The Wildkin’s Curse (39 page)

‘Good,' Lady Vernisha said to Zed, her fat cheeks creased with amusement. ‘It would not do my reputation any good at all to be seen killing you in public. Will you take that head away? It's of no use to you anymore, and quite frankly, it's turning my stomach. We're of a delicate constitution, aren't we, pugsie-wugsie?' She picked up her pug dog and kissed it on the mouth, and then waved her hand in dismissal.

‘If you will excuse me, I will see to the safe disposal of that head,' Zed said through dry lips. He backed slowly away, but Lady Vernisha's attention was on the king, whose shrivelled-up body was being loaded onto a litter.

‘Is he dead?' she asked with interest.

‘It won't be long,' the astronomer said.

‘Adora!' Lady Vernisha commanded. ‘Give me that crown. It's mine now. Queen Vernisha. That sounds sweet, doesn't it? And you, my treasure, are a princess again.'

Adora stared at her mother, the crown clutched close to her chest.

‘Now don't make me cross,' Lady Vernisha said. ‘You know I hate to be cross. Give me the crown, there's a good girl.'

Very slowly Adora carried the crown to her mother, who ripped off her gaudy headdress and threw it to the ground, then perched the crown on top of her enormous white wig. ‘How does it look?' she asked Zakary, who at once bowed to the ground and said, ‘Ravishing, Your Majesty, utterly ravishing!'

But his eyes were cold and furious, and his fists were clenched by his side.

Adora sat down limply.

Lady Vernisha snapped her fingers at the servants. ‘All these dramatics have made me hungry. Bring me a platter of that roast boar, with plenty of truffles. Yum-yum, eh, pugsie-wugsie?'

Zed, meanwhile, had stepped down from the high table and walked very slowly and very steadily away from the table, his father trundling the trolley along behind him. They did not speak.

Zed did not really know where he was supposed to take a severed head. All he knew was that he had to get away from the high table before someone decided to kill him. He stopped the steward, who was standing by the fountain wringing his hands in dismay, and said, ‘What shall I do with the head?'

‘Blazing balls, you think I know?' he snapped. ‘Take it to the zoo! Maybe one of the wildkin will eat it.'

Zed did as he was told, knowing only that he had to get himself and his father and Mags's head away from view, so he could have a chance to think what to do next.

Behind their glass walls, all the wildkins leapt and screeched and shouted and sobbed. Only Lord Grim did not stir. He stood hunched in his pen, his back to the glass, his cloak spread wide, a dark figure wrapped in shadows.

A lackey showed them to a side door and went to find the zookeeper, who was, he said, down in the kitchens enjoying the servants' feast. Zed shut the door behind him and leant against it.

‘Leeblimey, what a shemozzle!' the severed head said.

Zed stared at it in stunned silence. Even though he knew the severed head was a trick of some kind, it was still startling to see the eyes open and the lips move.

‘No need to goggle,' the head said. ‘Help me get this blasted platter off!'

Pedrin smiled briefly at Zed, and swiftly broke the silver platter in two and lifted it away from Mags's head. He whipped away the tablecloth, showing Mags's body—still thankfully attached to her head—crouched inside the trolley. It took a moment or two to dismantle the trolley, but at last Mags was able to rise and stretch and step clear, saying, ‘Is that the wildkin princess? My blood ran cold at that curse of hers. I was sorely tempted to open my eyes and intone, “The time of your doom has fallen upon you!” but I didn't think it would help.'

Mags's words helped dispel some of the horror of the scene. Zed laughed shakily, and Pedrin said, ‘Well, thank Liah you didn't!'

He turned and embraced Zed, saying, ‘I'm sorry we couldn't warn you, Zed, but it was too risky. Briony told us you had a spy in your camp and we didn't dare risk being discovered.'

‘It's so good to see you . . . but I almost had a heart attack when I saw Mags's head!'

‘It seemed the only way to get inside the palace,' Mags said. ‘There are guards everywhere.'

‘What are you doing here? Do you know what they'll do to you if they discover you here?' Zed demanded.

