The Frost Child (16 page)

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on the grandfather clock from Mary's house, the clock that was really a doorway into time. She had brought it to the small room assigned to her, hidden away in the upper stories of the Workhouse. It seemed to be intact.

Owen had taken to sleeping in the Den. No matter how cold it got outside, his hideout stayed reasonably warm. He liked to go there in the evening. It gave him a chance to be on his own and to think. He heard nothing of the tumult in the Workhouse. Instead, he woke to low voices just outside the entrance to the Den.

He sat up and slipped out of bed. There was no light in the Den, but some moonlight penetrated through the perspex in the roof. He peered through the bush that hid the entrance. Albions! They had attacked Owen, Dr. Diamond, and Cati on their way to Hadima, and Owen remembered their sharp talons and cruel violet-ringed eyes. But what were they doing here? The sickening realization dawned on him:
The Harsh must have recruited them
.

"Her said it was here," one said.

"Aren't no entrance here," another replied.

"May be you never listened right," the third one growled. He held a knife in his hand.

"Her won't be happy. Her said slit throat and be damned."

Owen felt his blood run cold. If the Albions attacked him in the confined space of the Den, he would not be able to fight them off.

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But he had always been careful to disguise the entrance to the Den, and his caution had paid off. He could hear them scuffling around, obviously unable to work out what to do. Then it occurred to him that if the Albions were here, then perhaps they were in the Workhouse as well. His friends were there, and the
Wayfarer
, with the Mortmain still aboard! Suddenly he was desperate to reach the Workhouse. But how was he to get past the three Albions?

He needn't have worried. There was a shrill whistle from the direction of the Workhouse. Without a word, the Albions fled.

Owen left the Den and moved cautiously along the path, as much to avoid being speared by a jumpy sentry as anything else. When he arrived at the Workhouse, it was in an uproar. The Albions had fled into the lower reaches of the Workhouse, pursued by Rutgar, but the Resisters milled everywhere, demanding to know what had happened and how the Albions had got in. Owen saw Wesley in the crowd.

"What happened?" Owen asked.

"Albions got in and wrecked Dr. Diamond's lab. We don't know what else they done." The two boys looked at each other.

"The
Wayfarer
!" Owen said.

"Silkie! She's been sleeping there!"

The
Wayfarer
had drifted back to earth, and they found Silkie lying on the foredeck, a pool of blood gathering

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beneath her injured cheek. Wesley knelt beside her and felt for a pulse.

"Alive!" he said. Owen felt his knees go weak. He stooped down and brushed her hair away from her face. She opened her eyes and smiled up at him.

"They never got the Mortmain," she whispered. "Me and the
Wayfarer
stopped them."

Wesley made to lift her, but Owen brushed him aside and gathered her into his arms. She seemed to weigh almost nothing as he carried her down to the Convoke hall.

There were many injured in the hall and Cati was moving among them with the Yeati's ring. Most had cuts or stab wounds from the Albion knives, and it soon became clear that many of the blades had been poisoned. It was all that Cati could do to bring some of the injured back. She felt the power of the ring waning.

"You must do something about that wound," Contessa said, looking with concern at the long cut on Silkie's face. "Where is Cati with the ring?"

"No," Silkie insisted, "there are other wounded who need it far more than I do, and there will be more tomorrow. Just put a bandage on it." Wesley tried to insist, but Silkie would hear none of it.

Samual walked among the wounded, giving them encouragement. Owen could sense his popularity among the soldiers. Samual went over to Rutgar and spoke for a moment, then called Owen and Contessa. Wesley and Pieta came as well.

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"We need to talk," Samual said shortly. Contessa turned to one of the young Raggies.

"Fetch Dr. Diamond for me."

As soon as they shut the door of a small anteroom behind them, Rutgar whirled around.

"This was a well-planned raid. They knew exactly where they were going, and now there is this!"

