The Unknown Spy (29 page)

At the summerhouse they found that they were not the only refugees. Two people had got there ahead of them. A weary Cheryl disguised as a sailor lay on the window seat, while a put-out-looking Vicky tried to ignore her. Between the two women, Danny and Dixie got a tangled story of Cherb forces massing, of Devoy being imprisoned and of the Ring making its way to Wilsons, where it had taken over.

“Brunholm, this Messenger named Hotspur, and Exshaw, the traitors,” Vicky spat. “Devoy’s in the same cell that I was put in.”

Cheryl had been investigating Cherb movements, so Vicky was the only source of information about Wilsons, and Danny questioned her closely. Who had joined with the Ring? When was Devoy being tried, and who were his judges? When were the Ring arriving? And how had the ravens reacted?

“The ravens haven’t been seen since Ness declared himself master,” Vicky said. Danny sat for a long time, his brow creased.

“When did you say Longford and the others were arriving?” he asked.

“Any time now,” Vicky said, and spat into the fireplace in a most unladylike way.

“I understand what’s going on,” Danny said slowly.

“I’m glad you do,” Dixie said. “I haven’t got a clue.”

Danny got up and opened the door.

“Where are you off to?” Dixie asked. He didn’t answer but stepped through the door. Dixie made to go after him, but Cheryl grabbed her arm.

“Don’t,” she said. “Let him go on his own.”

Dixie stood in the doorway, silently watching Danny walk toward Wilsons.

“I’m not sure I like the look of this,” she said.

“He has a grim face on him, all right,” Vicky said.

D
anny crossed the gardens and made his way around the front of Wilsons. His mind was clear. He could see what was happening laid out in front of him like the pieces in a great chess game. He knew what had to be done—and the
consequences of getting it wrong, not just for him but for the Two Worlds.

Without breaking stride he ran up the front steps of the school. Valant was standing at the reception desk and looked up in surprise.

“Tell me when the Ring arrive,” Danny said. “I want to greet them.” Valant looked at him with narrowed eyes. He wasn’t used to being told what to do by pupils. But there was something in Danny’s tone that brooked no argument.

Danny went to the teachers’ common room. Duddy looked up as he burst in.

“You’re back!” she said. “What are you doing here? You should be reporting to Mr. Brunholm.”

Danny ignored her and went straight to the small cell. He looked through the bars. Devoy was sitting on one bunk. The Unknown Spy was sitting on the other. They were talking quietly.

“Master Devoy?” Danny spoke quietly, but Devoy was instantly on his feet.

“Danny! The Treaty Stone …”

“Is broken. An agent of the Ring,” Danny said, lying smoothly.

“I knew it was gone, but I didn’t know how.”

“All is lost,” Danny said. “The treaty is no more. I intend to rejoin the Ring.”

Devoy held Danny’s eyes, then sighed.

“I have thrown the dice and lost. Do what you must. I will go back to my conversation with the Unknown Spy. I do not have long left.”

He turned away. Danny froze as he heard a familiar civilized voice behind him.

“So, Danny, you are to rejoin the Ring. I knew you would. Congratulations.”

It was Ambrose Longford. And behind him stood the other members of the Ring: Nurse Flanagan, in a low-cut red dress; Rufus Ness; the dreadful Conal the Seraphim, like a giant malignant praying mantis. Danny opened his mind to them and felt his unite with theirs, Nurse Flanagan’s mind voluptuous and perfumed, Conal’s hard and cold with something rancid about it. And then there was Longford, subtle and probing. Danny felt Longford looking for something, and the leader of the Ring smiled.

“The power of the Fifth. You have found it and used it, to no good end, I expect. Congratulations, Danny.”

“Who was she?” Danny said bluntly.

“Was, Danny? You mean she is gone? Her real name was Euphonia Haslam. She is one of my best agents. She was meant to lure you back to the Ring.”

“It’s called the Sibling Strategy,” Nurse Flanagan said, almost purring the words. “An agent poses as a long-lost brother or sister in order to gain the subject’s confidence. Well used, the ploy can be devastatingly effective.”