‘Of course I do,' Mags said. ‘But I couldn't let my only son venture into this pit of vipers and do nothing to help. A pigeon brought a message, you see, from Briony. She saw some very disturbing things in the Well of Fates.'

‘It must've have been so dreadful for you, seeing Ziggy murdered before your eyes like that,' Pedrin said, slinging one arm about Zed's shoulders. ‘I'm so very sorry, Zed.'

‘It was awful,' Zed admitted. ‘I had to fight a whole pack of them off, there was blood everywhere . . .' His voice faltered.

‘You did well, we're proud of you,' Pedrin said. ‘But we were sure that your life was in danger, and Priscilla's too. So Briony sent her grogoyle to pick me up at Estelliana and then we flew to meet Mags. The last week or so has been the most terrifying of my life, I promise you.'

‘Me too,' Mags admitted. ‘For no matter how much Briony reassured us the grogoyle had sworn not to harm us, it's no easy thing to march up to one and jump on its back.'

‘The way it swooped and soared and did aerial somersaults, I swear it was trying to scare us to death.'

‘We couldn't bring the grogoyle too close to the palace without being seen, and so he dropped us some way down the coast and we sneaked into the city at night and got everything ready. It took us ages to paint my neck realistically. Do you like it?' Mags grinned and waved her hands about her throat, which still looked as if someone had taken an axe to it.

‘It's absolutely gruesome,' Zed said rather shakily.

‘So where's Priscilla?' Pedrin demanded. ‘Is she safe? Why wasn't she with you?'

‘Things got rather dicey here today,' Zed said. ‘Cilla let it slip that Merry was your son, Mags, and indeed if you hadn't got here when you did and caused such a diversion, I think I'd be in the dungeons now.'

‘Oh, no,' Pedrin cried.

‘I told her to get ready to leave, then slip out the side gate and go down to the harbour and order our ship to be readied. I sent Aubin with a message hours and hours ago, but haven't seen him since and have a horrible feeling something's happened to him too.'

‘Good work!' Pedrin said. ‘I've been worried sick about how to get you all away from here. The grogoyle can really only carry two.'

‘What about Merry?' Mags demanded. ‘Where is he?'

Zed took a deep breath. ‘I don't know. He's been missing for hours.'

‘Missing? Merry's missing?' Her whole body stiffened.

‘And Liliana too. You know we had to find seven feathers to fix a magic cloak? The thing is, Merry went this morning to get the last of the feathers . . . and he never came back.'

‘What?' Mags seized his arm in a strong grip.

‘Lili went to look for him, and I haven't seen her since either,' Zed said. ‘Heaven knows where she's got to.'

‘I'm here,' Liliana said. They turned in surprise and saw her standing in the doorway that led into one of the pens. Lord Grim loomed behind her, like a shadow cast by a sputtering candle.

‘Lili!' Zed cried and leapt forward to hug her.

She hugged him back but said, ‘We've got no time to lose. I know where Merry is. He's been tossed into a pit in the dungeons. I couldn't get him out, though I tried my best, I swear I did.'

‘We'll get him out,' Mags said determinedly.

‘That's not all, though,' Lili said, and quickly told Mags and Zed about the plot to murder Rozalina. She described the rows of glass caskets filled with fusillier fuel, and the long fuse that led out of the cellar, ready to be ignited. ‘Merry thinks they plan to do it once the fireworks begin. That way it will seem like an accident. If anyone does suspect foul play, it's us they'll be pointing at, since it was Aubin and his men who moved all the caskets.'

‘Aubin?' Zed could not believe it. Aubin had been like an uncle to him. At the thought, he remembered Stiga's words again.
You fear the wrong fate. Fear those you love, not those you hate.
If only he had listened to her!

‘It's beginning to get dark,' Mags said. ‘When do they plan to start the fireworks?'

‘At sunset,' Zed cried. ‘That's when we planned to rescue Rozalina. But our plans have all come to naught.'

