The Spell and the Scythe (Merrydian's Gate, #2)

  Chapter Eight - Airmid

  I followed Dahlia down the corridor, nervously twisting my hands together like a child in trouble. They stung a little, especially in the centre of my palms.

  I'd felt powerful when the hex had left my body. It was only an echo of a thought buried somewhere in the back of my mind but somehow I had subconsciously acted upon it. To be able to defend myself, to be in control for the first time in a long time, I'd felt a rush of exhilaration at my unexpected new powers. I hadn't spoken the spell, Merl had never taught me that spell. I just knew it somehow.

  Now, surveying the angry red marks forming on my palm I wasn't sure that my unusual unspoken magic was such a good thing. We ascended the grand staircase that led off the great hall toward the royal quarters. It all looked the same as the last time I was here with ethereal open spaces and delicate furnishings. Dahlia waved aside two guards who were standing sentry over her room.

  "In here." She inclined her head toward the room that was adjacent to Queen Evangelista's quarters or I suppose what had been Queen Evangelista's quarters. I slipped through the grand doors feeling like a little mouse about to be caught up in a trap. No, Dahlia would never attempt to hurt me, this was something I knew in my bones. The guards attempted to follow us in, "No, you wait outside please." Surely, this was a good sign, if Dahlia felt comfortable enough to be alone with me then that meant that she still trusted me.

  Her room was as lovely as I remembered it with silver velvet curtains bellowing outward on the walls. A huge glass candle chandelier hung above the four-poster bed, dried wax that had melted around the glass created new and unusual shapes that reflected erratically around the room like abstract art. A huge marble fireplace was the magnificent centrepiece of the room. Engraved with every kind of beautiful marsh flower it housed a perpetual flame that flickered blues and green. It was as if the fireplace's creator had stolen the northern lights and placed them within the room as a source of ever glowing heat.

  As soon as the doors closed behind us, Dahlia slumped on the bed exhausted. The regal stature she had held since she came to rescue me from the dungeons melted away and now she sat before me and I could see traces of the Dahlia I was familiar with. I stood in the middle of the room, still as a statue for a few moments. My eyes scurrying from one object to another to avoid Dahlia's, I was the mouse again. Here I stood, my oldest friend sat before me and for some reason I just couldn't let my guard down.

  "Sit down Vi, you're making me nervous. You haven't said a word since the dungeons." She looked at me uncertainly. Suddenly I felt angry, how could she act so casually after everything?

  "I saved your life." I blurted out. I'd promised myself that I wouldn't do this, that I'd be the friend that Dahlia needed after the death of her mother but as the words left my mouth, I realised I had as much control over them as I had over the hex that hit the vampire guard. Dahlia's eyes found the floor but her face did not portray shame. She seemed reflective, as if she was forming her explanation over her actions carefully. This was not the Dahlia I knew, the one who spoke her mind freely even when it made her seem na?ve. No, this was Idris.

  "Who told you?" She finally broke her silence.

  "Why does that matter?" I asked annoyed. She shrugged half-heartedly. "Why? Why did you lie, I saved your life, Jes?" I stopped, I couldn't speak his name. This was hard enough without bringing Jestin into it. "We saved your life and that was how you repaid us. Why?" Dahlia looked at me coolly; she must have been working on her composure during our absence from one another.

  "I was trying to save you." She answered. I scoffed at her stupidity. "I was!" She was the one getting annoyed now. "When Idris explained to me what being the heir really meant for you, that you'd have no chance of surviving if Agrona awoke, I couldn't just sit back and let your heart get ripped from your body. Everyone around us had been so optimistic about your chances, I thought the best chance you had would be if Merl sent you home. The only thing I could think to do was act like you had caused the Changeling attack and pressure my mother to talk to Merl about sending you home." When she spoke of her mother Dahlia's voice cracked a little. "How could I have known that my dad?." Now Dahlia stopped herself mid-sentence. Tears began to well in the corners of her big brown eyes. I walked over to where she sat and sat beside her, I placed her hand in mine.

  "He was a good man, he didn't deserve what happened to him Dahlia and I'm sorry that he got dragged into all of this, but you've got to believe me. I had nothing to do with how your dad died. You do believe me don't you?" Dahlia looked into my eyes, for all her new found royal bravado, I knew when I looked back into hers, that Dahlia was utterly broken. First the mysterious death of her father and then the tragic killing of her mother, add to this the fact that she was about to ascend to a throne for a civilization she was almost as alien to as me, she was bound to be carrying a heavy burden. I felt a surge of guilt that I'd been so annoyed with her a moment ago. I was the worst friend in the world.

