Spindle (Two Monarchies Sequence Book 1)

by W. R. Gingell

  Poly eyed the red folders dubiously. There was almost a whole wall of them. -Those are bad memories?-

  -Yes-

  -Can I get rid of them?- Poly flipped through the top few, and a flurry of thoughts and impressions flowed through her fingertips unpleasantly.

  -No. I’ve tried that-

  -Is this what my mind looks like?-

  -Not really- said Luck, cautiously poking at the mobile to throw the planets out of alignment. The planets seemed to think about this for a moment, then gently but firmly wafted back into their correct positions. -It’s an abstract form to help enchanters store and find things more easily-

  -Oh- said Poly blankly. -Then you made it look like this?-

  -Of course not. You did. Poly, why did you have short-sword instruction with one of the tower guards?-

  Poly looked around in dismay to find that he was sorting through the top drawer of a desk that had been set back into a bookshelf. She darted across the room and slapped the drawer shut, nearly catching Luck’s fingers as she did so.

  -You said you wanted to look at the curse- she reminded him.

  -Oh yes- said Luck. -It’s over there-

  When Poly looked over there, it was with the disagreeable feeling that she’d been uneasily ignoring that side of the room from the first moment she entered her mind. Now she knew why: an entire wall was thick with opaque nothingness, shifting and forming almost-shapes. It pulsed, and Poly had the horrible idea that it was actually growing; as if it was taking over her mind in a slow, inching crawl.

  -What’s it doing?-

  -It’s growing- said Luck, confirming her suspicions. He didn’t sound very much surprised.

  -Should it be growing?-

  -Of course not. It shouldn’t even be there. It should have dissipated when I kissed you-

  -If it’s still there, why did I wake up?- Poly demanded. Even when Luck answered questions he somehow didn’t.

  -Because I kissed you. Be quiet, Poly; I need to concentrate-

  She sat back in silence, dissatisfied and worried, to watch Luck at work; but there wasn’t much to watch. He merely sat cross-legged in front of the pulsing mass of curse and stared at it.

  Business as usual, then, thought Poly sourly. His magic was still wrong and confused, so when she became tired of looking at the bruised strands, she sighed and began to straighten it out, combing the strands between her fingers as though they were hair.

  Luck gave her one, swift look that startled her, but since he went back to ignoring her almost immediately, Poly kept straightening and soothing until the strands glowed and became gold again.

  When she at last looked up from her work, Onepiece had arrived and Luck had more or less gone again.

  The less was the fact that his meta-body was still present: the more was that his meta-eyes had gone as blank and empty as his real eyes.

  -Where’s he gone this time?- she asked Onepiece uneasily. She didn’t particularly like the idea of Luck roaming about in her mind where she couldn’t keep an eye on him.

  -sleep- said the puppy.

  He was hiding behind her skirts again, but Poly thought that this had more to do with the nastily swirling curse than it did with Luck. It occurred to her with a sick, sinking feeling, that the curse was closer to Luck than it had previously been.

  -What do you mean, sleep?-

  -went too far in- said Onepiece, shrugging. He didn’t sound particularly sorry, which distantly amused Poly. -sneaky curse. maybe should kiss him?-

  -I don’t think so- Poly said decidedly.

  She made her way to Luck’s side with one wary eye on the gently rolling curse, and knelt beside him, sparring for time by laying him on his back. First, she tried gently patting his cheeks. It was such a natural reaction, and Luck’s cheeks felt so normal and entirely real that it took Poly another few moments to realise that it was utterly useless. Neither her hands nor Luck’s cheeks were actually real in here.

  -Oh, this is ridiculous!- she said in exasperation. -Onepiece, what can I do? Except- she added sternly, catching the mulish glint in Onepiece’s brown eyes; -Except kissing him-

  -magic- said Onepiece happily, after a momentary pause.

  Poly sighed. -I don’t have any magic-

  -not yours. his-

  -But– oh! Oh, I see! Onepiece, you’re a clever boy!-

  Onepiece wagged his tail furiously and pranced a few steps forward on his hind legs. -clever boy, oh yes! clever, clever Onepiece!-

  Poly spared him a brief pat on the head, her lips curving in spite of herself. She turned her attention back to Luck just in time to see a thread of magic trail by, unravelling at a languid pace from the bulk of his magic.

