Faerie Wars 01 - Faerie Wars (45 page)

'What did he say about me?' Comma asked quickly.

Pyrgus stared at him severely. 'Nothing, brother. Should he have said something?'

Comma shook his head violently. 'No. No, of course not. I -- I was just ...'

'Wondering?' Pyrgus finished for him.

Comma had the look of a trapped rabbit, but said nothing. The silence in the room stretched to breaking point.

'Why?' Blue asked to cut the tension. 'Why did Tithonus betray us? He's known us since we were babies. He's known our father for ever.'

'His sympathies were with the Nightside,' Pyrgus told her simply. 'He believed they could win.' He sighed. 'Beleth promised him he would be Emperor.'

'Tithonus? Emperor?'

'Don't get too excited,' Pyrgus said. 'Beleth promised Hairstreak he would be Emperor as well. And Silas Brimstone. And probably a hundred others we don't know about. Beleth lied to everybody -- it's his nature. What he really wanted was the Realm of Faerie for himself. But Tithonus was the key. He was Gatekeeper, the one we trusted.'

Blue shook her head. 'I can hardly believe this.'

'Tithonus kept a demon hidden in the palace,' Pyrgus said. 'He used it as a sort of courier to carry messages to Beleth. That's how they planned the demon invasion.'

Henry asked curiously, 'How come the demons stopped invading?'

'You stopped them, Henry,' Pyrgus said.

Henry looked at Pyrgus, then at Blue, then back at Pyrgus again. 'I did?'

'You stopped them when you stamped on
The Book of Beleth,'
Pyrgus said. The book was the main control portal between Hell and the Realm of Faerie. Once you destroyed it, all the other portals ceased to operate.'

'What, between this world and mine?' Henry asked in alarm.

Pyrgus shook his head. 'No, just between this world and the demon world. Beleth set up the control device centuries ago and disguised it as a book so nobody would think to close it down. The rituals were psychotronic triggers so it could be used for conjuration, but its real purpose was to keep the portals open so demons could have easy access to the realm.'

'Good grief,' Henry said.

'It must have been Tithonus's demon who made Henry's friend kill Daddy,' Blue remarked.

'Yipes!!' Henry shouted, jumping to his feet.

They swung round in alarm. 'What's wrong? What's the matter?'

'Mr Fogarty!' Henry exclaimed. 'There was so much going on I forgot about him completely. We left him in the cell -- getting ready to be hanged!'

'Then we must get him out,' Pyrgus said. He turned to one of several aides who hovered on the edges of the conversation. 'See to it.'

'Yes, Majesty.'

Yes, Majesty, Henry thought. His friend was an emperor. The new Purple Emperor.

Blue groaned. 'That was my fault,' she said to Henry. 'You wanted me to let him out, but I thought he was a murderer.'

'That was what you were meant to think,' Pyrgus told her. 'Mr Fogarty may have been a murderer
technically,
but it was the demon driving him to do it.'

Henry said, 'I don't think Mr Fogarty did murder your father, even technically -- I think he fought off the demon.'

They both turned to him. 'Why do you say that, Henry?' Pyrgus asked him soberly.

'Just before you ... you know, appeared in the triangle, there was this demon thing turned up -- '

'I forgot to tell you,' Blue put in.

'I was scared when I saw it,' Henry said, 'but it was confused and I don't think it could see properly. It thought it was talking to Beleth some of the time and it kept saying it couldn't make somebody do what they were told. And it also said
Kill the Emperor a
couple of times. I think that must have been the demon Tithonus was hiding in the palace, the one that was supposed to make Mr Fogarty kill your father. Only I think when it tried to take over his mind, he drove it mental. He's a bit odd -- Mr Fogarty,' he ended weakly.

'He is a wise and powerful man,' Pyrgus said seriously. 'I plan to ask him if he will serve as my new Gatekeeper.'

Blue said, 'If your friend didn't kill Daddy, who did? The demon wouldn't actually have been there, would it?'

'My guess is Tithonus,' Henry said. 'Mr Fogarty was locked up fighting the demon in his head. I think when he saw Mr Fogarty wasn't going to do it, he took the gun and shot your father himself, then blamed Mr Fogarty. Mr Fogarty was too confused even to contradict him.'

'I'm sure that's right,' Comma put in suddenly. He almost managed to smile. 'I'm sure everything was down to Tithonus. Just Tithonus. On his own.'

Pyrgus looked unbelievable in the full formal regalia of the Purple Emperor. The heavy robes and towering mitre-crown made him appear far taller than he was, while the ornate, multi-coloured Peacock Throne lent him a surprising dignity. Holly Blue was seated on a smaller throne beside him, dressed entirely in white and looking absolutely -- Henry swallowed and dragged his eyes away. He was already in enough trouble for ogling the Princess Royal. All the same, she gave him a small, encouraging smile.

The throne room was hung with golden banners and thronged with courtiers in bright costumes. A stone-faced military guard in full dress uniform formed a colonnade along the centre of the chamber. Henry had to walk between them and the prospect scared him witless.

'Get on with it!' Fogarty hissed, poking him in the back. He was dressed in something that seemed suspiciously like wizard's gear -- a robe with embroidered stars and a pointed hat -- but somehow managed to look quite comfortable. There was a sash across his chest emblazoned with the insignia of Gatekeeper.