  "I just, I can't?" She stopped again, this time pulling a silver shell designed bedpan from beneath her huge bed. Leaning over it she wretched so violently I was afraid she might hurt herself internally. I began to rub her back with one hand whilst holding her long ebony hair aside with the other.

  "It's going to be ok. I'm here now and I'll stay as long as you need me to." I promised. "I'll do anything you need me to. I'll even try to get along with Prince creepy." At this, Dahlia's ferocious vomiting intensified. I continued to comfort her for a short while longer before she finally straightened herself. I grabbed a silk cloth that sat on a golden oak beauty table and wiped the edges of her mouth. Dahlia's retching had taken so much energy from her, she fluffed up the pillows behind her and reclined.

  "He's gone." Dahlia said when she finally gathered herself. "My gallant prince abandoned me when my mother set out for Forge Gate." She admitted her tone had none of its usual vivacity. The way she spoke about Idris was almost sinister. "I think he realised what would happen when my mother marched out. I guess the commitment was too much for him. I mean, he wants the power. He definitely wants a throne to sit on. Oh yeah, he wants that more than anything." Dahlia nodded her head weakly at her own conclusion. "He wants those things but he wants them alone. He doesn't want to be married to the Banshee queen, what he wants is to be the Worlen king. I hear him talking in his sleep. It's all he ever dreams about." Dahlia was frail but the loathing in her voice was strong.

  "Married to the Banshee queen, Dahlia I can't believe you would even consider that! You don't know him. That would be the worst mistake you could ever make and I will not let you. I said I'd get on with him, not sit back and watch while he ruined your life." The words that came from my mouth were spoken with restraint but inside I was pleading.

  "Like I said, he's gone." Dahlia waved a weak hand dismissively.

  "Even so Dahlia, you can't, not ever, no matter how much he tries to persuade you." Dahlia laid her head against her soft silk pillow and raising her trembling hands toward her head she muttered something quietly that I did not catch.

  "Was that meant for me or you?" I asked.

  "I'm sorry."

  "Sorry for what?" This conversation was becoming confusing. Dahlia's hands were no longer the only thing trembling. Her whole body began to shake. As my strong, stubborn beautiful friend lay here before me, weak from grief, emotionally wrecked and forced into a responsibility that she had no idea how to handle, I felt the familiar prangs of guilt that all my choices had indirectly led to this.

  "I'm so sorry, I've been so stupid." Dahlia sobbed.

  "No, it was me who was stupid. I should have warned you about him. I failed you as a friend. I should be sorry."

  "No, you don't understand." Dahlia sobbed even harder.

  "I understand better than you think Dahlia, I've had first-hand experience of what a creep he is. I should have told you all of it." I admitted, whatever that spider had put her through would not surprise me in the slightest.

&nb
sp; "Violet stop!" Dahlia begged.

  "No, whatever he did to you was not your fault. He's the most manipulative creature I've ever met Dahlia and you are a young girl torn from the world you knew and going through so much, of course he would use that to his advantage."

  "I married him." Dahlia finally blurted out. I was stunned, I sat there for a moment, my eyes widened and my mouth fell open in shock. I felt my coveted heart as it began to pump faster and harder against my chest. Dahlia wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her deep-purple robes, "Say something Vi. Shout at me, anything but please don't look at me like that, I can't bear it." I wasn't sure what it was that Dahlia was reading from my face in that moment, shock, horror, disbelief or worse-sympathy. I pulled myself together in order to form a more appropriate response.

  "How? When?" Why was the first thing that came into my mind but I had the feeling that Dahlia was asking herself that very same question.

  "In Forge Gate, after my dad." More tears filled her eyes, eyes that were already rose-red and puffed from weeping. "I was so lost Vi, so lost. I was scared and alone. After they found my dad, I knew there was no way I could return to my old life. Even if right then I realised that was all I really wanted. I wasn't thinking straight and he was so kind, so loving. He told me that we had the opportunity to unite our races, that we could set an example. Tensions were getting worse between the Banshees and Worlen, he convinced me we could put an end to it." I looked into my old friends eyes. She must know how crazy she sounded. "Like I said, I wasn't thinking straight." She answered as if she had read my mind. "He took me to a marriage blesser, an old Worlen lady. She had a strange name that I can't remember. She blessed us and then we signed this big black book." Dahlia bent over and began to wretch into the bedpan again.

