by Conrad Mason
‘We’re here to rescue you,’ snapped Tabitha. ‘So the least you could do is show a bit of gratitude and help us find a way out of here.’
‘Your father wants you back,’ said Joseph.
‘My father?’
‘He sent us to save you. Well, sort of. He captured some of our friends, and if we can get you back to him safely, he’ll let them go. And he’ll help us Fayters fight our enemies. The League of the Light.’
The mermaid bit her lip.
‘My father sent you – a mongrel boy and a blue-headed girl-child. Is that all I’m worth to him?’ She sounded like she might be about to cry, and for a moment Tabitha almost felt sorry for her. Almost.
‘Can we just—?’ she began, but Joseph was already speaking.
‘How long have they kept you here?’ he asked.
Pallione shrugged. ‘A couple of weeks. It was worse at Harry’s Shark Pit. They locked us up so tight we could barely turn round in the cages.’
‘And then there were the fight days. When you never knew who would be coming back with you. If you got any extra room, it was only because your comrade had been—’ She stopped abruptly.
Tabitha opened her mouth again, then thought better of it. She could hardly suggest ways to escape after the mermaid had just said that.
‘I thought my life was hard,’ said Joseph.
The mermaid made a sound like a laugh, but without much humour in it.
‘And now this. A pair of children come to rescue me. My father rules the very ocean, and this is all he can muster.’
‘Funny,’ said Tabitha. ‘I thought you merfolk didn’t have any magical powers when you’re out of the sea. So he wouldn’t be able to—’
Pallione waved her hand impatiently. ‘That’s not the point. The point is, he’s too busy with his precious kingdom to care about his own daughter.’
‘I’ve heard stories about him,’ said Joseph. ‘Is it true he’s older than the Ebony Ocean? And that he wrestles sea demons for fun? And—’
‘Of course it’s not true,’ Tabitha interrupted.
‘Then what is he like?’
‘Boring,’ said Pallione. ‘And strict. Always saying don’t do this or don’t touch that.’ She paused for a moment, then spoke in a small voice. ‘Sometimes, when I was little, he took me to race against dolphins and to find pretty shells on the sea bed. And when I was older, he took me to the harbour to look at Port Fayt. We’d swim up above the surface and watch the big wooden ships coming and going, and the people running around on the docks. Always in a hurry.’
Tabitha snorted. That part was true enough. Pallione scowled at her, confused. She was about to explain when the mermaid spoke again.
‘Father used to say that there were good people in Port Fayt, but bad ones too. People who would catch merfolk and be cruel to them. He told me not to swim too close.’ There was a quaver in her voice now. ‘But what did he expect me to do? He doesn’t spend time with me any more, and he doesn’t want me to make friends either. He expects me to act like a princess. I don’t even know what that means, and …’
The mermaid tailed off, glaring at Joseph. He was chuckling.
‘What’s so funny?’ asked Tabitha.
‘Sorry,’ said Joseph. ‘It’s just … My father used to take me down to the docks at sunset sometimes, to watch for merfolk tails splashing in the bay.’ He smiled at Pallione. ‘So maybe we were watching you, while you were watching us.’
Tabitha rolled her eyes.
The mermaid just frowned. ‘Maybe,’ she said. She thought for a few moments. ‘That’s funny.’ She didn’t sound convinced.
‘Right,’ said Tabitha briskly. ‘Enough talk. Let’s get out of here.’
There was a soft thunk as Pallione’s tail slapped against the rock she was sitting on.
‘No,’ she said. ‘It’s not possible. If it was, I would have already done it without your help.’
Tabitha gritted her teeth. She had known the mermaid less than an hour and was already sick of her. If they hadn’t needed the King’s help, she’d have been happy to leave Pallione behind.
‘Oh really? You said yourself, you can’t even walk.’
The mermaid leaned forward. ‘Why don’t you come over here and say that?’
‘Maybe I will.’
There was a scrape of stone as Joseph shifted position.
‘I don’t know – maybe Tabs is right. We could at least talk about what to do?’
At last the tavern boy was standing up for her, Tabitha thought. Thalin knew, it was the least she deserved. Especially after the stunt he’d pulled with the blackwine.
Pallione lifted her chin. ‘Talk, if you must.’
