Amethyst (13 page)

‘Who locked you up?’ asked Squitcher.

‘Granite,’ said Copper grimly.

Amy squirmed.

Copper was almost lying on the floor beside the dragon. Gently she eased the tiny hook between Boldly Seer’s lips. She began to slip the thread off the pointed teeth.

‘This is like French knitting,’ said Copper. She giggled. ‘Poof! What does this dragon eat? Her breath is awful … Here it comes … It’s coming off, it’s crocheting itself … It’s going soft and silky.’

Boldly Seer lay very still. She did not blink her eyes, but stared at Copper intently. At last Copper finished.

‘There!’ She stood up. ‘All done.’

The dragon suddenly let out a great whoosh of smoke. Everyone jumped out of the way and flung themselves against the walls. Boldly Seer flexed her legs, rolled over and got onto her feet.

Standing up she was enormous. She tossed her head backwards and forwards. She flapped her wings. She smacked her lips together. Sparks shot out of her nose and mouth. Smoke filled the air.

Amy was sheltering on the other side of the cave to the others. The two abandoned silky squares lay in a patch of snow. And the crochet hook. Quickly she picked them up. The knitted fabric was glossy and slippery. It reminded her of the inside of seashells. She slipped everything into her pocket. The pixicle said magic reworked was more powerful. Well. I might just need these, thought Amy. You never know … She went round the dragon to join the others.

‘Boldly is so happy-jolly,’ squeaked Squitcher. He was leaping around to avoid the shower of burning sparks and the dragon’s thrashing tail. ‘Thank you so jolly much. Hold still there, Boldly! Be careful!’ He sidled nearer to Copper. ‘You must have food and gift-rewards—’ He stopped. ‘But what rewards? We have
nothing here for humans … Oh dear, oh dear … I know! I will allow you to see into my eye-cycle as a reward. This is, in case you don’t know, a finely-wonderful and rare reward.’

‘See into your icicles?’ said Amy. ‘Why?’

‘No, no,
eye-cycles
,’ said Squitcher. ‘Come. I’ll show you.’

Outside the cold made Copper and Questrid start shivering. Boldly Seer had kept the cave very warm and cosy.

Squitcher led them to the nearerst ice house. He pointed into the garden. ‘That’s an eye-cycle.’

‘I thought they were sculptures,’ said Amy.

‘You’re very right!’ laughed Squitcher clapping his hands. ‘E-y-e-c-y-c-l-e-s …’ he spelt it out for them. ‘It is arty. And is jolly good prediction machine also. You look through them and you see things.’

‘What things?’ Amy was suddenly nervous.

‘It depends. Cycles go round and round-a-bout so it could be forward or back,’ said Squitcher. ‘We use the eye-cycles to answer questions.’

‘Like fortune tellers?’ said Questrid.

‘Yes, you could call us that. Pastune tellers too. They work both ways. I’m thinking it would be jolly useful to be able to see what the Shane Annigan person is doing. And where he has taken the Ralick.’

‘Fantastic idea,’ said Copper. ‘Will they do that?’

‘Might do … But not now,’ said Squitcher. ‘Too late and not enough light. First, we must get you food and make places for you to sleep and all those things.
Humans are too big for fitting into the ice houses, so we will bring everything out to the cave. Please wait.’

Squitcher soon reappeared with six other pixicles. They brought mattresses and blankets. The mattresses were so small that they needed two each to lie on. The pixicles brought food too. It wasn’t very tasty, being so cold, but it made them feel much better once they’d eaten it.

The other pixicles were shy and did not stay and talk. Squitcher said goodnight and went back to his ice house. Soon all the lights went out and it was quiet.

Questrid and Copper laid their mattresses down at the back of the cave. Amy put hers nearer the entrance of the cave where it was cooler. Boldly Seer was curled up like a giant cat against the wall, snoring.

‘Listen to her tummy!’ Questrid said. ‘It sounds like a crowd of people are striking matches in there.’

‘Are you OK over there, Amy?’ said Copper.

‘I’m fine.’

‘I hope everyone back home isn’t too worried about us,’ said Questrid.

‘They’ll have got Casimir’s message,’ said Copper. ‘They know what we’re doing … I hope Ralick’s all right.’

Amy stared into the darkness and dug her fingers into the snow beside her. She made a snowball. She punched eyes into it. A mouth. Made a nose.

