by Sue Tingey
‘I’m concerned for your safety; we all are.’
‘There must be some way for me to get there safely.’
He wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head. ‘We’ve been worried about you,’ he told me. ‘Even unconscious, you’ve been crying out in pain.’
‘How long did it go on for?’ I asked.
‘About three hours,’ Kerfuffle said, and seeing Jamie’s expression, he frowned at him saying, ‘What?’
‘Can you manage something to eat?’ Shenanigans quickly asked, trying to change the subject.
I shook my head. The thought of Jinx being tortured for three solid hours made me feel too sick to even think of trying to eat.
Jamie studied my face, then gently stroked my cheek with his thumb. ‘If we do as Vaybian said and you fly with me, maybe you’d be safe. The trouble is, we have no idea when the next fit will strike, or how long it’ll last.’
‘And are you sure you’re strong enough? Not only to travel, but to face Philip?’ Kayla added. ‘That’s probably going to be pretty miserable in itself.’
‘I must go,’ I repeated.
‘Great idea,’ Vaybian sneered. ‘If we’d set off five minutes earlier this morning you would have been splattered all over the countryside.’
‘Not if Jamie had been holding me. And anyway, I have to question Philip.’
‘Lucky, it could be a total waste of time – time we probably don’t have,’ Jamie said.
‘But what if it isn’t? What if Philip does know something that might help?’
‘How about I go?’ Kayla butted in. She sat down on the bed next to me. Of course; I’d forgotten Kayla was really dead, so she too could see and hear him. She smiled as she saw the understanding dawn on my face. ‘Besides, we have something in common: we were both tortured and murdered by Amaliel. I’ll probably have more luck in talking him around than you.’
I really wanted to be there, to be doing something, anything other than just sitting around waiting, but she did have a point. ‘You’re right: we didn’t part on the best of terms and you might just be able to talk him into helping us.’
‘What?’ Jamie asked.
‘Kayla says she’ll go and talk to Philip,’ I explained.
‘Actually, that isn’t such a bad idea,’ Jamie admitted.
*
I had to cool my heels waiting for Kayla to return – she promised me it wouldn’t take long, as she wasn’t constrained by distance; as an ethereal body she could go wherever she pleased in not much more than a blink of an eye. All the same, the time she was gone felt like an eternity to me.
Rather than mope, I put my mind to other things, such as whether Baltheza had managed to learn something from Henri. I guessed he hadn’t, he’d have soon told us if he had. It was becoming increasingly obvious that Amaliel didn’t trust a soul; I had a suspicion that if we did learn anything from anyone, it would be because Amaliel wanted us to.
It was more likely that Kubeck would find some answers before Baltheza did; I was counting on him.
‘I’ll go and get him, mistress,’ Kerfuffle volunteered when I’d voiced this opinion. It wasn’t long before he reappeared with the huge daemon in tow.
Kubeck was almost as big as Shenanigans, though more human to look at apart from a short tusk between his eyebrows. He was an unarguably handsome daemon, muscular and broad, with semi-glazed terracotta skin and sandy Grecian curls. I had saved him from a horrible death by execution, which meant he was mine, body and soul, to do with what I wanted, until death us did part. I chose to use him as one of my guard, and he appeared to be happy enough in his new employ – it was certainly better than the alternative.
‘Kubeck has news,’ Kerfuffle said as he marched through the door.
‘It may be nothing,’ he said, giving me a bashful smile.
‘But it may be something,’ Kerfuffle said, plonking a couple of flagons on the low table in the middle of the room.
I gave them a weary smile as I sank down next to it. ‘What have you found, Kubeck?’
‘This.’ He pulled a large folded piece of parchment from his jerkin and handed it to me.
I spread the yellowing document out across my lap, the aged skin crackling beneath my fingertips. My guards clustered around me and Kerfuffle sucked in a gasp. ‘This is not good,’ he said, ‘not good at all.’
I had to agree with him.
‘What is it?’ Vaybian asked, leaning over the table to take a look.
‘It’s a map,’ Kubeck said.
‘A map?’ Vaybian repeated. ‘Of where? I don’t recognise these places.’