  "It's ok." I soothed, my hand instinctively rubbing circles around her back. "When you're crowned as Banshee queen, you will make the rules and you can just undo it." I reasoned, knowing that I sounded na?ve but hoping against hope that I was right. Dahlia wiped her mouth with the cloth I had passed to her.

  "I can't, not ever. When we signed the black book, our names disappeared from the page. When I asked why, the marriage blesser told me that now our names where written together in the stars themselves. No man, woman or magic could undo the bonds the stars held together."

  "But, he's gone. He left you." I said.

  "Yet I still feel him all around me, crawling beneath my skin making his way into my head. He's everywhere, haunting me. You have no idea how that feels Vi. Whether I like it or not I am bound." I had a better idea than Dahlia could imagine.

  I left Dahlia as she drifted off to sleep exhausted and set off to find Merl. Dahlia's coronation was in the morning and I needed to let him know about Dahlia and Idris as soon as I could. I hoped against hope that he might know how to sort out this mess.

  I wandered the vast abandoned corridors absent minded for a while before I remembered that Dahlia had sent him off to the great hall. When I found him, he was snoring into a strange bowl of luminous green looking fruit. His slender fingers wrapped around a glass of warm butter- milk. I poked him gently with the end of my finger.

  "Merl." I whispered before poking at him again." Merl. MERL!" A small shot of blue light left the end of my finger and hit him on the end of the nose leaving an angry purple mark. It looked all the worse as it contrasted with his usual tone of pale white.

  "My beard! What in the name of alchemy was that for?"

  "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to, I mean I don't even know how I did that." I was as surprised as he was.

  "You ruddy nincompoop Violet." Merl raged.

  "I'm sorry." I repeated. I was beginning to scare myself with this. Merl calmed. Wiping a slice of fruit from his face, he took one last gulp of butter- milk before leading me by the arm and to the courtyard of Thistle Castle.

  The small cobbled courtyard, much like the rest of the castle, was completely deserted. Only the figure of the revered queen Hevra holding out the Moonstone scythe was there to bear witness to our conversation. She wasn't interested as her cold, aloof eyes looked into the distance, her statue was foreboding enough, I wondered what kind of queen she had been in life. A slight breeze blew around the courtyard carrying the scent of lilac in the air.

  "You have been blessed with the gift of spontaneous magic. Only two other people in the known world have possessed this natural ability before you. I am one of them; the other is no longer of this world. It must be acknowledged that your natural ability for magic and tenacity of spirit do remind me of her." Merl shook his head as if he was shaking away the ghosts of his past, the ghost of one of his daughters no doubt or maybe his wife. "It will be both a blessing and curse for you Violet. It means that you have the potential to become a very great sorcerer indeed, possible even better than myself when you reach old age." Merl seemed to consider the possibility for a moment, stroking his long beard. "It certainly means that you have a slight edge over Agrona, she has the same skill but it was not naturally acquired, it was stolen when she stole my daughter's abilities." He meant when she stole their hearts but neither of us wanted to acknowledge the gruesome truth of the matter at this very moment. "However, it is not something that is easily tamed. I should know, it took me well over a hundred years before I could wield unspoken magic with enough control that I dared to unleash it."

  "I don't know how to stop myself." I admitted.

  "Yes you do." He urged. "In the past instances when you have performed magic you have done so by speaking your will have you not?"

  "Yes."

  "When you have performed unspoken magic, how did your will manifest itself?"

  "It didn't. I didn't say anything." I protested.

  "Obviously Violet you clod, it is not called unspoken magic because you must say something to perform it. Furthermore, that was not what I asked. My question was how did your will manifest itself?"

  "Inside me I suppose, through my emotions."

  "Exactly my girl. To truly control unspoken magic, you must be in control of yourself emotionally. Do you understand?"

  "Yes but I have no idea how stop myself from feeling something." I said frustrated.

  "Nor do I." Merl agreed. It was not the response I expected. "Being in control of your emotions does not mean that you are not experiencing them, if that was the case there would be nothing to control. No, it means that you are experiencing them so acutely you are able to harness them and direct them appropriately toward an intended purpose."