He held up the key to the old doorway. Rutgar had followed the fleeing Albions as far as the door, and had locked it behind them.

"This has gone too far," he said. "There is a traitor among us, maybe more than one."

"At least you know that Uel and Mervyn never touched the door, seeing as you have them locked up," Wesley murmured. Samual glared at him.

"What do you propose, Samual?" Contessa asked.

"Military law to start straightaway," Samual said. "No one to move from one part of the Workhouse to another without permission."

"Whose permission?" Pieta said dryly. Before Samual could answer, Dr. Diamond came in. He looked tired.

"What about the Skyward?" Contessa asked.

"They did a lot of damage," the doctor said. "Years of work destroyed. However, if they meant to destroy the Porcupine, they didn't succeed."

"Then I have the worst damage of all to report," Contessa said. "They got into the food stores and have spoiled over two-thirds of our food supply. The Workhouse starts on half rations tomorrow."

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"That does it," Samual said. "We start military law tomorrow."

"I don't know, Samual," Contessa said. "The Resisters have always trusted each other and moved freely. It is part of who we are." Dr. Diamond looked troubled.

"We have no choice," Samual growled. "Another night like this one will finish us."

There was silence in the room. No one could disagree.

169

Chapter 17

The attack on the Harsh had been postponed for another day. Most of the soldiers had been up all night and were exhausted. There were reports that at least some of the Harsh had left their ships. Sentries reported white shapes moving in the woods and the town. People were shaken--everywhere the Albions had gone, they had scrawled graffiti, which was almost impossible to wash off.

Wesley and Cati continued their search for the real traitor. They tried to visit Uel and Mervyn, but the guards would not let them. As they were arguing with the guards, they were surprised to see Dr. Diamond coming out of the room where Uel and Mervyn were being held.

"I wanted to talk to them ahead of their trial. To persuade them to change their minds. But they won't."

"Trial?" Wesley said.

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"In two days' time."

"Surely Samual would not have done anything to the child, even if she had taken the ring," Cati protested.

"No, I don't think so, although Uel and Mervyn seem to think he would have harmed the girl. But since I can't do anything here, I'm going to have a look at the door where the Albions got in. Will you come with me?"

They went down into the lower reaches of the Workhouse. When they came to the hall of the tapestries, the doctor insisted on studying each one and spent so long on the broken circletagram that they had to drag him away.

They examined the door, but it told them nothing. Wesley and Cati resolved to try to speak to Uel and Mervyn again. Just before they left, Dr. Diamond stooped and picked up something. He slipped it into his pocket before the other two noticed.

They walked back up through the tapestry hall and into the main part of the Workhouse. Dr. Diamond left them to return to the Skyward. Wesley and Cati continued toward the kitchen.

"I'm starving," Cati said. "I hope they haven't started this half rations business yet."

"I don't know if there's anyone in the kitchen fit to say no to you." Wesley smiled.

But they were never to find out. When they got to the kitchen, they found two of Samual's guards posted at the door.

"Kitchen permit," one said stiffly.

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"Don't be silly, Marlowe," Cati said. "You don't need a permit to get a snack."

"You do now," the man said, reddening. "Samual's orders."

Cati stared at him. Not all of Samual's men were like their leader, and she had always been fond of Marlowe.

"Please, Cati," the man said. "Don't make trouble." Cati eyed him. Trouble was exactly what she had in mind. But Wesley took her by the arm.

"Come on," he said. "Let's find out what's going on."

It was the same wherever they went. Sentries posted everywhere. Demands for permits. Cati blew her top several times and Wesley had to intervene. They decided to go to see Dr. Diamond, but before they reached the Nab they met Owen coming the other way. His face was grim. They told him what had happened.

"I know," he said. "They've tied up the
Wayfarer! "

They followed Owen to the
Wayfarer
. A heavy chain had been attached to the anchor point in her bow, and the chain was fastened with a strong padlock to a ring set deep in the stonework of the wall. Cati was outraged.