She looked out through the mouth of the cave at the black sky. It was dotted with stars. She listened to the dragon’s belly gurgling and bubbling. She listened to her
breathing. Perhaps Copper couldn’t sleep either. This would be such a good moment to speak to her, to tell her the truth. In the dark.

‘Copper? Copper?’ she called softly.

But both Copper and Questrid had fallen asleep.

Amy sighed.

Something hot fell on her cheek. It was a tear. But it couldn’t be! I don’t weep, she thought. I’m strong. She wiped it away and rubbed her damp nose …

Her nose. Her
face.
She’d almost forgotten those awful things the rockgoyle had said. Now she remembered. What if my face is going ugly and spoiling like that rockgoyle told me? she thought. I haven’t seen a mirror for ages. Copper’s too nice to say. Squitcher wouldn’t know … Did Questrid look at me oddly? Maybe I’m getting uglier and uglier and everyone knows what a cheat I am and hates me.

I wish I’d never come. I wish I’d never seen Granite, or Malachite Mountain or Copper or anything.

Squitcher woke them in the morning. He brought glasses of a delicious red juice and white cake with pink icing. After they had eaten, they went outside.

All the other pixicles were watching them from the windows or the doors of their houses.

Every single pixicle was wearing a brightly coloured hat.

‘Hats because it’s a great privilege-honour to use the eye-cycles,’ explained Squitcher. He was wearing a sky blue hat with ear flaps. ‘Come on.’

He led them to his house. There was an eye-cycle in the garden. It was carved from a solid cloudy stack of ice. It was like a totem pole, patterned with faces and animals.

‘It’s beautiful,’ said Copper. ‘I love the noise it makes when the chimes jangle.’

‘Tune,’
Squitcher said. He stroked the eye-cycle
proudly. ‘Fortunes and pastunes. Presently this is singing-ringing a pastune. Just what you need, I think.’

At the height of Copper’s knee – eye level for a pixicle – there was a cross-piece. It was angled through the main pole. This was the bit you looked through, like a telescope.

‘No promises,’ said Squitcher, anxiously. ‘Might not be working today for you. Also might not understand what you see. Put your right eye against the hole,’ he said. ‘Close other eye and sort of think about what you want to know.’

Copper did as he said. ‘Oh, it’s blowing cold air at me!’ She laughed. ‘Can’t see a thing … It’s all dark, no … here it comes … it’s clearing … I’m seeing something!’

Amy watched anxiously. She bit her lip.

What if Copper’s pastune showed Amy speaking with Granite? Amy carving horrible gargoyles down in the basement with Aunt Agnes and Uncle John? What if it showed Amy choking on the smell of wood? Or leaning out of the window to eavesdrop on Copper and Questrid?

Amy busied herself with the ball of snow. It was somehow still in her hands from last night. She was finishing its features. It was soothing to work on it while she watched.

The eye-cycle began to make a tune. It began to whisper and tinkle. The sound reminded Amy of hailstones falling on ice. Wind murmuring through the pine trees. Cold water trickling.

‘Pastune arriving!’ said Squitcher. He clapped his hands. ‘Pictures coming!’

Amy felt hot blood flooding her cheeks. They are going to find out about me! It’s not fair, it’s not fair! She concentrated on her snowball face. She gave it some heavy eyebrows. Some big fangs. It wasn’t as simple as it used to be, somehow. The chin crumbled and fell … I haven’t had a chance. Everything’s spoiled now. I hate them …

Copper was speaking slowly. ‘Yes, yes …’ she said. ‘I see Shane Annigan. He’s smirking. He’s got Ralick. Ralick’s there! He’s all tied up with that stuff. Like Questrid. They’re going through big white doors, really big doors … The walls are sort of greenish and slippery. It’s got windows like the Rock. Now I see it’s a mountain. There’s a crystal ball thing on the top – and, oh! It’s gone!’

‘Where?’ said Questrid. He peered over Copper’s shoulder, trying to see into the eye-cycle. ‘I want to see!’

Squitcher rubbed his little pointed ears. ‘Sounds like Malachite Mountain to me.’

Malachite Mountain?
Amy let go of the snowball face she’d made. It dropped into the snow with a ‘plop’. What was Shane Annigan doing
there
?

‘What’s the matter, Amy?’ said Copper.

Questrid picked up Amy’s snowball. ‘Here you go. Don’t spoil your snow sculpture.’

Amy tried to snatch the ball back from him. ‘Leave it alone.’