‘You wouldn’t,’ I told him. ‘It’s a map of the Overlands.’
Jamie sucked in air through his teeth. ‘Although I sort of thought Amaliel might have crossed over into the world of humans, I’d hoped I was mistaken. That he has Jinx makes me fear for humanity.’
‘What do you mean?’ I asked.
‘He threatened to go to your world to collect the souls of the dead.’
‘You said he couldn’t – you said he didn’t have the power,’ I said in alarm.
‘He hasn’t, but sadly, Jinx has.’
‘Fuck!’ I said, as the penny dropped. Then, ‘Jinx wouldn’t.’
‘He’s been doing it for millennia.’
‘Yes, but only when necessary. Only when he has to.’
Jamie ran a hand through his hair. ‘It’s true that Jinx only takes death to your world to maintain the balance – but what if he went rogue? Think what would happen then.’
I crossed my arms and said stubbornly, ‘He wouldn’t. He hates what he has to do.’
‘Yet still he does it.’
‘It’s his job, his mission, if you like. That’s what he told me. That’s what you told me.’
‘It’s true,’ Jamie said, albeit a bit reluctantly, ‘both he and I are governed by certain laws. But what I’m trying to say is, if he’s being tortured, if he’s being put under duress, then maybe, just maybe, Amaliel can make him do something he would never have done before.’
And it slowly dawned on me that Jamie might be right. I had never felt as miserable as I did then. If let loose in my world, Jinx would be the ultimate weapon of mass destruction, and that would give Amaliel exactly what he wanted: hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions of souls. If he followed in Jinx’s wake cursing the dying as he had in this world, tying the dead to the Overlands so he and his cult of Sicarii could feed on them … It didn’t bear thinking about.
Then another thought hit me. ‘But Amaliel knows that the living can’t travel to the other side,’ I said. ‘That was his objective before. Now he knows it’s impossible, what would be the point in collecting more souls?’
Jamie’s face twisted into an angry frown. ‘To be cruel, to torture and to cause pain?’
‘He must be insane to do something so wicked.’
‘He is,’ Jamie said simply, ‘and he’s linked to the Sicarii, who’ve been around for a very long time, and like any cult, their rituals have become obsessions. It’s like humans praying to their gods. People do it, even though time and again their prayers aren’t answered – they carry on because it’s what they believe.’
‘Believing in God is hardly the same as cursing the dying—’
‘Maybe not, but it’s still as pointless.’
‘You can argue about it all day,’ Kerfuffle interrupted, clearly irritated, ‘but even if Amaliel is doomed to failure it’s not going to stop him from trying.’ He gestured to Kubeck. ‘Show them what else you found.’
Kubeck delved into the pocket of his jerkin and pulled out a small, hide-covered book. ‘He writes in some sort of code, which I couldn’t make head nor tail of, but towards the back there are some sketches I recognised.’ He flicked through the book and handed it to me.
Jamie dropped down next to me to peer at the page. It was covered with pictures of little oblong cages on chains.
‘You recognise these?’ Jamie said,
looking up at Kubeck.
The huge daemon nodded, his expression grim.
‘What are they?’ I asked.
Kubeck moved closer and glanced around, as though worried he’d be overheard. My other guards read his body language too and closed in around us. This was somehow very important, and I had to suppress a shiver as a full battalion of Royal Marines marched right over my grave.
‘I’ve seen such drawings before,’ Kubeck told us, ‘in my uncle’s workshop.’
‘Kubeck’s uncle is a gold and silversmith,’ Shenanigans explained.
‘I remember,’ I said, but I was confused by the sudden change of direction. ‘What does jewellery have to do with anything?’
Kubeck moved even closer and crouched down in front of us. ‘About five or six months ago Amaliel Cheriour swept into the smithy demanding to see Uncle Davna. My cousin took him out back and they were squirrelled away with my uncle for a couple of hours or more.’ Kubeck rubbed his chin. ‘When Amaliel left, I could tell my uncle was worried. He shut up shop for the rest of the day and went home. Simion, my cousin, was another matter. He was excited and strutting around the place like he was suddenly a very important person.’
