Beyond the Shroud (7 page)

Q's face turned grey. ‘No,' he whispered. ‘She didn't come with us.'

The trim figure of Ms Usherwood appeared in the doorway beside Withers. ‘Hello, Adam,' she said briefly. ‘Now, Q, what's all this about Hannah?'

‘She … I …' Deep lines were etched on Q's face. He'd aged twenty years in the last few seconds — he looked like an old, old man.

‘Seems Withers thought she'd come with us ter fetch Adam,' growled Shaw, ‘but she didn't. Last we saw of 'er was when we was leavin' yesterday afternoon.'

‘She'll be hiding away somewhere to give us a fright, the little madam,' Usherwood said crisply. ‘For goodness sake, Q, sit down before you fall down.'

‘The 'ole night? Not bloomin' likely, Usherwood. Kid's been missin' close on twenty-four hours. I reckon we search the house and the grounds, then call the cops. This set up says one thing ter me, and that's …
kidnap.
Sorry, Q, but
that's my fix on it. Think about it: you an' me both away, gate wide open … might as well put out the welcome mat an' start countin' the ransom.'

Withers wrung his hands. ‘If we'd known she was still on the property, we would have kept the usual security measures in place … but from what she said I was convinced you'd taken her with you, and that's what I told the others. How will I ever forgive myself?'

‘Wot she said?' barked Shaw. ‘An' wot was that?'

‘She came into my office shortly before you left — about three o'clock or so. I was busy with the tax return at the time, or I would have questioned her more closely. She said … let me see … “I'm going to fetch someone I haven't seen for a long, long time.” Adam, obviously. Then she prattled on, as she does — about a surprise, and a secret; I shouldn't tell anybody … I'm afraid I simply assumed you'd agreed to take her with you after all, Q — or that she was planning to stow away in the back seat. This is all my fault.'

Q shook his head. ‘Don't blame yourself, Withers,' he said dully. ‘Anyone would have thought the same. How could you possibly have known that for once I was determined to leave her behind? I was afraid there might be unpleasantness when we collected Adam, and I didn't want her exposed to anything upsetting. And she seemed surprisingly happy to stay. But now …'

‘Well, there's nothin' to be gained by beatin' yourselves up about it,' growled Shaw. ‘Wee 'annah's always full o' nonsense … it'd be a full-time job to make 'ead or tail of 'alf she comes out with. Wot we need ter do now is get movin' — search for an hour. And if we 'aven't found 'er by then, call the cops.'

‘I agree,' said Ms Usherwood. ‘Let's not waste any more time. You and the groundsmen search outside. Withers and I will gather the house staff and allocate search areas
indoors. Go on to the library, Adam — you know the way. We'll join you directly.'

I walked up the wide stone steps into the echoing hallway, my feet like lead. Hannah kidnapped? It's the kind of thing you read about in newspapers, not something that happens to people you know, in real life. Yet how many other strange — no, impossible — things had happened since I'd first come to Quested Court? Q was one of the richest men in the world, according to Cameron — though that was easy to forget. But surely it was more likely that she'd gone up to one of the disused rooms on the upper floors — an attic, maybe — and somehow locked herself in by mistake … or fallen and hurt her leg — even knocked herself out, somewhere in the huge grounds …

I opened the library door and stepped inside. The heavy velvet drapes were closed, the room dark and deserted. I groped for the light switch beside the door and flicked it on. The crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling blazed into brilliant life — and in the same instant, the room exploded into a hubbub of shouts and laughter, of stamping, dancing feet, waving arms and crazy yells. ‘Surprise!
Surprise!
'

It couldn't be …
it was!
Richard, popping up from behind Q's leather armchair like a jack-in-the-box, his blond hair tousled and his face one massive grin … Kenta peeking from behind a curtain, her dark eyes sparkling … Jamie trundling out from behind the suit of armour, his chubby face flushed and beaming with excitement.

And another girl — a stranger — straightening up from her hiding place under Q's computer desk and walking towards me, hands held out.

I gaped at them all … goggled at her. Questions jostled
with the beginnings of answers in my numb brain. Hannah's surprises — this must be one of them! The whole thing of Hannah missing — was it part of it too? A trick — a carefully planned not-very-funny joke? But then — where
was
Hannah? And the stranger — who was she? And why was she behaving like she knew me? I took her hands reluctantly in mine, feeling like a colossal fool. Behind her, Richard was grinning fit to bust, an expression on his face as if he was waiting for something. I stared at the girl. Hair a tangle of tawny gold … huge eyes as blue as cornflowers … a delicate, oval face … a smile that took my breath away. I gawked at her like an idiot, battling to make sense of it all. Her smile reminded me of someone … but who?