  "So I just carry on being a danger to myself and others? I mean, why me? Why now?" I was exasperated. As if I didn't have enough on my mind right now. Merl placed his withered hand on his knee and swept away a tiny morsel of fruit from his robes. Still staring at his clothes, he answered.

  "You continue being you Violet, there is not a force on this earth that can change that. Why you? Very simply because you are the heir. Why now? I have a theory, I hope I am proven wrong."

  "What theory?"

  "My theory is not important at this moment Violet, what we must focus on is the spell."

  "What you think it's a good idea to make me even more powerful when I can't even control the little magic I am capable of performing at the moment?" Was he mad?

  "I believe it is preferable to the alternative of leaving you unable to defend yourself in the face of Agrona and her very large army of Gnarls."

  "This isn't about me." I pointed out.

  "Not for you. Come, the coronation is in the morning. Dahlia's guards have assured me that the chambers in the tower are empty."

  "So I get my old room back?" I feigned excitement.

  "Indeed." Merl said as we walked back into the desolate castle.

  I sat on the crescent moon shaped bed, pulled the midnight black silk sheets over my cool legs and gazed out of the orb shaped window toward the forest.

  "Goodnight Bugul, sleep well." I whispered, hoping that Ambrose had a safe journey through the dangerous Thistlewick Forest and that Bugul
had received my message. I yearned to see them both soon, mostly to know they were both safe and well.

  I wanted to lay back. I wanted to absorb into the soft silk sheets and succumb to the blissful ignorance of sleep but I couldn't. Instead, I found myself watching the translucent silver beams of moon dance around the almighty treetops of the forest. I felt the pull of the moon's beauty once again. I wanted to go out, across the mist-covered marshes and dance in the warmth of the early summer evening. I wanted to run, just run into the moonlight, to feel the earth between my toes. I took a deep breath. Resisting the urge, I lay down on the bed. The sheets did not seem as soft as they promised. The moss of the forest would have been much softer. No, I must stay here. I lay shackled to the crescent bed by love of my friends and shackled by responsibility of the task that lay ahead. I closed my eyes and waited. It took a long time before I finally drifted off to sleep.

  When I awoke in the morning, a pile of leaf-green robes had been left at the door of my room. I pulled them over my black corset dress, brushed them down and headed down to meet Merl at the doors of the great hall.

  The huge glasswork doors were no longer adorned with the giant letter E, now the letter D loomed heavily over the entrance of the hall. Dahlia was not ready for this. I wished I could shelter her from this.

  In our old world, we would be two young women on the cusp of adulthood preparing for the responsibility of the adult world in subtle ways. Ways like helping out with bills or washing our own clothes. In our new world, a world in which Dahlia was about to ascend to the Banshee throne, adult responsibility meant more than menial tasks. It meant sitting on the throne of your mother and vowing to lead her people, even if you have no idea how. It meant risking everything to perform a spell that might very well damn you for the rest of eternity to give you the power to put right your wrongs. I sighed deeply as I took Merl's arm and walked into the throne room.

  I expected the grand throne room to be crammed with all manner of dignitaries hailing from all around the island of Falinn Galdur. I had read about the coronation of Queen Evangelista in the chapter 'Great Queens and Battle Lines' in Thistlewick a Geography. It detailed how the late Banshee queen had been toasted by the races far and wide, even the Goblins who didn't reside on Falinn Galdur were in attendance at Evangelista's coronation.

  I was surprised when I walked into a throne room as deserted as the castle. There were no Goblins in sight. No Darrik or Huk of the Selkies. No representation from the Bobbins, it had been deemed too dangerous for Mayor Wilmot to travel here. No spriggans, no fairies, no Bugul, no spinners and no cave ogres. Members of each of these races had attended numerous coronations before. Yet they were nowhere in sight on this day. The Worlens certainly weren't going to bother attending a Banshee coronation whilst their race was being displaced and decimated by Agrona.

  The throne room that should have been brimming with all manner of creatures held only around a dozen guests. Other than Merl and myself, there was the guard of the queen, around twenty of the toughest Banshee guards. They were clothed in leaf-green leather outfits. Unlike the usual loose airy robes worn by the Banshees, the guards' outfits were tight fitting unisuits. They wore slim boots with thick looking soles. I wasn't sure what material they had been made from.