‘I say one of us pretends to be sick,’ said Tabitha. ‘So we yell and scream for help. If we kick up enough of a fuss, someone’s bound to come. Then we can whack them over the head and take their keys.’
Silence from her two companions.
‘I see,’ said the mermaid at last. ‘And you don’t think they’ll guess we’re trying to escape?’
Rage boiled up inside Tabitha. She sprang to her feet, her dress swishing as she crossed the cavern in two strides and faced up to the mermaid. Even in the gloom she could make out Pallione’s emerald-green eyes and silky white hair. It was true what the merfolk had said. She is beautiful. Stuck-up too.
‘So you want to die then?’
‘Merfolk are not afraid of death.’
‘Neither are—’
‘Hush,’ said Joseph. They both turned to look. He had his pointed ears pressed up against the bars, listening. ‘Do you hear something?’
Tabitha and Pallione fell silent.
Footsteps.
Light spilled in through the bars of the door, throwing thick black lines across the cavern. There was a jangle of keys, a scraping of metal as one went into the lock, and a clunk as it turned. Then a creak as the door swung open, and three silhouetted figures stepped inside.
The first two were bully boys with cutlasses hanging from their belts. They stood guard just inside the doorway. The third was a goblin, with a lantern in one hand and a ring of keys in the other. He was dressed in an outfit even more ludicrous than the ones Joseph and Tabitha had on. Large gold hoops dangled from his ears. His yellow coat had purple trimmings and clashed violently with his silver waistcoat, orange breeches and red tricorne hat.
Joseph gasped. Tabitha groaned.
‘Well, well, well,’ said the goblin. His grin revealed sharp teeth, and his pale eyes darted from one prisoner to another. ‘Long time no see.’
‘You know this scum?’ asked Pallione.
‘Unfortunately, yes,’ said Tabitha.
‘His name’s Jeb,’ said Joseph. ‘Jeb the Snitch.’
Chapter Twenty
JEB HADN’T CHANGED much. Still smug. Still grinning. Still dressed like a pile of dragon’s vomit.
And probably still as reliable as a barrel with no bottom.
Tabitha had never trusted the goblin. Not even in the old days, when he used to help the Demon’s Watch by ratting out other crooks. She’d been right as well. In the end he’d betrayed the watchmen and tried to get them all killed by a mad pirate. He was trouble through and through.
‘You’re Newt’s little girl, ain’t yer?’ said Jeb, stuffing the keys into a pocket. ‘What a lovely dress.’ He winked at her and Tabitha had to suppress a shudder. ‘And you …’ He turned to Joseph. ‘You’re the little bleeder who stole that wooden spoon off me. Might’ve known you’d end up with the Watch. Slimy do-gooder like you.’
‘What are you doing here?’ Joseph asked. ‘Are you working for the Boy King now?’
‘Seems so, don’t it? Bit of honest work for once, so to speak.’ Jeb’s grin grew wider. ‘Course, this here’s so much fun it hardly counts as work.’
‘What do you want, greyskin?’ spat Pallione. Tabitha had to hand it to her – the mermaid had guts.
Jeb narrowed his pale eyes at her. ‘Straight to bus
iness, is it? All right then. We’re carting you lot off to the banqueting cavern. His glorious highness has decided what to do with you.’
He clicked his fingers at one of the bully boys and the man stepped outside, returning a moment later trundling a wheelbarrow.
Pallione eyed it with obvious distaste.
‘That’s for rotten vegetables. Not a princess.’
‘Is that so?’ said Jeb. ‘Maybe yer should’ve thought of that before crossing his supreme excellency. No fancy carriages for you, my dear.’
‘What … er … What has he decided to do with us?’ asked Joseph. Tabitha saw that he was wringing his hands.
‘Don’t want to spoil the surprise,’ said Jeb. ‘But let’s just say it involves a big fire, some fiddly harnesses and a rather unusual use of a spit. Lord Wren says it were one of Zargath the Sorcerer’s favourite execution methods. So yer won’t be disappointed.’ He sniggered, and the bully boys joined in. ‘Now, don’t want to keep his majestic royalness waiting, do we?’
The bully boys took hold of Pallione, one snatching her tail and the other grabbing her arms from behind. The mermaid struggled and cried out, but she wasn’t strong enough, and they dumped her into the wheelbarrow. Tabitha tensed, ready to fight, but Jeb produced a pistol from his coat pocket and levelled it at her. It was a strange-looking thing with four different barrels clustered together, all made of metal.