‘Sorry … Oh, it’s a face,’ said Questrid. He gave it a
long look. ‘Amy, it’s scary! What on earth made you do that!’ He held it up for the others to see. ‘Look! Isn’t it freaky?’

The face had heavy brows and protruding frog eyes which somehow, even made out of snow, were full of hatred. The mouth seemed to be laughing meanly. It managed to look more evil without a chin.

‘Amy, how could you?’ said Copper.

Amy snatched it back. She threw it away with all her might. ‘I don’t know,’ she shouted. ‘I didn’t mean to. It just grew. I didn’t know it was so ugly. Don’t look at me like that! It was nothing!’

‘I think it’s very clever,’ said Squitcher. ‘You’d make fine ice sculptor. Make good eye-cycles.’

‘Forget it,’ said Amy. ‘Just forget it.’

She saw Copper and Questrid exchange a bemused glance. Her insides hurt.

‘The Malaknight Mountain, then?’ Amy said. She thrust her hands into her pockets and assumed an innocent expression. ‘Is it near?’

‘Malachite,’ Squitcher said. ‘It’s not far, as the dragon flies. Granite lives-abiding there now.’

‘Granite?’
Copper squeaked. ‘Ah, yes. That’s where Lord Lazulite lived, isn’t it? And Granite took over. But what has Shane Annigan got to do with Granite? I don’t understand …’

‘Would it be all right if I tried one of the eye-cycles?’ asked Amy. ‘Just quickly?’

‘Of course you may,’ said Squitcher. ‘You have been helping also. It’s singing a fortune now.’

Amy knelt down in the snow and put her eye against the round eye hole. Cold damp air blew against her eyeball. She blinked. The darkness cleared and she saw her room at Malachite Mountain. She gasped. She could see herself there, in the future! It was her, Amy! She was wearing the new pale blue, fur-lined cloak with the hood that Granite had given her. The figure turned very slowly. Amy’s blood froze. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled. Her face! Her face had changed. It had changed like the rockgoyle said it would. It was the face of the ugliest, grey-skinned, pointy-eared rockgoyle she’d ever seen.

‘No!’ She sat down heavily. ‘No! It’s not true! It’s not!’ Copper rushed to her. ‘What is it?’

But Amy shook her head. ‘Nothing, nothing,’ she croaked weakly. ‘Just a surprise. Someone I didn’t expect to see. Nothing.’

‘Remember, Amy, that you don’t always see so truly-clearly if it is the future you look into,’ whispered Squitcher. ‘It is not so solid. Hasn’t yet happened like the gone-away-past.’

‘Oh, no, this was clear,’ said Amy, grimly. ‘Couldn’t be clearer.’

I’m turning into a rockgoyle, she thought, and nothing will stop it. I’ve seen it happen! There’s no hope for me, no hope. I might as well be horrid and mean because I’m turning into the ugliest creature in the universe, anyway.

‘Poor Amy,’ said Copper. ‘Perhaps you should have looked at a pastune, not a fortune?’

Amy bit back hard words that sprang to her lips. Leave me alone, she wanted to scream at them. Don’t be nice to me! You don’t know what I am. You have no idea what’s happening to me! She turned her back on them.

‘Now I’m thinking speed is important,’ said Squitcher. ‘Jolly far-distant away that Malachite Mountain and you need to be there. Yes?’

‘Yes,’ said Copper. She was lingering close to Amy. Amy knew Copper wanted to comfort her, but she kept her back to her.

‘And you tell me this Shane Annigan did that thing to Boldly Seer and to your lanky boy and stole your wolf?’

‘Yes,’ said Copper.

‘Then he is Dragon Destroyer. Enemy. Maybe Boldly Seer will take us there.’

‘Great!’ cried Questrid. ‘Oh, fantastic! I’ve
always
wanted to ride a dragon. Oh, will she? Really?’

‘Let’s go ask her,’ said Squitcher.

Amy followed them slowly back to the cave. If only she had a mirror. She tried to feel her cheeks and nose to see if they’d changed, but it was so hard to tell. And anyway, she hadn’t got time to dwell on her face. It was Shane and Granite that she needed to concentrate on.

Shane Annigan must have known I was going to kidnap Ralick, she thought. But he got the wolf first.
He
wants the reward. Granite’ll be so angry and disappointed with me! He won’t make me a princess. He won’t let me stay at Malachite Mountain. I don’t want to go back to Aunt Agnes and Uncle John. It’s not fair.