  The other guests were around six hooded Banshee dignitaries who were required to attend to perform the ceremony. They wore thick red robes with purple collars and long trains. I'd read about them, they were elected by the Banshee people every hundred years or so. They were similar to politicians, assisting the monarch with the day-to-day running of Thistlewick. They were supposed to host the pleasantries after too, but somehow I couldn't see that happening with so very few of us in attendance.

  My eyes met Dahlia's as soon as we entered the room. She looked to me like a rabbit caught in the headlights, scared and wanting to bolt but with no idea in which direction to turn. I gave her a reassuring smile and headed to the nearest smooth silver bench where all the other guest were perched.

  The benches had been arranged so they were facing the stonework throne. Luxurious purple fabrics ruffled with the whispers of the bygone queens. The same soft feather rug ran the length of the hall. Yet the room seemed smaller than the last time I had been here, less regal somehow.

  "Is this it?" Merl said. I was not certain that we were not supposed to talk at this point, the guards and dignitaries alike all looked to Merl in shock. "This is supposed to be a ruddy coronation for pity's sake! My beard! This should be a grand celebration. Every Banshee in the kingdom should be in attendance, not to mention all the other races. Where the ruddy hell are they all?" I felt my cheeks burn red as if I was somehow responsible for Merl's outburst.

  "After hearing of my mother's death, my first act as ascending regent was to send my people to the Silver Keep. Their safety is more important to me than my ceremony." Dahlia sounded strange, her confident voice did not fit with her frightened demeanour. I'd never heard her speak with such authority before. The Silver Keep she spoke of was a famous Banshee hold at the Blossomdown end of Thistlewick Forest. It was better sheltered than Thistle Castle, according to Thistlewick a Geography the Silver Keep was surrounded by a moat inhabited by kelpies who protected the inner castle. The castle was smaller than Thistle Castle. It had been built as a training ground for the Banshee warriors, not to hold the whole of Banshee society but the dense forest surrounding it made it hard to attack. It seemed like a good move on her part, maybe she was better equipped for the task of being Banshee queen than I had realised.

  "Very good." Merl stroked his beard and nodded appreciatively. "Still, this will not do." He shook his head before raising his arms in an arch from the ground and then lowering them with speed and force that surpassed the expectations of his advanced age. A cascade of golden teardrops materialised with the movement and suspended in the air like rain. I gazed at them appreciatively. They seemed very apt considering we were here because of the death of a queen. He then pointed his withered fingers towards the sky and lit up the room with swirls of golden light that sparkled slowly like a Catherine wheel that had been slowed down.

  "Beautiful!" Remarked one of the queens guard, I recognised her as Banshee Skylark. The one Evangelista said had survived a dragon attack. Merl had scared her half to death the last time we had met. She seemed much more confident in her duties as she stood at Dahlia's side.

  "Yes quite." Merl remarked. "And finally." He finished tinkering with the throne room by creating a magnificent glass statue that had the perfect likeness of Dahlia as she sat now on the throne awaiting her crown. The visible difference in the statue to the real thing was the ghostly figure of Evangelista that stood over Dahlia. One hand rested gently on Dahlia's face, the other about to rest the crown upon her head. The whole room took in a collective gasp of air at the beauty and sorrow depicted in the statue. A tear broke from the corner of Dahlia's tired eyes as she mouthed the words 'Thank you' to Merl. Now the throne room looked better equipped to host a coronation, Merl took his seat again and the ceremony began.

  The dignitaries began speaking in a language I couldn't understand. Dahlia didn't know the mysterious language either. One of the guards was whispering what I assumed to be the translation into her ear. Although it was hard to tell what the guard was actually saying to Dahlia over the sound of Merl's snoring. Dahlia gave the occasional nod keeping her posture straight yet she was visibly nervous, even retching a couple of times and then taking big gulping swallows so as not to throw up during the ceremony. I gave Merl a sharp jab in the ribs when the twisted Celtic crown was brought out of a simple beech box. The head dignitary stepped forward, holding the crown out for all to see she began.

