‘Why don’t you tell Ralph about your abilities?’ suggested Thomas.
‘I think Grandad already has.’
‘Please, remind me,’ said Ralph.
‘Oh, I don’t like to boast. Apart from super-intelligence and flying, I can communicate with animals, swim very fast and I have an acute sense of smell.’
‘That all sounds quite normal to me,’ replied Ralph kindly.
‘Does it? Well, I can also speak to dead people.’
‘Finwips and Sinwips specifically,’ added Thomas, delighted that his sister had outdone Ralph in the abilities department.
Ralph’s eyes widened. He looked impressed but slightly unnerved. ‘That is ... er ... an unusual ability, Alice,’ he admitted.
‘Our village is quite unusual, I am told,’ said Christina, tactfully changing the subject.
‘Quite decadent, I would say!’ replied Thomas, running his fingers over a tapestry hanging on the wall.
‘Unfortunately these things do not really belong to us. When this village was created many years ago, all these objects were discovered. Many of these rooms were already here. We believe that one of the residents of Schloss Charlottenburg in the early eighteenth century was a Finwip, and built their own secret palace underground. We have simply extended it.’
‘That’s incredible!’ exclaimed Alice. ‘I’d love to know who it was!’
‘Me too,’ agreed Ralph. ‘I look at the portraits in the palace and try to guess who was the Finwip!’
‘I might try that!’
‘Come, let me give you a tour. Will you join us for coffee and cake?’ asked Christina.
‘Yes please,’ replied Alice without hesitation, already trying to imagine how extravagant the dining room would be.
‘I will catch up with you in a few minutes, if you don’t mind,’ said Ralph. ‘I want to change my clothes and release my wings.’
Chapter 5
Family Frustrations
Christina guided them through elegant drawing rooms, luxurious bedrooms with four-poster beds and a library that Alice would have killed to have at home. It boasted a vaulted ceiling, hand-painted to mimic the night sky. Every bookcase was carved from solid oak and decorated with intricate engravings of leaves and flowers. She climbed a spiral staircase to a balcony where she found a matching desk and a green leather chair. From there she looked down on the room and admired thousands of books stored carefully behind fine gilded trellis ... until something distracted her. Ralph. He slipped in to the room and looked all around for her, his wings clipping the top of the enormous doorway. His Finwip robes were exactly the same shade of blue as her own, and she had never seen wings of such proportions. They were so huge, they were quite frightening. But Alice couldn’t deny they looked amazing.
Thomas looked sick with envy. ‘Oh. I wondered when I’d meet someone with Atlas Moth wings. Nothing like a pair of those to give a Finwip an inferiority complex!’
Alice hurried down the stairs. ‘I think they’re fantastic! I bet you can fly so much better than me!’ she gushed.
‘I am sure your wings are perfect,’ replied Ralph with a smile.
Thomas tutted in disgust at that smooth response, while Alice simply blushed. She hung her head in embarrassment and wandered out of the library.
‘What’s in there?’ she asked, pointing to a modern metal door which looked completely out of place.
‘Just our security room,’ called Christina, running in the opposite direction after Daniela.
Thomas followed, but Alice paused outside the security room. Just how safe was this village?
‘Can I have a look?’ she asked Ralph.
With a puzzled expression he took a bunch of keys from the pocket of his robe and unlocked two locks. ‘If you want. But it is not very interesting in here.’
Alice stepped inside and found ten CCTV monitors on the walls of the windowless room. On the desk were a control panel and an empty mug. ‘There’s no one here!’
‘No one can sit in here all day. Besides, we rarely have a problem.’
Troubled by this relaxed approach to security, Alice sat down on a chair and scrutinized each screen in turn. One was focussed on the lake, one on the golden willow and one on the statue of the boy with his dog. One room of the palace above ground was also being filmed.
‘What’s special about this room?’ she asked, pointing at it.
‘The original entrance to the village is in that room,’ replied Ralph. ‘My mother fears a historian may discover the secret one day.’
‘Any problems recently?’
‘No. Why? Are you looking for something? Or someone?’ he asked as Alice’s eyes darted from screen to screen.