  Luck wasn’t asleep, then. He was lost somewhere in the curse, and he was using his own magic as a line to try and find his way back.

  She gently touched the thread and pinched, bringing the unravelling to a slow and gentle stop. Then she tugged twice, sharply, on it. There was a moment of taut uncertainty before the thread pulled at her fingers once, twice. Poly swiftly wound it in, and a moment later Luck was blinking heavily, his eyes too green and his cheeks too white.

  He stared at the manifestation of a ceiling broodingly for some time before he said: -I seem to have misjudged the sneakiness of your curse-

  A narrowed green glance was sent in Poly’s direction, and he added, eyes narrowing still further: -Or there’s something you’re not telling me, Poly-

  -There’s a lot I don’t tell you- said Poly frankly. -But nothing pertinent-

  -Well, something’s making the curse hold on when it should die away- Luck said. -My casting was flawless. Besides, you woke up! Why did you do that?-

  Poly found herself somewhat maliciously repeating what he’d said earlier: -I suppose because you kissed me-

  -Yes, and that was flawless, too- added Luck. -Poly, there’s something very odd about you-

  -Must we sit here and discuss it in my mind?-

  -Yes. I can’t get back out just yet.-

  -Oh. Why?-

  -Why is the dog here? It keeps panting and drooling-

  -Dogs do that- Poly told him reasonably. She snapped her fingers at Onepiece as if he really was just a dog and he bounded happily into her lap, unresentful.

  -Well, make it stop. It puts me off-

  -Him- corrected Poly, more from habit than actual conviction that the reminder would do any good. She briefly checked Luck’s faint halo of magic for any traces of brown, but it was pale gold all the way through.

  In that case, it was mostly likely exhaustion that was keeping him here. Poly remembered Persephone’s pallor after the princess produced her first item-based spell and thought ruefully that if Luck was anything like as exhausted, she was likely to have company for a while longer. At least an exhausted Luck was less likely to pry into things that wouldn’t bear scrutiny.

  Poly found herself stiff and sore by the time Luck was rested enough to pull himself back to his own body. An exhausted Luck was much easier to deal with than a well-rested one: most of his activity consisted in gazing thoughtfully at the ceiling manifestation and blinking occasionally. Poly had crossed her ankles and amused Onepiece with her fingers, which eventually produced a few tiny drops of blood that the puppy contritely licked away; and when Luck vanished without warning she blinked herself back outside, stretching cautiously. She wriggled fingers that were entirely unscathed and was slightly abashed to find herself surprised.

  “Right!” said Luck, startling Onepiece into a brief growl. “Journey spell.”

  He strode out of the shelter while Poly was still trying to gather her legs together in a semblance of order sufficient to stand, and she was relieved to find that while she’d been stretching, he had been fetching breakfast. There was a fresh supply of bacon and eggs for her, piled even higher than yesterday’s ration, and for Onepiece there was a papery bowl of suspicious stew that tottered drunkenly on shaky paper supports.

  When breakfast was satisfyingly
gone, Poly set her plate down. It disappeared before her fingers quite left the edge of the porcelain, making Onepiece first jump and then gulp faster with an anxious look at his own bowl.

  From outside the shelter, Poly heard Luck say: “Huh. Poly? Poly, come here.”

  She found him some distance from the shelter, squinting up at the mountains where a clear line of sight ran through the ranges. It converged on a peak in the far distance which, to Poly’s straining eyes, was still haloed by a slight tinge of orange. The Journey spell was pointing straight at it, for which Poly was grateful: she had a brief, unpleasant memory from yesterday of walking through another mountain. She would be glad not to do that again.

  Luck was pinching the end of the Journey spell closest to him. He looked faintly startled.

  “I need a hand,” he said. “Specifically, the antimagic one. Reach in the other end, will you?”

  “What am I looking for?” asked Poly, obligingly reaching her spiral-bound hand into the scroll. It passed through effortlessly until she was up to the elbow in scroll.