  "Here is the crown of Evangelista, ruler of the Banshee race, servant of the Banshee peoples, daughter of Hevra, mother to Dahlia, bringer of peace in the dark time of the witch, valiant warrior and selfless leader. Now she has past, embraced may she be in the world beyond." She held the crown above Dahlias head. I saw
a solitary tear find the corner of Dahlia's eye when her mother's crown was presented above her head. "Now, before the witnesses in this room, I sit the crown upon the head of Dahlia, Secret child of the Banshee race, acknowledged successor of Evangelista, embraced may she be by the Banshee peoples." As the dignitary spoke she placed the crown on Dahlia's head. I felt relief for Dahlia now the ceremony was over, relief that was echoed on her own face. As the few of us in the throne room rose from our benches and only Merl and I did not bow low before turning to walk away. I would have, had I known it was protocol, Merl knew but did not bow anyway. I'm pretty sure bowing was not in his character and in any case Dahlia was too busy rushing away to acknowledge the pleasantries.

  I hurried out after her, pretending not to notice Merl as he tried to catch my arm. I followed her all the way to her royal chambers before the guards stopped me at the door. They were wearing a silver visors so artistically beautiful that they reminded me of theatre masks.

  "I need to see my friend." I insisted.

  "The Queen is unwell." The guard replied.

  "I know I just want to make sure she's ok." I pleaded.

  "Then you can request a visit with the queen through her official adviser."

  "And who's that?" I was becoming exasperated. I only wanted a couple of moments with her, just to make sure she was ok then I would leave.

  "That would be me and I'm afraid that there are no visits open at the moment, due to the queen's weariness and ill-health." The guard said sternly. I could feel my sore hands becoming redder with the heat that channelled through the earth and simmered beneath my skin. I was trying very hard to control my anger, I was usually much better at remaining calm in this kind of situation but my temper was getting the better of me and the chances of me releasing an unspoken hex on the guard were growing by the second.

  "Permit Violet entry Skylark." Dahlia's weak voice came from behind the door.

  "As you wish my queen." Skylark! I hadn't recognised her behind the visor, she seemed a strange choice to be queen's advisor, she was newly training under Queen Evangelista only around a year ago. I stepped through the doors, pushing them closed behind me as Dahlia once again began to wretch into her chamber pot.

  "Are you ok?" Silly question but it was the best I could come up with.

  "I will be in a moment." Dahlia said as she wiped her mouth on the back of her hand.

  "Very un-queenly." I observed as I reached to pass her a fresh silk handkerchief that had been placed next to her bed. She smiled, "Skylark, is that a wise choice?" I questioned.

  "I think so. I wanted someone new, someone who is hungry to progress. Skylark is desperate to prove herself." Dahlia said as she dabbed at her mouth.

  "Aren't we all?"

  "You can say that again." Dahlia agreed downheartedly. "At least nobody expects anything of you Vi, I mean no offence but you're not exactly miss popular at the moment. There's no pressure on you, apart from the pressure you chose to put on yourself." That was true, with the exception of a couple of people, the only thing that was expected of me was that I would die. I felt the cold blade of` fear stab at my belly, despite Merl's optimism, death was something I was still expecting myself. "I have no idea how to do this. I'm getting by at the moment by pretending to myself that I'm the main character in some grand play. I can't keep it up forever Vi, I'm terrified they're going to realise that I'm a fraud. How can they think that I'm prepared to rule over a race of people that if you'd told me a year ago existed I would have laughed and called you crazy?" I rubbed the top of Dahlia's arm.

  "You can do it Dahlia because you are doing it already. Sending your people to the Silver Keep was a brave decision but I think you were right. I know Merl was impressed and believe me it is very difficult to impress him."

  "That wasn't leadership Vi that was just common sense."

  "And isn't that what good leadership is, making common sense decisions?" I asked. Dahlia shrugged.

  "So far I haven't got great form when it comes to common sense decisions though have I Vi? I mean look at how easy it was for Idris to manipulate me."

  "Yes, but at least you know now that he was manipulating you. Just think of prince creepy as a lesson learned and now you can move on. You can become the kick-ass queen I know you can be." I was trying to be optimistic.

  "It's not that easy." Dahlia said in a whisper. Her brow furrowed as if she was considering something.

  "Of course it is." My heart beat faster, I hoped she was not having second thoughts about taking that spider back if he ever came crawling. "I told you, now you're queen just pass a law that says your marriage was invalid. Tell them you were afraid. Tell them you were being influenced, it's the truth after-all."

  "No it's not, you don't understand." Dahlia was becoming exasperated now.

  "Understand what?" This was just like Dahlia, to switch from perceptive musing to over-dramatic in mere moments. She opened her mouth to answer and then closed it again as if she was censoring herself or maybe she was scared of what might come out of it.