‘Yes. No. I mean, I don’t know.’
Ralph stood behind her and leaned over her shoulder to study the screens. He opened his huge moth wings so that one rested gently on her back. ‘Are you afraid of someone? You can tell me. I will do what I can to help you.’
Alice pretended not to have noticed the position of his wing. She looked in to his entrancing eyes and took a deep breath. ‘We’ve been having trouble at home. It’s a long story but that’s why we came here. Thomas and I ... well, she’s been trying to ...’
‘She? A Sinwip, I assume?’
Alice nodded.
‘And you think she is in Berlin now?’
‘Yes. Maybe. I’m not sure. Thomas doesn’t think she followed us.’
‘I see. Well, you are safe here in the village. Can you not stay with us?’
‘No. We’re staying with my aunt.’
‘That is a shame. But please do not worry, Alice. You will be OK, I promise.’
‘How would you know?’
‘Your grandfather said you are very strong. I believe him.’
‘Hmm. He seems to have told you a lot about me,’ said Alice suspiciously.
Ralph smiled. ‘Only because I asked.’
‘Alice, I’m afraid we have to go. Something’s come up.’
Alice jumped at the sound of Thomas’s voice behind her. ‘Oh, no! What’s wrong?’
He wouldn’t answer and simply gestured to her to follow him out of the room.
‘How unfortunate,’ said Christina. ‘I hoped you would meet my husband when he returned from work. Another time, perhaps?’
‘Definitely,’ Alice assured her. ‘We’ll be back for the coffee and cake!’
‘We look forward to it. I shall walk you to the lift.’
‘Auf Wiedersehen,’ said Ralph quietly from his chair.
‘Bis bald!’ replied Alice in a detached manner. Secretly she felt pleased he looked disappointed that she was leaving.
Torsten spotted them walking out of the village and ran ahead to open the door of the lift. Alice giggled.
‘Why is he dressed like that?’
‘Oh, it is just for fun, really.’ replied Christina. ‘He is the caretaker here but acts like a butler. He says we owe it to the aristocrat who created our village to continue a bit of tradition!’
Torsten bowed to them as they entered the lift. When it began to move Alice waved to him and Christina.
‘So what’s happened?’ she asked Thomas anxiously as soon as they were out of sight.
‘Nothing.’
‘Nothing? What do you mean? You had me worried! Why are we leaving, then?’
‘You were getting too close to that Ralph kid. You’ll only get hurt.’
‘WHAT?! I am not! I’ve only just met him!’
‘I saw him put his dirty great wing around you.’
‘Oh, for goodness sake! He was being nice, that’s all! What’s your problem?’
‘I don’t have a problem,’ insisted Thomas. ‘I’m just trying to protect you.’
‘Bah! It’s me who’s been protecting you, remember? You’re the one who’s really in danger, you’re just too pigheaded to see it!’ yelled Alice.
‘I’m not, actually. But you can believe that if you want.’
Alic
e was furious. She could tell from his tone that he was convinced he knew better. Did he know something she didn’t? And why hadn’t Grandad told her about Ralph? Alice felt she was being kept in the dark by her own family and she didn’t like it one bit.
*
Alice could not speak to Grandma alone until the next day. When Brigitte nipped out to the post office the interrogation commenced.
‘Why didn’t you tell me there was another Finwip like me? Ralph’s only two years older than me, he’s got multiple abilities and he can fly! Surely Grandad should have told me!’
‘I honestly didn’t know!’ replied Grandma, shaking her head in despair. ‘But then, I didn’t visit Finwip village when we were here last time. I couldn’t get away from Brigitte.’
‘Well, Grandad knew that Ralph had become a Finwip and developed several abilities. He even told him all about me and how similar we are. So why has he kept it from me?’
‘Perhaps he wanted it to be a nice surprise for you when you met Ralph.’
‘No. There must be another reason. Grandad had no idea I would be coming to Berlin this year. So if I hadn’t, I would still be thinking I was a freak of nature – even for a Finwip. He knows I don’t enjoy feeling like that. Something’s going on with him and I’m being taken for an idiot.’
