians moving up behind him.

  The Defeater turned, and fired. One of the Phibians was sent reeling back, crashing to the floor. The other hurled itself at the Defeater. The gun was knocked aside, bullets spraying up into the high dome. Then the Defeater was lifted off his feet and thrown across the gallery. His back caught the railing, and he pivoted. His face was a contorted mask of pain and surprise, frozen for a moment as he toppled backwards.

  Then he was falling, screaming, splashing into the water below.

  Azuras moved quickly, hurrying back along the gallery and grabbing Sarah. She gave a shriek as he dragged her back towards Miss Patterson. Mandrake had run to gather up the Defeater’s dropped gun. He and Miss Patterson were covering the Phibians grouped behind the Toymaker.

  ‘You can’t stop us now,’ Miss Patterson said angrily. ‘We have the Knight, and you will all die here.’

  ‘Why would we want to stop you?’ the Toymaker said calmly. ‘You’ve completed the puzzle and the body of Azuras has been restored to him. Doing it all again with a copy of one of the Knights will make no difference.’

  ‘What do you mean, a copy?’ Mandrake demanded.

  ‘The real Knight was in my workshop. I gave Jake the copy. Wouldn’t you?’ the Toymaker asked. ‘If you had the choice. I would hardly give the stupid waterlark the real valuable piece if I could fob him off with one I made, a fake.’

  ‘You lie,’ Azuras said. ‘If the pieces were real, if the Knight was not a copy, then my body would be restored to me.’
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  ‘And, as I told you, it was.’

  Jake suddenly felt cold. ‘That powder,’ he realised. ‘The pieces.’ Horrified, he tore his attention away from Sarah’s frightened face and looked at the Toymaker. ‘The table as well?’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Azuras roared. His Phibian arm was tight across Sarah’s neck. She was pulling at it, gouging out rotting, stinking flesh, but Azuras paid no attention. ‘What are you saying?’

  ‘I am saying that Rahan kept his word. Now, keep yours – and let my daughter go.’

  The Toymaker walked slowly to the chess table, all eyes now on him. He tipped up the hessian bag, emptying the pieces across the table. ‘We thought these were ivory,’ he said. ‘So intricately carved, so beautifully made.’ He looked up, holding a pawn. ‘But they’re not, are they. Like the table itself, they are made from bone.’

  Mandrake’s mouth dropped open. Miss Patterson was looking suddenly pale and afraid.

  ‘Your bone,’ the Toymaker said, pointing at Azuras. ‘That is why the pieces are alive, in a way. That is what Rahan did for all those years. That is where your body went.’ He patted the top of the clock attached to the table. ‘The Skeleton Clock that never stops. So aptly named. Eternal life. Your life. It’s all here. The pieces, the table, the clock all fashioned from your bones, and what was left…’ He reached down and pressed one of the drawers. It clicked open and the Toymaker reached in – just as Azuras had earlier – and drew out a handful of white dust. ‘What was left – the trimmings and leftovers – was ground up and put inside the table.’

  He opened his hand and the dust drifted away like smoke. ‘Your body has been restored to you, just as Rahan promised.’

  ‘No!’ Azuras shouted. ‘It is a trick. The challenge was not completed. When it is my bones will knit together and I will be whole again.’

  He pushed Sarah violently away from him, along the gallery, towards where the White Knight stood balanced on the railing.

  ‘That is the real piece, the real White Knight,’ Azuras said.

  ‘How do you know?’ Mandrake asked nervously. ‘Perhaps he’s telling the truth.’

  ‘It’s real!’ Azuras snarled. ‘I can feel it. I can feel it in my bones.’

  Sarah was staggering to her feet. Azuras stepped forward and shoved her again, forcing her towards the White Knight.

  ‘Step away from the table,’ Miss Patterson ordered the Toymaker, her gun levelled and her eyes glinting with hatred.

  ‘You know what?’ Jake shouted. ‘You’re right. That is the real White Knight, and I can prove it. But you’ll never find out if it makes a difference.’

  Azuras paused. He was almost within reach of the White Knight now. He hesitated and his golden face turned towards Jake. The eyes were dark shadows in the gloom. Candlelight flickered off the burnished cheeks.

  ‘I know how the pieces move,’ Jake said. He remembered how the figure had moved when he called it a ‘good knight’, how Atherton had told him they could be ordered to move if addressed by name. ‘I know how to stop you,’ he said quietly. Then, louder, he commanded: ‘Knight – advance.’

  And the tiny, intricately-carved horse made of bone leaped forward. Off the rail. Into the darkness.

  Azuras’s cry was a roar of rage and anger and fear and hatred. He grabbed the nearest thing and hurled it after the Knight. And the nearest thing was Sarah. She crashed over the rail, arms thrashing as she fell after the chess piece.

  Then Azuras was following. Climbing up. Leaping out from the gallery. Splashing into the water as he dived after the chess piece, desperate to recover it. Desperate to play the game again and defeat Rahan the Wise. Desperate for his life.

  Chapter 26

  Jake leaned over the rail. There was no sign of the Knight, or Sarah, or Azuras. Just ripples spreading across the surface of the water. For the briefest moment, the head of a Phibian rose up from the depths. It large, pale eyes stared up at Jake, as if warning him not to follow, then it was gone.

  Mandrake was backing away towards the nearest door. Marianna Patterson was turning quickly to cover first the Toymaker, then Jake, then the Phibians with her gun.