“My plan was to have her … let me say … terminated,” Longford said, “and to put the blame on Masters Devoy and Brunholm. In reaction to their crime, you would join with us against Wilsons—a brilliant plan, I thought, but now it seems that you have dealt with her yourself. You obviously weren’t fooled by the Sibling Strategy. At least she broke the Treaty Stone before she went.”

“Enough of that,” Danny said harshly. “What is the plan now?”

“We need to move swiftly, Danny. Devoy must be put on trial and punished for his crimes. The trial must be open and public, as must the punishment.”

“Punishment?”

“Yes.” Longford allowed himself a swift smile in the direction of Devoy’s cell. “I have too much respect for my old adversary to permit anything sordid. I have engaged the services of the greatest assassin in his field. Mr. Toxique will be arriving here this evening. I believe he will be eager to help. He has been deeply disappointed by the educational services his son has received at Wilsons.”

“The Toxiques never fail,” Nurse Flanagan said happily.

“But the end is always dignified,” Longford said. “So, Danny, you are ready to take your place among us. I can feel the anger seething in you, the sense of betrayal. We know about the people who posed as your parents, of course. If Conal had succeeded, you would have been avenged.”

“It was news we very much wanted to give you,” Nurse Flanagan said, “but it wasn’t to be.”

“Now, down to business. Danny, will you join us as one of the five judges to try Devoy?” Danny felt Longford’s mind probing his, searching for hesitation.

“Of course,” Danny said. “In fact, we should do it before the cadets start to organize resistance. A dead Devoy should knock any rebellion out of them.”

“Splendid,” Longford said. “And if and when it
comes time for the sentence to be pronounced, regrettable an end as it may be for a man whose career has been as distinguished as that of Master Devoy, we will grant you the privilege of giving the order!”

Danny smiled. Devoy, who had come to the barred window, watched him closely. Longford was smiling too. Brunholm looked apprehensive. Suddenly a raven swooped from the rafters. It flew into Danny’s face, plunged its feet into his hair and stooped over his forehead, aiming blow after blow at his eyes. Danny managed to get his hands up, and the sharp beak penetrated the backs of his hands time and again. He wheeled in pain. Longford lifted a walking stick from a hat stand and aimed a careful blow. The raven squawked once and tumbled to the ground, an untidy heap of feathers. Longford kicked the dead bird into the corner. Danny examined his bleeding hands with cold eyes.

“The ravens really don’t like you, Danny,” Longford said. “Always a good sign in my book. Now, Rufus, perhaps you will escort Master Devoy to the ballroom. It seems as good a place as any for a trial. Might as well bring that babbling idiot the Unknown Spy with you as well. We’ll kill two birds with one stone, so to speak!”

As they walked down the stairs, Longford explained how Ness had penetrated the school.

“He had to kill the Unknown Spy’s wife, of course. She had started to remember things, so she was liable to spill the beans about the Sibling Strategy. But more importantly, she was also an expert on voice recognition, and Ness knew she was capable of recognizing his voice and
unmasking him as the voice of Blackpitt. It was an elegant solution to the problem of Knutt, we thought, to blame him and send the Unknown Spy after him. Unfortunately the poor man’s brain is so addled he can’t see through a simple trick.”

“What about the dart attack on the Messenger?”

“Mostly fun,” Longford chuckled, “though it didn’t hurt to turn the Toxique family against the school. And the attack on Brunholm was the most fun of all. I wish I had seen that. The real purpose was to make sure that Brunholm was seen as a victim, to deflect suspicion from him. Meanwhile, our fake Blackpitt was busy activating our agents in Wilsons, old and new.”

“Like Exshaw?” Danny asked.

“There are three reasons people become traitors, Danny: money, love and anger. Exshaw had been embittered for years because he was passed over for head in favor of Devoy. We went back over the files—I credit myself with that research. Once we knew about his resentment, it was a simple matter to turn him to our side with a promise to make him head when Devoy was rightfully punished for his crimes.”

“You’re going to make Exshaw head?”