  “Small glass vial. It’ll have a lead stopper in the top and a lead seal on the side. Pull it out.”

  Poly did so, rummaging around the smooth sides of the scroll, and wasn’t surprised to find it bigger on the inside than it was on the outside. By the time she felt the vial under her fingertips she was on tiptoes and straining with her arm shoulder-deep in the scroll.

  “Got it. But it’s tight.”

  “Rip it out,” said Luck carelessly, and Poly looked at him sharply because his magic was anything but careless just then.

  Oh well, she thought, and tore the vial from its socket. Nothing happened, so she pulled her arm out all the way, sinking back onto her heels, and observed the tiny glass bottle. It was top-heavy with lead, and swirled with a vaguely yellow gaseous substance. Poly was unimpressed.

  “What now?” she asked.

  “Put it in my pocket,” said Luck. “No, not that one: the big breast one in my overcoat.”

  Poly dropped the vial into his front pocket and saw what looked like a wince pass fleetingly over Luck’s face, prompting her to ask: “Luck, why am I doing this?”

  Luck gave her a blank look. “This time you need to feel around for a scrap of paper: it should be wrapped around a wick.”

  “Yes, but why?”

  “Because I need that piece of paper,” said Luck.

  “Yes, but why didn’t you get it out yourself?”

  “Didn’t know it was there, then. Paper, Poly.”

  She sighed and twitched the tiny scrap away from a smooth wick, withdrawing her arm and displaying it to Luck.

  “Good. Now tear it up.”

  She did so with raised brows and scattered the pieces with a flick of her fingers. It occurred to her that Luck waited until she finished before he let go of the scroll.

  “Was it another antimagic spell?” she asked, watching Luck carefully. From the corner of her eye she saw the scroll unfurl, spit a few useless drops of magic, and fizzle out.

  Luck, watching the scroll with unfocused eyes, didn’t seem to notice her gaze. “No. It was a bomb.”

  Poly took a moment to count to ten, afraid that she would do something unbecoming in a princess if she didn’t. Then, she said, very carefully: “What was it I pulled out of the scroll?”

  “The trigger and the accelerant.”

  “I see. I suppose it didn’t occur to you to tell me I was putting my hand into a bomb?”

  “I didn’t want you to worry. Come along, Poly, it’s time to leave.”

  It’s going to take more than ten, thought Poly a little wildly, as Luck strode away.

  -are staying?- asked Onepiece. His voice was hopeful.

  “No,” said Poly. “We’re going with him, even if it’s only to hit him.”

  The passage through the mountains wasn’t as straightforward as it looked from the shelter. When closer, the gentle, meandering incline that Poly had seen turned out to be rather steeper than it promised. And despite the fact that the path looked quite clear and straight through the mountains on either side, the reality of it consisted of zigzags to avoid the narrow, ankle-breaking gullies and steep banks that sprang out of nowhere.

  Onepiece enjoyed himself immensely, leaping from tuft to tuft with his tongue lolling out, but Poly found it a struggle in her skirts and whaleboned bodice, and even Luck slowed down a little. Long before the shelter below was out of sight, Poly’s underarms were chafed from the carefully set sleeves of her grey gown and sweat had soaked through the back of it.

  Her shoes, which were meant for courtyards and not mountain-climbing, were soon pinching painfully at every step. Poly abandoned them after a few, unpleasant hours, refusing to believe that even a princess would be expected to put up with the agony simply for appearances sake, but endured the dress for some time longer in the hope that she could induce Luck to change it into something more comfortable when they stopped to rest.

  However, as the morning wore into afternoon it became increasingly obvious that Luck had forgotten about lunch, rest, and possibly even his travelling companions as well. He was still striding effortlessly ahead when Onepiece became too tired to trot any further and wheedled his way into Poly’s apron pocket; and Poly, making a determined effort to catch up, came to the conclusion that Luck was using a Keep Away spell, since he always stayed just that little bit ahead no matter how hard she tried to match his pace.

  When it became evident that no rest break was forthcoming, much less something to eat, Poly stopped by a large sun-warmed rock and hefted her tired body up on it to rest anyway. She was curious to see how long it would take Luck to notice she was no longer following– if he ever did notice.