  ‘Defeaters!’ she shouted. ‘Where are you? Come here!’

  Two dark figures appeared in a doorway close to her, and Miss Patterson visibly relaxed. Until they stepped out into the candlelight. Then she quickly swung the gun round to point at them.

  ‘How did you get here?’ she demanded.

  ‘In your boat, actually,’ Officer Revelle told her.

  ‘You’re under arrest,’ Cath said simply.

  Marianna Patterson laughed. ‘Me? You really are naive, aren’t you. How can you possibly arrest me? On what grounds?’

  ‘Well,’ Revelle said, ‘I think murder and abduction will do to start with.’

  ‘I think you are forgetting who I am. And that I am armed.’ She took aim at Revelle.

  ‘I know who you are,’ he said, unmoved. ‘And you are outgunned.’ As he spoke, figures appeared from the other doorways round the gallery. Uniformed Officers of the Watch, stepping out and aiming their handguns at Miss Patterson.

  ‘I happened to know from experience that the Brotherhood have a radio,’ Revelle said. ‘So I called for some help.’

  ‘You’ll never get away with this,’ Miss Patterson said. But she lowered her gun, placing it carefully on the curving stone bench by the wall. ‘As soon as Albright hears about it, I shall be free to go. And then…’ Her lips curled into a cruel smile.

  ‘As soon as Albright hears about what?’ a caustic voice demanded. Albright stepped out of a doorway behind the Toymaker and walked slowly round the gallery towards Revelle, Cath and Miss Patterson. ‘What exactly is going on here, Officer Revelle? Have you exceeded your authority again? I’ve spoken to you about this before.’

  Jake found he was holding his breath as Albright stopped in front of Revelle.

  ‘Well?’

  ‘He thinks he can detain me for some reason,’ Miss Patterson said. She sounded confident and calm.

  ‘Does he now.’ Albright stared deep into Revelle’s eyes. Then he looked away. ‘You’re under arrest, and you’ve got a lot of explaining to do.’

  ‘I’m glad you remember our arrangement,’ Miss Patterson said.

  Albright turned slowly to face her, and Jake could see his eyes were burning with anger. ‘I wasn’t talking to Office Revelle,’ he said. ‘I was talking to you. I repeat, you’re under arrest.’

  Miss Patterson took a step back.

  ‘Take her away,’ Albright told the nearest Watch man. ‘Find her a cell. We’ll deal with her later. Eventually.’

  The men grabbed Miss Patterson’s arms, pulling her towards the nearest doorway. She struggled and kicked. ‘You can’t do this! You’ll pay for this Albright. If I don’t sign the power permit, your daughter will die.’

  The Watch men hesitated, waiting for Albright’s reaction. For a moment he was silent and still. Then he turned away. ‘My daughter died weeks ago,’ he said quietly. ‘And they turned off the support systems last night.’

  First surprise, then shock and horror registered on Miss Patterson’s face. She was still struggling, still shouting as she was dragged through the dark doorway.

  *

  The weight of the head was pulling him down. If only he could open the mask, Azuras knew he could swim back up to the surface. But first he had to find the Knight.

  He drifted down through the murky water, his Phibian body felt at home in the water. But there was no sign of the chess piece, no way he could see more than a few feet in front of him.

  Something moved in front of his limited vision. A dark shape – another Phibian. Then his outstretched hands felt the bottom, the floor of the old cathedral, layered with mud and silt. His webbed fingers closed on something – an irregular shape, a lump of stone or twist of metal. Or possibly – just possibly – a figure of a soldier on horseback.

  Azuras kicked off from the bottom, trying t
o swim upwards. But the heavy gold mask was keeping him down. His body strained. The steel rods that attached the head to the body were pulling and twisting. The flesh already weakened with age and decay was pulling apart like rotten meat.

  A golden head toppled free from a dead body, and drifted down to land on the cathedral floor. Close to a figure on horseback carved from bone.

  The Head lay there, at an angle, the only movement the hint of life behind the dark eye sockets of the mask.

  Then the Phibians began to cluster round, dropping rocks and stones around the golden Head, piling them on top of it, burying it for ever. While a girl with long blond hair drifting round her in the swirling waters watched, and smiled sadly.

  *

  ‘Mandrake’s gone,’ Revelle realised. ‘He must have slipped away.’

  ‘We can pick him up later,’ Albright said. ‘He won’t get far. And I have another job for you.’

  ‘But we’ve been up all night,’ Cath complained.

  ‘So another hour or two won’t make a lot of difference, then,’ Albright told her.

  Jake was hardly listening. He was sure that Sarah would be all right. Almost sure. But even so, he was leaning over the gallery rail staring down at the water. He stared so hard he thought he must be able to see into the depths. He was tempted to jump in and find her, but he knew the water would be cold and dark and she could manage better without him.

  Even so…

  ‘She’ll be fine,’ Sarah’s father said quietly. He was standing beside Jake, and put his hand on the boy’s shoulder. ‘Really, she will.’ He glanced down into the water as Jake looked up at him. ‘There you are, you see.’

  Jake looked back, and saw Sarah staring up at him. Her long hair was clinging to her head and she had never seemed more beautiful.

  ‘You’re all right!’ Jake exclaimed.

  ‘In better shape than Azuras,’ she called back. ‘What’s happening up there?’

  ‘Miss Patterson is under arrest,’ Jake called back.