Keys and Curses (Shadow Book 2) (28 page)

Flower, sitting next to Nikifor, gritted her teeth. “I’m not sure how much more of this I can stand,” she said. “The Bloody Fairies are blinded by their own convictions. Nikifor we must find the king and prove him innocent of these dreadful charges.”

Nikifor exchanged a sidelong glance with Fitz, who simply shrugged and shook his head. “Flower, this is not the best place to say such things,” he said.

“And what is the best place? When will we be free to speak the truth? Our king saved this very tribe from the vampires twenty-five years ago, and yet he’s the villain!”

“And here they are fighting vampires again, this time as agents of the Guild he set up.” Nikifor regretted the words as soon as they were out of his mouth, but it was too late to take them back.

Flower went white. Then she stood up and stormed away.

“You made her mad.” Mudface stared at him with miserable eyes. She moved closer to Fitz.

“I’m sorry, little one.”

Fitz laid a hand on his shoulder. “You’re going to have to have it out with her sooner or later, my friend. She knows the truth but won’t face it. Go after her. This may be your last chance to open her eyes.”

Nikifor knew he was right. He also knew Flower would not listen to him, but he had to try. He plunged into the crowds of fairies. They parted to let him go, and he couldn’t help but feel they were all glad to see both muses leaving their village. He hurried through the high gateway and found her standing in the middle of the field, looking up at the sun.

He crossed the grass. The action made his head spin. One moment it was just a grassy field, the next it was filled with the corpses of vampires, muses and fairies, all lying side by side in the final grim brother and sisterhood of victims of war. Blood stained the grass at every step. Balls of fire whistled overhead. The chilling, rhythmic roar of the vampire king roused his troops to war.

Then the field was green and sun-soaked again. Nikifor stopped near Flower and cleared his throat.

She turned to face him, arms folded. “Do you remember it now, Nikifor? Do you remember the war?”

“Yes.” The word fell from his lips reluctantly.

“So do I.” She looked off at the forest that ran past the fairy village and away into the distance. “We fought by the side of the Bloody Fairies. You single-handedly held off the vampires when the king and Hippy left to seek the weapon that won the war. The Apple of Chaos. Do you remember that?”

A flash. Sparks flying from a skeleton, a cart hurtling through a sea of some unimaginable horror. He shuddered.

“They wouldn’t even be alive if it wasn’t for the king.” Flower touched his face, forcing him to look at her. “Nikifor, my friend, my brother, I have to ask you this because I doubt you, even though it causes me pain after all the years we’ve known each other. Are you loyal to our king?”

Once, such a question would have outraged him.

Now Flower must have read the answer in his eyes because she flung away from him. “I knew it! It’s that Fitz Falls, isn’t it? He’s turned you away from your king, your own kind, who you are!”

“Flower,” Nikifor said.

“You mustn’t listen to him!” Flower cried. “Listen to me, Nikifor, I am hundreds of years older than the both of you, don’t you think I know what’s best?”

“Why would our king set vampires back on us?” Nikifor fired the question from behind his rapidly crumbling restraint.

“He wouldn’t! He would never do that!”

“But he set up the Guild, didn’t he?”

“Yes-”

“And the Moon Troopers were there from the start.”

“Yes, but-”

“Do not deny they are all vampires Flower!” Nikifor lost every last shred of control he had left. Words exploded from him like lava from a volcano. “You’ve seen it for yourself, as have I! How did it happen? How did we not know? How does he control them?”

“It’s not him doing it! It can’t be!” Flower seized his hands. “Nikifor, we can answer all of these questions and I know in my soul we will find the king innocent. Let’s go, let’s go now and find him. I know where to go, I figured it out. You’re so much better than you were, you’re ready to face him, the curse can wait until afterwards. He needs us, he needs us now. Will you ignore your king when he is in peril?”

“Yes,” Nikifor said.

“Yes?” she looked confused. “Yes we’ll go?”