  -are there?- asked Onepiece, poking his nose out and yawning. Poly thought enviously that it looked like he’d just woken up.

  “Just a rest stop,” she told him, absentmindedly patting his head. “You can go back to sleep.”

  He sniffed the air curiously but evidently decided to believe her, because he tucked his nose back into the pocket, and after a few moments of furious scrabbling to get comfortable, seemed to fall asleep again. Meanwhile, Poly studied her grass-stained toes and wished she didn’t feel quite so hungry.

  It was only a few minutes later when Luck wandered into sight again. He sat down next to Poly without having to jump himself up and didn’t complain about having to return for her, which Poly thought was tantamount to an apology, coming from Luck.

  They sat in silence until Luck said: “You haven’t got shoes.”

  “They hurt. They’re on a rock back there somewhere.”

  “Oh.” Luck was silent again, and Poly had an idea that he was trying to hazard her out. “I could have got you more.”

  “I couldn’t catch up,” she reminded him, without rancour.

  “Huh. I’ll have to turn that off: I forgot that you don’t twitter at me. I expected a princess to twitter more.”

  “No, we only twitter at lapdogs and suitors,” said Poly, successfully repressing a small, pointed grin at Persephone’s expense.

  “Oh,” said Luck. “I’ll remember that. Do you want shoes?”

  “Not until we reach civilisation,” Poly replied carelessly, resolving to enjoy the freedom of bare toes for just a little longer. “But I need a different frock.”

  Luck looked blank but was obliging. “All right. What do you want?”

  “Something light and loose,” said Poly. “Whatever girls are wearing now. I don’t mind, just so long as I can breathe again.”

  When the cool touch of magic had come and gone, Poly found herself in a loose-fitting smock with short, full sleeves and a hemline somewhat higher than she’d expected. It was bright, butterflower-yellow, and had even bigger pockets than her old grey gown. When she checked, she found that both Onepiece and her books were already in them, Onepiece muttering at the change in his sleep.

  Her pantaloons, somewhat sad and dusty and decidedly lacking in ankle-ruf
f, were noticeable by a good two inches. Poly supposed that girls now were wearing their pantaloons daringly below the knee and considering it somewhat less daring than it had seemed three hundred years ago.

  She retied the laces of her pantaloons at the knee, exposing a rather white expanse of slender leg, and observed the lower half of her shins below the yellow cotton. She thought she might easily be able to get used to this style of dress.

  As they climbed higher Poly began to notice sheep on the slopes around them. At first it was one or two, then little clusters of five and six, and before long every expanse of green around them was dotted with a multitude of fat white sheep.

  The lambing must have gone well, thought Poly, eyeing the flocks with a professional eye, because there were a great many of them. They were old enough to walk properly while still young enough to be adorable, and Poly found the corners of her mouth lifting slightly at the familiarity of the sight. Civet had run its economy solely on the wool trade, leaving such high-profit animals as skerries and gnau to Parras for the less costly and more sure return of wool. Gnau leather was highly sought after and certain to turn a truly startling profit if only one could stop the creatures dropping dead from fright every time a crow cawed overhead as it flew past; and while skerry fleece was even more popular than gnau leather, the animals were tiny, and required delicate shearing to salvage as much of the fleece as possible. Wool was not exactly exotic or even very comfortable, but everyone used it, and the benefits of mass production had easily allowed Civet to keep financially equivalent to the more luxury-based economy of Parras.

  Of course, thought Poly, wrinkling her brow: that was before three hundred years, and expansion, and New Civet. Though the sheep-scattered mountains certainly seemed to suggest that New Civet had followed Civet’s rather than Parras’ example. She wondered if they would come across any skerry when they climbed higher into what had once been Parras.

  Unfortunately, all they came across as they climbed higher was rain. It was late spring, Poly guessed, judging from the bright green of new foliage and the gusts of wind that came with the rain, so the rain wasn’t bitterly cold. It did make her hair feel twice as heavy, however, and she began to fear for the remaining books she had carefully concealed in her pockets. They were old and delicate, and certainly not to be bandied about in inclement weather.