‘No, they haven't,' Liliana said, holding out a long, gorgeous, vividly coloured cloak of feathers. ‘Merry found the last feather, and I have mended the cloak.'

Zed took the cloak, his whole face lighting up. ‘Does it work?'

‘I don't know. I just finished sewing on the last feather.

It took me ages. But I wanted to make sure none of them fell off mid-flight.'

Zed drew the cloak around him, and at once floated a few centimetres off the floor. ‘How amazing!' he cried. He spread out his arms, and immediately shot up, only managing to avoid whacking his head on the ceiling by ducking at the last moment. The room was too small and cramped to try the cloak out properly, and so Zed reluctantly came back to rest on the floor. Liliana stared at the cloak longingly.

‘All right, let's work out a plan of action,' Zed said. ‘We need to rescue Merry, and Rozalina, and make sure Cilla has got to safety and the ship is waiting . . .'

‘I'll go after Cilla,' Pedrin said. ‘Your mother will never forgive me if any harm comes to her.'

‘All right. I'll get Rozalina, if you get Merry, Lili.'

‘Right,' she said. ‘Tom-Tit-Tot can show us the way.'

‘I'll come with you,' Mags said. ‘Leeblimey, he is my son!'

‘You know,' Zed cried in excitement, ‘I think we may actually have a chance to pull this off!'

T
HE PALACE BELL TOLLED THE SUNSET HOUR.
W
ITH JOY IN
her heart, Liliana opened every one of the cages, letting the wildkins free into the gathering dusk.

Shrieking loudly, the omen-imps swooped over the courtyard, sending lanterns crashing and ale-barrels rolling. Wood-sprites somersaulted through the air, snatching at jewels and bright daggers as they went, and leaving a wake of screaming lords and ladies behind them.

The grabvast strode towards the gatehouse, swinging a trestle table like a club, and knocking soldiers flying. In his wake swooped the boobray, hooting loudly. A whole host of wildkin danced behind, greengrigs and pexies and dobbies and spunkies and wild-wights, all causing havoc as they went, flinging food, pinching arms, pulling hair, tossing women's skirts over their heads, and tripping men up by tying their shoelaces together.

Bells began to peal out, slow and sombre, striking eight peals from smallest to largest, then ringing together in a great clamour. Everyone stopped, looking up.

‘The king . . . the king is dead,' Liliana said. ‘Shall we shout long live King Merry?'

She exchanged a long look with Mags.

‘If I'm not mistaken, it'll be long live Queen Vernisha,' Zed said, pulling his sword from its sheath.

Lord Grim was suffering terribly. He moaned and put his hands to his ears, and bent low, as the bells rang on relentlessly.

‘Go!' Liliana shouted. ‘Go, get free of here! I release you, my lord. Go!'

He lifted a hand to her. ‘If you need me one day, call me. I will come.'

‘Thank you, my lord. Now go!'

Lord Grim did not hesitate, but began to run towards the gates, his black robes swirling. Each lantern he passed suddenly sank and went dim, and sprang up bright again once he had passed. Soldiers came against him, but fell fainting as he passed them, and the wildkin swarmed in his wake. In just a few moments he was gone into the night.

Liliana smiled in pure delight, then turned and ran as fast as she could towards the dungeon, Mags close behind her, Tom-Tit-Tot leading the way. Zed waved farewell, then began to fight his way towards the tower.

Liliana would never have been able to find her way back through the labyrinth of cellars and corridors without the omen-imp. He went unerringly, though, singing as he went. They met and clashed with a few bands of soldiers, but it was the work of only a few moments to dispatch them and hurry on their way, Liliana's bow and Mags's dagger more than enough to overcome the surprised soldiers.

They reached the door to the dungeon. It stood shut and bolted, although Liliana had left the door open in her hurry to get away. Slowly, cautiously, they eased back the bolts and crept inside.

The dank little room was empty. Where Aubin had lain unconscious against the wall, there was only a pool of blood. Where the strange machine had squatted, humming like a box of bees, there were only the marks of its weight in the filth. Where Merry had been in the pit there was nothing at all.

He was gone.