Henry stumbled forward, caught his balance and began the long walk to the throne. To his profound embarrassment, each guard saluted him as he walked past and the courtiers began to applaud. He felt his face turn to flame, but there was nothing he could do about it. He fixed his eyes on a point on the floor six feet ahead and kept on walking.

It felt like several years, but eventually he found himself at the steps below the throne. Remembering an earlier instruction from Mr Fogarty, he bowed. As he straightened up again, he saw Pyrgus and Blue walking at a stately pace down the steps towards him. Henry closed his eyes, wondering how on earth he'd got himself into this. When he opened them again, Blue was smiling at him broadly. But it was Pyrgus who spoke.

'Kneel!' he commanded in a voice that carried through the hall.

Henry went down on one knee. 'Like King Arthur's knights,' Mr Fogarty had told him, but he didn't feel much like a knight. In fact he felt a twit. To hide his embarrassment, he bowed his head again.

The chamber fell to a deathly silence.

'Take notice all persons present,' Pyrgus intoned in that remarkable new official voice of his, 'that in token of his courageous and unstinting service to Faerie Realm and Purple Emperor, this citizen of the Analogue World, Henry Atherton, is hereby awarded the most noble and meritorious title of Knight Commander of the Grey Dagger, our realm's most ancient Order of Chivalry, and shall henceforth be known throughout the land by his Faerie name,
Iron Prominent.
A flunkey handed him a grey dagger on a purple cushion and he held it out to Henry. 'Of course we'll still just call you Henry in private,' Pyrgus whispered.

'Thanks,' Henry muttered.

'Arise, Iron Prominent!' Pyrgus commanded.

There was a trumpet fanfare and a swell of cheering as Henry struggled to his feet. 'Now,' Pyrgus whispered, 'there's somewhere you and I have to go.'

They were in a narrow street called Seething Lane and this time, thank heavens, Henry was not the centre of attention. Pyrgus was at his shoulder, dressed the way he was when Henry had first met him. Ranged around them was a company of the toughest soldiers Henry had encountered.

'That's it,' Pyrgus said, nodding. 'My father wouldn't close it down because of politics, but the Nighters are on the run now, so I reckon I can do what I damn well please.'

The glue works at the bottom of the lane looked miserable to Henry. They were covered in grime and belching smoke, as gloomy a set of buildings as he'd ever seen in his life. Pyrgus gave a signal and the soldiers wheeled up an enormous wood-and-twisted-rope machine that reminded Henry of Roman catapults. The captain of the guard began personally to wind back the throwing arm.

'Have all animals been evacuated?' Pyrgus asked.

'Yes, sire,' said the captain.

'And the people?'

'Yes, sire.'

Pyrgus turned to Henry. 'We have one of the owners -- Chalkhill -- in jail. He'll be there for a very long time. The other one, Brimstone, has gone into hiding, but we'll find him eventually, I promise you that,' he said grimly.

Henry licked his lips. He was fascinated by the enormous catapult. Four soldiers were rolling a gigantic rock on to the throwing cradle.

'Have the coatings been applied?' asked Pyrgus.

'Liberally, sire,' the captain assured him.

The rock was on the cradle now and the soldiers stood back, panting and sweating. The captain finished winding back the ropes and wedged the wheel to hold them. 'Ready, Emperor!' he snapped.

Pyrgus stared down Seething Lane towards the gloomy factory. 'Fire,' he ordered quietly.

The captain knocked out the wedge and stepped back in a single movement. Henry actually felt wind on his face as the catapult jerked violently. The huge arm whipped forward with unimaginable ferocity. He watched as the enormous rock arced higher than the rooftops, then fell like a meteor towards the factory.

It struck dead centre on the roof of the main building, to one side of a smoking chimney, and crashed through as if the structure was matchwood. For a heartbeat there was total silence, then the spell coatings triggered.

A sheet of flame erupted sideways through the factory buildings, shattering windows and walls, collapsing roofs, hurtling stonework and fiery beams high into the air. The noise was deafening and the explosive spells went on and on. Henry watched chimneys tumble, metal gates twist into slag, melting machinery suddenly exposed as their gloomy housing disappeared. In moments it was over. In place of the Chalkhill and Brimstone Miracle Glue factory, there was nothing but a smoking wasteland leading out to Wildmoor Broads.

'That's for the kittens,' Pyrgus whispered.

Mr Fogarty said it didn't matter where he used the cube -- it would still open a portal -- but it was usually better to trigger it outside. So they decided to say their farewells in the palace gardens.

'You might keep an eye on the house,' Fogarty said. He was dressed in an amazing ermine-trimmed robe, which he claimed was the official uniform of his new position. 'I'll be popping back from time to time, but I expect to be spending most of my time here.' He glanced briefly at the sky and added seriously, 'None of the surveillance agencies know how to get to this world yet, so I should be left in peace for a time.'

'Yes, I will,' Henry said about the house. There would be trouble with his parents, but he didn't care.

'You can rely on me.'

Pyrgus placed a hand on his shoulder. 'And so can I.' He looked Henry deep in the eyes. 'Henry,' he said, 'I want to thank you. I owe you my life.'

Henry flushed. 'Oh, it wasn't like that,' he said, embarrassed. 'I mean, I...' He trailed off, not knowing what to say. After a moment, what he did say was, 'Well, I suppose I'd better be going.'

'Henry?' Blue said.

Henry pulled the cube from his pocket as he turned towards her. It was the first time she'd spoken to him since he'd changed back into his old clothes and he'd been wondering if she thought he looked stupid. 'Yes?'