“Yes I will ignore him.” Nikifor raised his wrist and showed her the scar. “He did this to me. He branded me when I let Hippy Ishtar escape him. He forced me to drink vibe until I could not stop and then plunged me into hell. He tormented me until I was little better than a madman. I hope he rots in a pit of despair until the end of days!” His last words ended on a shout.

Flower took a step away from him. A tear slid down her face. “You’re having another episode,” she said. “That must be it. Our king would never do those things. Some imposter is making you think he is the king. Please Nikifor, let the king help you. Come with me now.”

Nikifor dropped his head. A long breath expelled from his ribs, a heavy sigh of disappointment. “Don’t go, Flower.”

“The king needs us. I at least will go to his aid.”

“He will kill you.”

Flower turned toward the forest. She cast a haunted look over her shoulder. “I’m sorry Nikifor. I tried so hard to save you, but I can see you’re beyond my help. I’ll ask the king to come back for you.”

The rigid set of her shoulders made it clear there was no reasoning with her. A wave of terror for his friend coursed through his blood. “Flower I swear to you he is evil! You will suffer a thousand deaths at his hands!”

“Enough, Nikifor.” She walked away.

Nikifor fell to his knees and buried his face in his hands. Only when Fitz touched his shoulder did he realise there had been witnesses to their argument.

“Let her go, friend,” Fitz said.

“But she will meet the fate of the other muses.” Nikifor couldn’t keep the tremble from his voice.

“If she won’t face the truth about the king, we can’t stop her going to him. His hold on her is powerful.”

“But-”

“She must make her own mistakes.” Fitz’s tone brooked no argument.

“Even if she dies of them?”

“She’s not dying,” a small, determined voice said next to him.

Nikifor raised his eyes to Mudface, who was at eye level with him while he knelt. Her jaw was set and her eyes hard. The indefinable essence of pink about her had spread to a pink streak in her hair. “How do you know?”

“Because I’m going with her,” Mudface said. “The king’s not expecting a Bloomin Fairy.” She gave Nikifor a glance so unexpectedly vicious he recoiled.

“Aren’t you afraid of the king?” he whispered.

“I’ve been cursed pink.” Her voice was bitter. “What’s left to be afraid of?” She patted Fitz’s arm. “Be careful at the mines, Great Clip Clop.”

“This is not a good idea, Mudface.” Fitz put out a hand to detain her.

“Maybe, maybe not, but it’s my idea. The Lord of the Gourd doesn’t tell me what to do now. Nor do you. Bye bye, Nikifor. I’ll look after Flower. Us dead ones got to stick together.”

As simple as that, Mudface walked after Flower.

Nikifor rose to his feet and watched them go. Cold fingers gripped at his heart. He’d failed them both. “Are we to let them go to their deaths?”

“Mate, if I’ve learned one thing in my life, it’s not to argue with a determined woman.” Fitz shaded his eyes to watch while the pair grew smaller and further away. “They generally know what they’re doing. Even when they don’t seem to.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Fury thumped in Flower’s skull, drove her steps, propelled her away from Ishtar Village as fast as she could walk. She strode with her head down and her fists clenched until she found the road into the forest and turned down it.

The road slowed her furious march. Mud sucked her boots down with every footstep. The motion of dragging her feet out again and again gradually calmed her, leaving her only with a hard, burning anger. When her legs ached too much to go on, she sat on the mossy rocks by the roadside, put her head in her hands and cursed herself.

She should never have left the village. She shouldn’t have abandoned Nikifor, even if he was a traitor. She could have made him see the truth, given enough time and the right persuasion. She shouldn’t have left for the plain and simple fact Shadow was crawling with Moon Troopers looking for them. At least together they’d stood half a chance.

She’d just have to find the king before they found her. She pushed away her doubts and put her key back together, since there was nobody around to freak out over it now. Yes, she could feel it in her bones, the king was at Castle Arch. He needed her help and this road would lead her to him.

She opened her eyes and yelped in fright.