"I'm going to have it out with Samual right now!"

"No," Owen said, "we've got to be cleverer than that. We need to talk."

"What about Dr. Diamond and Contessa?" Wesley said.

"I think we'd better keep it among ourselves for the time being," Owen said. "Contessa thinks that Samual is tough but fair."

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"And the doctor doesn't always tell you what he's thinking," Cati said.

"Exactly. If we need to do something, then we all need to act together," Owen said, "and the fewer people who know about it the better."

"Even your mother?" Cati said.

"Especially my mother," Owen said. "I'm not sure if some part of her wouldn't approve of the
Wayfarer
being tied up. Keeps me out of danger."

"Where do we do this talking, then?" Wesley asked.

"On board the
Wayfarer,"
Owen said. "I told Rosie."

They climbed on board the little ship and slid down into the cabin. Cati was surprised to see Silkie there. She was very pale and a large bandage covered one side of her face.

"How's my brave Silkie?" Wesley said.

"No bother, Wesley," Silkie said stoutly, but Cati's heart went out to her. The cut on her face was a serious injury. Cati had tried the Yeati's healing ring on it that morning, but the ring was drained of power and would take time to regain its strength. By then it would be too late. There seemed to be some quality to the Albions' blades that made the wounds resistant to the ring's power after a while. Cati feared that Silkie would be left with a scar for life.

They had just settled down around the little table when there came a knock on the hatch, and Rosie's head poked through.

"What's up?" she said cheerfully.

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"Come in and sit down," Cati said, "before some oaf of a soldier stands guard on the hatch."

"They're all over the place," Rosie said. "But they weren't up to old Rosie. I got plenty of practice avoiding the Specials. Hadima police," she went on, in response to a questioning look from Wesley. "Not a very nice lot."

She reached into a pocket and produced a handful of still-warm biscuits.

"Where did you get those?" Wesley wanted to know.

"Er, borrowed them from the kitchen," Rosie replied.

"No more of that, Rosie," Owen said. "Food is short for everyone."

"Of course, of course," Rosie said, sharing out the biscuits, her face a picture of innocence.

"So what's the plan, then?" Cati said.

"Plain as the nose on your face that we can't just sit here," Wesley said. "The weather's getting colder and food is short. They'll starve us out in no time."

"But I can't see Samual's attack getting anywhere," Cati said.

"No," Owen said, "particularly if he's using his soldiers to stop people getting about the place."

"So what do we do," Wesley said gloomily. "Throw snowballs at them?"

"No," Owen said, "we're not going to stop the Harsh by force. We have to find out where they get their power from. If we don't, then they'll keep coming back. I mean, who are

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they? They must have come from somewhere. Maybe my dad had figured it out before he ... before he died."

It was the first time Cati had heard him speak about his father like that. She leaned over to put her hand on his. But Silkie's hand was already there.

"How do we find out?" Wesley asked.

"I've got some clues," Owen said, thinking that the snatches of song he had heard and the crumbling tapestry didn't really amount to clues. "Enough to tell me the person to ask: the Long Woman. I'm sure that she's part of the solution."

Cati looked at him with a raised eyebrow. But Wesley was more thoughtful.

"The Raggies hear tell that the Long Woman is very old, maybe as old as the Harsh. You might have the right of it, Owen. She might know something to help us."

"But the
Wayfarer
is tied up," Cati said, "with a chain and lock--" She stopped. Rosie was examining her fingernails modestly. When it came to locks, there weren't many that Rosie couldn't pick.

"Even so," Cati went on, not knowing why she felt she had to object, "you don't know enough about time, about the maps ..."

"I think what the lass is saying is that the people's fond of the Navigator," Wesley said. "Everything's gone strange and the Harsh is at the door, and if you're not here, who's to stand up for the rest of us?"

"As long as these walls stand," Owen said, "the Harsh