‘Well —
are
you surprised?' she was demanding, in a voice that sounded weirdly familiar. ‘Aren't you pleased to see us? You don't
look
pleased!'

‘He doesn't recognise you, like I said!' hooted Rich.

‘Oh, shut up, Richard — don't be ridiculous!' The blue eyes flashed, and at the same time a blush spread over her lovely face … a faint pink tide that started at the end of her nose and worked its way outward, till even the tips of her perfect ears were glowing like traffic lights.

My mouth fell open. ‘
Gen?
'

‘I don't see what all the fuss is about, you guys,' Jamie said staunchly, waddling up to me and holding out a slightly sticky hand for me to shake. ‘You ought to stop teasing Gen. It hasn't got anything to do with being bitten by the Serpent of Beauty. I think she looks just the same as she always did — she's always been real pr—' And he blushed bright pink too.

Seeing them all again … the unexpectedness of it, on top of the thing with Hannah … even though I was smiling, I could feel tears in my eyes. ‘It's great to see you all,' I mumbled. ‘It's the coolest surprise ever. But Hannah … is she …'

I guess part of me still hoped she might pop up out of her hiding place and skip over to give me a hug. But I knew, with cold certainly like a knife in my heart, that however many surprises had been planned, Hannah's disappearance wasn't one of them.

Just then Q appeared in the doorway, Usherwood and Shaw grim-faced behind him. He was holding a piece of paper, but his hand was trembling so much I was sure he would drop it. Gently, I reached out and took his arm. ‘What is it, Q? Is it … a ransom note?'

He shook his head helplessly. ‘This is all too much,' he croaked. ‘I don't even begin to understand.' The paper fluttered to the ground.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a little silvery-grey shape scamper through the door and across the carpet. A kitten. I felt a stab of sadness — it must be Hannah's, one of the surprises she was planning for me. And now …

I bent and picked up the paper. It was small and square, pale pink, with purple writing. It didn't look like a ransom note. Hesitantly, I read it out, my voice sounding very loud in the silent room.

My mind was racing. What had Hannah told Withers?
I'm going to fetch someone I haven't seen for a long, long time.
Withers thought she meant me, but she didn't. She meant Tiger Lily.

Looking round at the others' blank faces, I couldn't
believe they didn't understand at once. Hannah had this planned all along: the biggest surprise of all in what I knew would have been a long list of surprises.

‘Hannah's gone to Karazan,' I heard myself saying. ‘On her own. And if she's gone without the microcomputer …'

We knew what we would find in the computer room, and we were right. All the computers dark and lifeless … except one. Mine: turned on, the cursor blinking patiently on an empty screen. And half-under the table, face down on the carpet, Hannah's teddy.

We watched Q walk slowly to his desk at the front of the room. He slid open a drawer, took something out, and stood staring down at it as if he'd been turned to stone. We all knew what it was. We would have recognised it anywhere. It was the microcomputer we had taken with us into Karazan: a prototype, the only one of its kind. On its tiny keyboard, on keys the size of grains of rice, I'd input the command that catapulted us back from Karazan:
Alt Control Q.
It was a lifeline, a passport back to our own dimension … and it was here, in Q's hand, in the computer room at Quested Court.

Hannah was alone in Karazan, with no way of getting back again.

‘My clothes — have you still got them?'

At the sound of my voice, a tiny smile appeared on Q's face, but his eyes were far, far away. ‘I beg your pardon, dear boy?'

‘My gear — the stuff I wore to Karazan,' I repeated impatiently. ‘Have you still got it, or did you chuck it all out?'

‘I — of course we still have it. But …'

‘Where is it?' I looked up at the clock on the computer room wall. ‘I reckon it'll take me maybe … five minutes to put it all on. In six minutes — five and a half if I'm quick — I'll be there.'

Q was still staring at me as blankly as if I was speaking a foreign language. I didn't have time to waste. She'd been gone nearly twenty-four hours … time enough for anything to have happened. I turned and ran out of the computer room … along the passage … up the stairs, two at a time.

‘Hey — Adam! Adam — wait up!' Without slowing down, I glanced over my shoulder. Richard was halfway up the stairs, arms pumping, face a scowl of determination. Behind him puffed Jamie, already puce in the face. Hot on his heels, Kenta … and Gen bringing up the rear. Something in their faces made me slow and stop. I stood there on the landing, arms folded, looking down at them. They stopped too, staring up at me … and on every face, the exact same look.

I opened my mouth to say: ‘What is it?' To say: ‘Forget it.' To say: ‘One person will attract less attention than five — especially three with pink skin and blond hair. Especially one who looks like Gen.' But there wasn't time to argue. What's more, there wasn't any point.

So instead, I found myself grinning back down at my four friends like a prize idiot. ‘OK then — have it your way! But quick — we have to hurry!'