‘Don’t look so surprised, my dear. This little beauty was made by a friend of mine. So’s yer can kill four men instead of just one.’
Tabitha shrugged, doing her best to stay calm. ‘I’m surprised, all right. Surprised that you have any friends.’
Jeb chuckled and ran his tongue over his sharp teeth. His ears twitched.
‘Well then. This here’s going to surprise you even more.’
The goblin spun round in a whirl of yellow coat-tails.
BANG!
The nearest bully boy jerked and slumped against the open cell door, hands clawing at his throat, blood foaming down his blue velvet jacket.
Tabitha’s brain was working in slow motion, trying to keep up with what her eyes were seeing. Had Jeb just shot his own man? And now he was turning, aiming the smoking pistol at the other bully boy as it whirred, rotating and locking the second barrel into position …
Quick as lightning, Pallione snatched the cutlass from the dying man’s belt and swung it to point at Jeb’s throat. The goblin twisted, levelling the pistol at her instead. The last bully boy seized the moment, turned tail and shot out of the cell, his boots pounding and echoing down the corridor.
‘You stupid fish girl,’ snarled Jeb. ‘Now he’s going to raise the alarm, ain’t he?’
Tabitha sprang forward, piling into Jeb and knocking him flying. His lantern skittered away across the cavern floor, along with the pistol. She scrambled to hold the goblin down but he lashed out, catching her a stinging blow on the mouth and knocking her sideways.
‘Stop,’ said someone. Tabitha looked up to see Joseph holding the pistol with both hands, aiming it at Jeb. The weapon shook. But at this range even he couldn’t miss.
‘You bilge-brains,’ groaned Jeb, climbing to his feet and dusting off his hat. ‘Can’t you see I’m trying to help you escape?’
Tabitha would have thought she was dreaming if her jaw wasn’t hurting so badly. There had to be some mistake. Jeb the Snitch was helping them? What next – talking fish? Modest magicians? ‘What’s going on?’ she demanded.
Jeb gave an elaborate sigh. ‘Do you want me to explain,’ he said, as though he was talking to a child throwing a tantrum, ‘or do you want to get out of here in one piece?’
Somewhere in the distance there were shouts, and running footsteps.
‘They’re coming,’ said Jeb. ‘And I know the way out.’
Tabitha looked at Joseph, but he was just gawping. No help at all. She tried to think it through. Should they trust Jeb the Snitch? She’d rather stick her head in a shark’s mouth. But then again, she wasn’t too keen on the sound of Zargath’s favourite execution method either.
A door opened and closed, and the footsteps grew louder.
‘Come on!’ snapped Pallione. ‘We don’t have a choice. Or do you want to be roasted to death?’
‘Fine,’ Tabitha snapped back. ‘But only until we get out of here. And he’s pushing the wheelbarrow.’ She picked up the lantern, which was somehow still lit, and marched out of the door.
Jeb replaced his tricorne hat and winked at her. ‘You won’t regret this, darling.’ He took the wheelbarrow handles and trundled Pallione into the corridor. The mermaid clung onto her cutlass, leaning out of the wheelbarrow to check that no one was coming. Joseph followed, the pistol still trained on Jeb.
There was no time to lose the dress. Tabitha lifted her skirts and led the way down the tunnel at a trot. The floor was sandy, the walls rough and rocky, lit by flaming torches set in old-fashioned brackets. Even here it was obvious that the Boy King had a taste for the dramatic. The wheelbarrow rumbled behind her, Jeb panting and puffing as he heaved it along.
‘Been scoffing a lot of seaweed lately, have we?’ he muttered.
‘Mind your own business, you despicable goblin,’ retorted Pallione. ‘Or you’ll get a faceful of tail.’
‘Quiet, both of you,’ Tabitha told them.
They twisted and turned, following directions from Jeb – who seemed to have the layout of the caverns inside his head. Tabitha hated to admit it, but they would have been lost without him. Once or twice they heard footsteps and shouts in the distance, but only for a moment.
A cold breeze began to whistle down the passageways, and the flickering torches were replaced by natural moonlight. Tabitha shivered. Finally she was glad of the extra layer the dress provided.