‘Did you ask him what Amaliel wanted?’ Kerfuffle asked.
Kubeck gave a half-smile. ‘Of course I did – we all did. The court’s Chief Enforcer and Corrector visiting our little workshop was …’ He shook his head as though he couldn’t quite believe what he was about to say. ‘It was exciting, if a trifle scary.’
‘It’s the sort of excitement I could do without,’ Kerfuffle murmured.
‘You, my friend, are quite right,’ Kubeck agreed. ‘Simion was full of himself for days; at least when we got to see him. He spent most of his time locked away in my uncle’s workroom. About two months later we had another visit from Amaliel, and when he left he was carrying a red leather-bound box. It was clear that my uncle and Simion had been making something very special for him, but neither of them would talk about it – my uncle was scared, but Simion would tap the side of his nose with his foreclaw and wink. Of course I knew what would happen. Simion had a liking for grog, but unlike the rest of us he couldn’t hold it. One night he had one too many and it all came tumbling out: he and Uncle had made Amaliel four crystal phials, to be worn in intricately designed golden baskets hung from golden chains. Four phials, four baskets and four chains.’
‘Not good, not good,’ Kerfuffle said.
‘No, not good at all. When Simion woke up the following morning and realised he’d let the drakon out of the cage he was terrified. He knew it was only a matter of time before Amaliel found out he’d flapped his tongue. Sure enough, within the week he was arrested for treason and executed.’
‘And when you tried to clear his name you were arrested too?’ Jamie said.
Kubeck nodded.
‘Gentlemen please,’ I said, ‘can we get back to the point: what’s the relevance of this jewellery?’
Kubeck’s eyes were worried when they met mine. ‘A very long time ago there was a daemon princess who, rumour had it, murdered her lovers when she had no further use for them and retained their spirits in small glass phials which she wore upon a chain about her neck.’
‘Necrodyti,’ Kerfuffle said.
‘Pardon?’
‘Her name was Necrodyti.’
‘That’s the one,’ Kubeck agreed. ‘We believe that the trinkets Amaliel asked my uncle to make were for the same purpose.’
‘I knew Amaliel was evil, but I never imagined he used the dark arts,’ Kerfuffle said. ‘I’m surprised your uncle and cousin agreed to make them.’
‘Would you deny anything to the Court Enforcer and Corrector?’ Kubeck said.
‘True enough,’ Kerfuffle said.
‘Anyway, before I was arrested I learned something even more interesting.’ He leaned in and lowered his voice to a whisper. ‘My uncle, distraught over the loss of his son, told me that this wasn’t the first time; Amaliel had come to him once before, a quarter-century ago.’
‘To make crystal phials?’ Shenanigans asked, his voice hushed, as though he too thought someone might be listening.
Kubeck’s head bobbed. ‘One amethyst phial. He told my uncle it was for a very special lady, and Uncle Davna didn’t think he meant as a gift.’
There was a knock on the door, stopping our discussion dead: four guards were standing outside to escort Jamie and me to Baltheza’s private chambers. Kayla hadn’t yet returned, which was weighing heavy on my mind, and I really could have done without having to talk to her father; I nearly always felt emotionally drained after one of our conversations.
‘I wonder what he wants now,’ Jamie said.
‘Let’s hope it’s good news,’ I said, though I seriously doubted it.
‘I wouldn’t wager on it,’ Jamie said with a snort.
‘Jamie, this is taking far too long.’
‘Jinx is strong and he’s obviously fighting Amaliel.’
‘But what if Amaliel does break him?’ I asked.
‘He won’t,’ Jamie said.
I hoped he was right. I couldn’t bear to think of what Amaliel might be doing to Jinx. On a previous occasion Baltheza had boasted that his chief executioner could reduce a daemon to barely more than a beating heart and the poor creature would still live; he could make a victim scream until his lungs bled without causing any permanent damage. That’s probably what he would do to Jinx if we were right and he wanted Jinx alive and under his control.