“Of course not, Danny,” Longford said, lowering his voice. “He has almost outlived his usefulness. No, Exshaw will not be head. On the other hand, if the trial goes the way we want it to, we think that
you
should be principal of Wilsons.”

Danny stopped dead and stared at Longford. Danny Caulfield, head of Wilsons!

Longford walked on. The rest of the Ring walked past him, Nurse Flanagan entering his mind so that he could feel her arch amusement at his surprise. She patted him on the cheek.

“It would be ideal, really,” she murmured. Even Conal appeared amused at his surprise. Danny stood with his mouth hanging open, then hurried to follow the others into the ballroom.

All the cadets and Messengers and staff were crowded in. On a dais were five chairs, one for each of the judges. Devoy was already sitting in a single chair facing the dais. Behind him, dressed in black, pale and dreadful, stood Toxique’s father. The four members of the Ring waited for Danny. He joined them and they filed onto the platform and sat down. Danny could see his friends’ disbelieving faces below. Outside, through the tall ballroom windows, serried ranks of Seraphim perched on the gable walls and rooftops of Wilsons. There would be no disputing the outcome of the trial.

Longford stood up.

“We are here to bear witness to the trial of Master Devoy for the making and keeping of Instruments of Torture.

“In keeping with tradition, Master Devoy will defend himself. He may call any witnesses he chooses. Prosecuting on behalf of the Ring, all rise for Danny Caulfield.”

PARENTS

T
here was an audible gasp when Danny was announced as the prosecutor, followed by a scraping of chairs as the room got sullenly to its feet. Danny tried to keep his face still. Not only was he to pronounce sentence, but he was to prosecute!

“Remember, Danny … principal of Wilsons,” Longford whispered; then, in a louder voice, said, “Who is the accuser?”

“I am, if you please,” Exshaw said, rising to his feet.

“State your case!”

“I saw the defendant, Devoy,” Exshaw said, not succeeding in keeping a note of triumph out of his voice, “I saw him refurbish and renovate a museum of torture. He made the instruments workable again, tended them with
loving care, obviously intending them to be used again, perhaps against cadets of this very school!”

Devoy, as ever, displayed no emotion. Every eye in the ballroom was on him, waiting for the denial, but it did not come. Spitfire half rose to her feet as though to defend him, but she was the only one, and she sank back into her seat.

Danny’s eyes flickered restlessly over the crowd. He sat beside Rufus Ness, and more than one person noticed that Danny’s alert pose was uncomfortably similar to the reptilian stillness of the Cherb leaders. If the audience had been able to see inside Danny’s head, they would have been even more disturbed. Quietly, the other members of the Ring had entered Danny’s mind, not speaking to him, but stoking the turmoil and the hurt. “Parents.”

“Sister.” The words were not spoken, but they did not have to be. Visions of himself at the head of the Ring, as master of Wilsons, came unbidden into Danny’s head. He heard his own voice without being conscious of opening his mouth.

“Do you deny the accusation, Devoy?” he said.

“I cannot,” Devoy said, “and it would make no difference to these proceedings if I did.”

“Come, come,” Longford said, “we cannot convict the man just like that. There must be someone who will give some explanation.”

No one in the room stirred. Pained faces looked at Devoy: Valant. Gabriel. Old colleagues of Devoy’s trying to read his expression. They knew how he felt about Wilsons, how his mind ever searched for information that would protect it. Now he had stepped over the line.
Condoning the use of torture would make Wilsons worse than its enemies.

“Corroboration!” Spitfire cried. “He cannot be convicted without another witness to back up this assertion.”

“Good idea!” Longford said. “There must be another witness.”

Danny scanned the silent throng, his eyes moving from face to face. Dixie looked up at him imploringly. Vandra glared at him. Toxique studied the floor and wrung his hands, not able to look up for fear of meeting his father’s gaze. But one cadet refused to meet Danny’s eyes.…

“Les,” Danny said, “come up here, please.” At the sound of his friend’s name, Toxique emitted a low moan and rolled his eyes. Vandra grasped his hand to comfort him. Les got to his feet and walked forward slowly until he stood alone in front of the dreadful tribunal of the Ring of Five.