They turned a corner and were met by a blast of freezing air. Ahead was a short flight of steps leading up to a barred door, the starry sky twinkling beyond it.
‘Ain’t been used in dragons’ years,’ said Jeb, setting down the wheelbarrow. ‘Good job we can unlock it, eh?’ He reached into his pocket and drew out the ring of keys, jangling them and grinning. He picked out the right one and passed it to Tabitha. ‘Now, who’s going to help carry this fat fish girl?’ He ducked just in time to avoid a vicious swipe from Pallione’s tail.
Tabitha unlocked the door and heaved it open. It was practically rusted shut, and it took all her strength to budge it. Then she lifted the front of the wheelbarrow and helped Jeb heave it up the steps. Joseph brought up the rear, his eyes wide, coxcomb sagging from side to side as he cast anxious glances behind them.
They came out onto a steep hillside street, still in the Flagstaff Quarter, judging by the fancy houses. Tabitha could see most of Port Fayt spread out below, the harbour front glimmering, staining the black sky with a haze of lantern light. High up to her left was Wyrmwood Manor, where the governor had held his council of war. She closed her eyes and sucked the cold night air into her lungs. She hadn’t realized until now how musty it had been in the caverns.
‘Where now?’ asked Joseph.
‘To the docks of course,’ said Pallione, pointing her cutlass downhill. ‘And quickly. You came to rescue me, didn’t you? Just take me to the water and I can swim back to the King’s Rock.’
‘All very well for you,’ said Jeb. ‘But we need to get out of this town too. That’s if we don’t want to be burned alive. Better wait till dawn, when we can find a ship.’
Tabitha felt herself getting angry again. ‘Shut your trap, Jeb. You can’t tell us what to do. Why in all the Ebony Ocean are you here, anyway? You were working for the Boy King ten minutes ago.’
In the darkness she saw his teeth flash in a smile. ‘That gold-coated turd? Not on your life. Thought you knew by now – Jeb the Snitch only ever works for himself.’
Pallione slapped her tail against the side of the wheelbarrow. ‘What difference does it make? Why don’t you let me go?’
‘She’s right,’ said Joseph. ‘
We need to get her out of Port Fayt. It’s the least we can do.’
Tabitha ground her teeth in frustration. For a tavern boy, Joseph had a lot of opinions. He’d been in the Watch for barely a fortnight, and now he seemed to think he knew everything. Well, he didn’t. He didn’t know what he was talking about.
‘We can’t go down to the docks,’ she explained. ‘We need a ship, and there won’t be one at this time of night. Besides, we can’t just let the mermaid go. We need her father to know it was us who rescued her. Otherwise he might not release Frank and Paddy and Hal, and he definitely won’t help us fight the League.’
‘You didn’t rescue me,’ said Pallione. ‘I rescued myself. With help from this horrible greyskin.’
‘That’s not—’
‘Are we going to stand around jawing all night,’ Jeb interrupted, ‘or are we going to get out of here? The Boy King’s bully boys’ll be after us soon enough, and I don’t fancy sticking around for them.’
Tabitha turned on him. ‘We’re getting out of here all right, but you’re not coming with us.’
Something in Jeb’s smile changed. It was suddenly sinister, not cheerful. ‘Oh, I’m coming, my dear. Unless you want me to send the Boy King straight to Bootles’ Pie Shop … See, unlike that little brat, I know you’re a watchman. So I know just where to find you. And those nice old trolls.’
Tabitha’s heartbeat quickened, and she snatched the pistol out of Joseph’s hand. Still three barrels left unfired. That meant she could kill Jeb. Three times over. But she couldn’t do it – not in cold blood. Another tide of helpless anger surged up, threatening to engulf her. What would Newt do? If only he were here, he’d—
No. He wasn’t here. And anyway, it didn’t matter because they didn’t have a choice. Jeb was the slimiest, least trustworthy scumbag in all of Port Fayt. But right now, they had to take him with them. She held up the lantern so she could see his pale eyes, but they gave nothing away.
‘I don’t understand,’ said Joseph. ‘Why do you want to come?’
‘Got my reasons.’
‘Yes, but what are th—?’
Shouts from the caverns below. Joseph flinched and Tabitha tightened her grip on the pistol until her knuckles were white. The Boy King’s men were getting closer. And Jeb the Snitch kept smiling.