Baltheza was standing by the huge fireplace that dominated the back wall of his chamber. He glanced up briefly as Jamie and I entered, but then resumed his study of the flaming logs as they crackled and spat. We stopped halfway across the room and stood waiting; he would get to the point eventually, I was quite sure.
‘Did the human tell you anything worthy of note?’ he asked, when I’d almost thought he’d forgotten we were there.
‘No,’ I said, and explained how I’d had another attack as we were about to leave, though I had a suspicion he already knew this. Why he insisted on playing these games I had no idea. ‘Did you have better luck with Henri?’ I asked.
Baltheza abruptly swung around to face us. ‘Mr le Dent was amazingly uncommunicative, at least of anything that mattered.’
‘We do have some news,’ Jamie said, in an unusually tentative tone for him.
Baltheza’s nostrils flared. ‘Why do I think I am about to hear something I’d rather I didn’t?’
‘We think Amaliel may have set his sights on the Overlands.’
Baltheza’s forked tongue flickered across his lips. ‘If this is so, it is the worst of possibilities.’
‘We have to find him,’ I said.
‘Do you think you will?’ Baltheza looked from me to Jamie.
‘We have to,’ Jamie told him. ‘If we don’t it won’t just be the Overlands that will be at risk.’
Baltheza drew in a deep breath and slowly exhaled. ‘Then I suggest you head for the human world sooner rather than later.’ His attention switched to me, his blazing orange eyes staring into mine. ‘And how are you bearing up, Lucinda?’
‘All right, I suppose,’ I lied.
He considered me for a few heartbeats longer. ‘Guardian,’ he said, his eyes remaining locked with mine, ‘see to it that Lucinda returns to our world safe and sound. She may not be my daughter by blood, but she’s all I have left.’
‘My Lord,’ Jamie said, bowing, and with that Baltheza turned back to the fire and we were dismissed.
*
‘It’s most odd how he’s suddenly taken a shine to you,’ Jamie commented as we started along the corridor.
‘I’m not sure whether I should be relieved or—’ I started, but it turned into a scream as a welt of burning pain seared my back. ‘Ahhh—!’ I groaned as I collapsed against the wall.
Jamie grabbed my arm to stop me sliding to the floor as another red-hot poker burned into my back and an image from the past flashed int
o my head: Amaliel, pressing a long glowing iron rod against Vaybian’s body. And I knew without a shadow of a doubt that was what he was doing to Jinx; he was branding him with red-hot irons.
I was screaming loud enough that the whole palace could probably hear me, and as Jamie scooped me into his arms I heard a door slam and then Baltheza’s voice and a cool hand taking mine as Jamie hurried along the passageway to our chamber.
Five times Amaliel branded Jinx. Five times I felt his skin blister and burn as if it was mine and, as he pressed the final poker again his flesh, I heard Amaliel whisper as clear as if he was in the room with me, ‘You will be bound to me – fight it as much as you want, but you will be mine.’
Jinx gasped, ‘Never!’ and for a split-second I rejoiced that he still had the strength to fight him, but it was to be only one moment of celebration. Amaliel’s expression of displeasure was swift and he pressed the tip of another glowing iron into Jinx, starting just above his right hip and then going through flesh and muscle until it came out the other side.
I didn’t pass out, as such, though I might have been delirious, for reality merged with a dreamlike state where I tumbled from one nightmare to another. At least, I hoped they were nightmares; at the time they were incredibly real.
I heard voices talking in hushed whispers. ‘Stop it!’ I cried. ‘Stop your vile plotting and scheming.’ Then my head was lifted and they dripped more of the sleep-bringing liqueur between my lips and at last I slept.
They were still talking in quiet voices when I awoke, though my mind was no longer so befuddled that I thought they were whispering about me – well, maybe they were, but if so I was certain it was in a good way.
‘You may be her guard but you’re also her lover – that, my friend, gives you the right to have some say in the matter – not to mention that you’re the Guardian,’ Vaybian said.
Okay – maybe not so much in a good way. I kept my eyes closed – not because I wanted to snoop, but listening to Vaybian wasn’t helping my thumping head any.
‘I can just imagine you standing up to the Lady Kayla like that,’ Kerfuffle muttered.