The apparition standing in front of her gave her a reproachful look. “You walked too fast.”

“Go back, Mudface.” Troubled the Bloomin Fairy had witnessed her moment of weakness, Flower reached out and brushed a lock of hair as pink as Krysta’s from the girl’s face. “This road is too dangerous for you.”

Mudface sat down beside her. Her book was clutched, as always, to her chest. “I’m coming with you.”

“Don’t be silly. You need to stay with Nikifor and Fitz.”

Mudface heaved a sigh so deep her shoulders rose and fell. “They’re going to rescue the Freakin Fairies. I’m not much help in  a big war like that.” She turned her face to Flower, resolute. “But I can help you.”

Flower held back the snort of amusement that built inside her. “How can you help me? You’re just-”

“Just a Bloomin Fairy?” Mudface’s eyes flashed. “You’re just a crazy muse who don’t know what she’s getting into. What if you get killed or disappear? Nobody would know. Except me.” She poked herself in the chest.

“And what if you get killed or disappear?”

Mudface gave her a thin smile, opened her book and thrust it under her nose.

Flower took the book and studied it. On one page was a picture of a girl with pink hair, wearing a pink suit and pink shoes, holding a rolled-up newspaper under one arm. On the other page, in bold letters, one sentence.

“Pinky writes in Shadow and Dream,” Flower read aloud. “What does that mean?”

“I didn’t know till Lord of the Gourd cursed me,” Mudface said. “That’s me. I write for Shadow and Dream. That means I won’t get killed helping you, because I haven’t done that yet.”

Flower couldn’t fault the logic. She brushed her fingers over the picture. “This is you though? Really?”

Mudface’s eyebrows drew together and she snatched the book back. “Stupid Lord of the Gourd. I hate pink.” She flicked through the pages and paused at one. Her lower lip trembled and a tic developed under her right eye.

“What is it?” Flower took the book from her again. “What in Shadow does this mean?”

The pictograms were badly drawn and took her a minute to translate. “Shazza is the shazzam and gets to be so famous everyone in Shadow wants to be like her? That’s not what it said before!”

“She changed it!” Mudface turned bright red. “She changed my book!”

Flower stiffened when a whiff of stale smoke reached her nose. She reached for a weapon, only to realise she didn’t have one before Shazza herself materialised on the road in front of them. “Someone say my name?” She looked over Flower and Mudface with narrowed eyes. “Oh, it’s you two. You’re back. Where’s the scary sorcerer and the crazy guy?”

“None of your business,” Flower snapped, not the least bit in the mood for this creature right now. “Go away.”

Mudface ran for Shazza and leaped into a flying tackle. Shazza caught her by the scruff of the neck and held her over the road, dangling in midair. “Is that the thanks I get for what I did for you?”

“What’d you do for me?” Mudface pummelled the air between them with her fists. “You changed my book!”

“I published your book.” Shazza dropped Mudface onto the road. “I reserved the right to make editorial changes.”

Mudface landed in a heap, leaped up and would have attacked again, but Shazza clenched a fist and made a nasty face at her. “Back off, Fairy!”

“Enough!” Flower set Mudface back onto the mossy rocks and glared at Shazza. “What were you thinking?”

Shazza shrugged. “I want to be famous. I put myself at risk to publish that book, I should get something out of it. Anyway, she should be thanking me. Everyone in Shadow City is reading the book. It’s so popular the Guild’s banned it and the Moon Troopers are throwing anyone found with a copy in the Gulakh.”

Flower glanced at Mudface, who had gone very pale and still. She was disconcerted to find even more of a sprinkling of pink through her hair, which also appeared to be falling out of its knots. “But that’s terrible,” she said. “Mudface-”

Mudface wasn’t listening. “Guild banned my book?”

Shazza nodded. “And there’s a price on your head. Everyone wants to know who Mudface of Pumpkin is.”

Mudface’s eyes shone. “Everybody? Every single person?”