‘Well, if you are, my love, so am I,’ said Grandma wearily. ‘I promise you he never told me that young Ralph had become just like you. It doesn’t make sense; he’s very fond of Ralph and his family. We both are. I’ll ask him about it when he calls later – if Brigitte isn’t listening.’
Alice simmered a little. She knew her grandma was telling the truth because she looked quite upset and confused about the whole thing. They did not have to wait until evening to hear from Grandad – the phone rang just a few minutes later.
‘Alice, your grandfather wants to speak with you,’ called Brigitte.
She leaped up and grabbed the telephone. ‘There’s something you need to tell me, isn’t there?’ she began angrily.
‘Indeed there is! Now listen, I ... Get off, Benedict! Stop that! Get off my shoulder, flamin’ bird!’
‘Alice, I’m so sorry! I got it wrong! Can you hear my voice on the phone? Alice?’ called Benedict.
‘Of course I can hear you! What’s going on there? Benedict? Wrong about what?’ Alice could hear his wings beating as Grandad tried to shoo him away from the telephone.
‘Alice, it’s me again,’ said Grandad. ‘I think Benedict wants to say something.’
‘So let me speak to him!’
‘Listen, Alice!’ warbled Benedict. I’ve been spying at the Rowbottoms’ again. Apparently Isabella melted her dad’s safe, just how she melted your grandad’s a few months ago. She found the invoice for Lionel – I mean for the statue – or whatever he is these days. It turns out the buyer was not Swiss, although he was driving a van with Swiss plates. He was German.’
‘Oh. What about Isabella?’
‘She disappeared a couple of days ago,’ cooed Benedict woefully. ‘I heard her dad say she’s taken her passport. I’m so sorry, Alice. I think she’s in Germany too. Alice? Are you still there?’
Alice was frozen to the spot. Although she had feared the worst, hearing her suspicions confirmed was a painful blow. For the past few days she had known Isabella wasn’t far away. She could feel it. Now all she could feel was an overwhelming urge to be sick. ‘I’ve got to go.’ She passed the phone to her grandma and ran to the bathroom. She hadn’t even managed to confront her grandad about Ralph.
‘Pull yourselves together,’ hissed Thomas to Alice and Grandma when the call had ended. They tried to discuss the latest development in whispers while Brigitte bustled around the apartment, tidying up before her son’s arrival. Grandma had tears in her eyes and was regretting bringing them to Berlin. Alice just kept repeating herself.
‘I knew it. I told you so! I just knew it!’
‘How many more times do I have to remind you?’ growled Thomas. ‘Isabella doesn’t know we’re here! She’s looking for Lionel right now, not us!’
‘Yeah, then what happens when she does find him? We’re next!’ panicked Alice.
‘She thinks we’re still in England. That buys us some time.’
‘No, she doesn’t. She knows exactly where we are, I can feel it. I haven’t felt right since we arrived here.’
‘You haven’t looked right either in that stupid hat.’
Alice rolled her eyes in exasperation. ‘I don’t know why I’m even talking to you, after what you did yesterday.’
*
They all tried to put on a smile when Matthias arrived, though it was difficult to be miserable in his company. Alice liked him even though he was one of those infuriating people who always seemed to be in a good mood. She had noticed that when he visited England to stay with Grandma and Grandad for a week in September.
‘You look a bit happier,’ Thomas whispered to Alice as they followed Matthias to his car. ‘Have you been telling Sarah about Mr Wonder Wings?’
Alice said nothing.
‘You can’t continue to give me the silent treatment at the restaurant. Everyone will notice. Listen, I told you I was just trying to do the right thing. For your sake.’
Alice spun round, her eyes full of anger. ‘If you’re so worried about doing the right thing, tell me what the big secret is with Grandad and Ralph! What do you know? You obviously don’t like him.’
‘I don’t know anything! I never met Ralph until yesterday! But you’re right, I don’t like him. He’s too ... full of himself.’
‘Like you, you mean?’
‘That’ll do, you two,’ said Grandma firmly, linking arms with Alice. ‘Let’s not have an unpleasant atmosphere at lunch, please. We’ve got enough to worry about as it is.’ She positioned herself between Alice and Thomas in the back of the car, while Brigitte sat up front with her son.
‘I hope you all have a head for heights,’ grinned Matthias as he started the engine. ‘You will need one, where we are going!’
‘Are you taking us to the Victory Column?’ asked Thomas, sitting up with interest.
‘No, we cannot eat there. We are going to the rotating restaurant on top of the Fernsehturm!’
While Brigitte rubbed her hands at the prospect of a meal in one of her favourite eating establishments, the Parkers were filled with dread. If there was one place they really did not want to be while being hunted down by a Sinwip it was a glass restaurant perched on top of the television tower – the tallest structure in Germany.
*
Alice was not in the mood for eating – she was far too worried about everything. No matter how rationally she tried to think about the situation, she arrived at the same answer. Where would a German art collector bring his latest acquisition? It could easily be Berlin. The city was full of art galleries, museums and exhibitions. Lionel and Isabella could be just metres away from them, plotting their next move, and here she was flicking through a lunch menu in a restaurant.
Grandma was trying to put on a brave face but not managing very well. When the food arrived Alice noticed she just pushed it around her plate. In the end, after she had mumbled an excuse about having a headache, Thomas ate her meal as well as his own. Alice ate most of hers, but only because she did not want to offend Matthias.
‘Erika, do you have headaches often?’ asked Matthias. ‘Or only when you stay with my mother? She has that effect on people, you know!’
Everyone laughed except Brigitte. She was busy looking out of the window as the Brandenburg Gate came in to view.
‘Wonderful, is it not?’ she asked Alice.
‘Yes. We certainly have the best view of the city up here.’ In truth, Alice had been trying not to look out of the window; it just reminded her how vulnerable they were stuck in a glass sphere over two hundred metres above ground. It was almost as bad as being on a plane, only the restaurant moved very slowly, rotating once every thirty minutes.
‘Now,’ sai
d Matthias, waving a menu. ‘Everyone must order dessert and coffee! I insist!’
‘I thought dentists didn’t approve of sugar and coffee,’ said Alice.
‘Shh! Today I am not at work!’
Alice smiled. There seemed to be something different about Matthias, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. His hair was still the same and he couldn’t have aged since she last saw him four months ago in England. Perhaps he had new glasses. Yes, that was it! She knew something about his face had changed.
Thomas nudged Grandma. ‘The more I see of Matthias, the more I like him. I’ll eat your dessert, if you like.’
‘Very decent of you, dear.’
Chapter 6
Dizzy Heights
As they waited for coffee, Alice looked around the restaurant with a slight sense of relief. The meal was nearly over and nothing awful had happened. Grandma seemed a little less tense and was chatting to Brigitte as they looked out over the city. Thomas and Matthias appeared to be comparing watches. Her gaze rested on a man sitting a few tables away from them, who was eating alone. For some reason he looked familiar, but Alice couldn’t think why. She didn’t know a middle-aged man with auburn hair and a beard.
‘Want to know something strange?’ asked Thomas in a low voice, leaning across the table. ‘This restaurant is rotating slightly faster than when we arrived!’
‘Fascinating,’ yawned Alice. ‘Are you really such a geek that you’ve been timing it?’
‘He is right,’ said Matthias. ‘I have been checking also. The rotations are twice as frequent now. I would like to know why!’ He stood up and made his way over to the bar, hoping that a member of staff would be able to explain.
Alice tutted. ‘Who cares?’ she muttered to herself, desperate to leave the restaurant. She spotted a waitress approaching with their coffee. ‘At last!’
The young waitress seemed to be having difficulty maintaining her balance. With each step she swayed from side to side, then the cups and saucers began to rattle on her tray.
‘Poor girl,’ said Alice with a sympathetic smile. ‘Maybe it’s her first day.’ But her smile faded when Matthias shouted from the bar. She looked over and saw that he was pointing to the glasses and bottles behind the bar, which were jingling and clinking on the shelves.
Alice Parker & the Curse of Fate Page 4