  "Vi," she managed before stopping herself again. This was not like Dahlia at all.

  "Dahlia, you're going to have to tell me what's wrong if you want me to try and help you."

  "You can't help me." She laughed bitterly at her own reflection in a full-length golden vanity mirror that rested up against the wall. I went to her side and gazed at her tired face in the mirror catching her eye.

  "Let me try." I implored her.

  "You have enough to worry about." Dahlia said, shaking her head subtly.

  "Just tell me!" I demanded in frustration.

  "Vi, I'm carrying his child." Dahlia finally blurted out the words before bending double and breaking down into long slow sobs.

  I was frozen. I felt my mind slip into an almost catatonic state of shock. My stomach knotted in fear for my friend. What had she done? I looked around the room aimlessly until I caught my reflection in the mirror. I didn't recognise the girl that was looking back at me. It had been so long since I'd seen myself, I mean truly seen myself. I looked wild, my hair exploded in a mess of orange curls that tumbled down my back. My cheeks that had always been as pale as the rest of my skin were ruddy. My body had developed. I was toned with a healthy amount of muscle because of all the physical activity I'd engaged in. I looked healthy but different, I was a new me, a strange me.

  My arm freed itself from the rest of my rigid body and wrapped tightly around Dahlia. I watched the movement in the mirror. It was peculiar, like watching someone else sat there comforting my sobbing friend. We sat for a while, Dahlia letting out sobs and me holding onto her, trying to hold the broken pieces of her together.

  "I'm scared for you." I finally admitted when Dahlia's weeping ebbed. "It's not safe for you to carry a Worlen child. You said it yourself, that no ordinary human can carry a Worlen child."

  "I'm not fully human though I am Vi?" Dahlia's voice was weak. "I thought this was all so romantic to begin with, our very own fairy story where you'd be the hero and I'd be a princess. I was so excited, I'd thought this would be like the movies but now I'm afraid. I'm afraid of what's happening to me and I'm afraid you're going to die."

  "You're bound to be afraid. You're going to be a mother. Don't waste your energy on being afraid for me Dahlia. I'm going to be fine." I lied.

  "I'm not afraid of being a mother. It's the only thing that's keeping me sane." Dahlia's response surprised me. "I'm afraid of being queen, afraid I'll make mistakes. I'm afraid of being tied to Idris for the rest of my life, afraid you're going to die, afraid that the people who trust me to rule them are going to die. The only thing I'm not afraid of is Airmid, I would never be afraid of her." Her voice was full with the conviction of her words that tumbled from her trembling lips.

  "Who's Airmid?" I asked, nobody had mentioned the name Airmid.

  "Airmid is my child, I saw her in my dream. She is going to be beautiful Vi, you will love her too, I've seen it." Dahlia smiled a tired smile. I sm
iled back hugging my wonderful, na?ve and resilient friend with all the love she deserved yet the fear within me remained.

  I knew she was falling asleep when her body began to loll against mine. I sat there for a few moments longer, before lowering Dahlia onto her bed and placing a dressing robe of scarlet velvet over her.

  It felt like I searched every room in the castle before I found Merl. He was in the courtyard again inspecting the mock-scythe in the hands of the statue of Queen Hevra. He didn't turn to acknowledge my presence, I wasn't even sure he knew I was there until he began to speak.

  "Why is it, do you think, that Agrona hasn't attacked yet?" He eyed the scythe speculatively.

  "Because she can't break the Bobbin barrier?" I shrugged nonchalantly. This was not the conversation I wanted to have right now.

  "That much is true, but there are other ways she could have drawn you out. She is an enemy that deserves a great deal of respect. Do not underestimate her Violet."

  "I don't." I said trying to sound serious but still distracted by the evening's revelations. "Look Merl I've got something really important that we need to talk about." I began.

  "I think it is perhaps wise, to call on our friend here to pay her a visit." Our friend here? Had he finally lost all of his marbles?

  "How did you know I was here?" Percival's disembodied voice chimed up.

  "Because I can see you, you nincompoop." Merl answered.

  "Oh, yeah right. I forgot I did." Percival was red cheeked when he materialised from thin air. "I'm used to sneaking about unnoticed I am."

  "That is exactly why I regrettably have to ask you to perform a task that only you are capable of completing." Merl stated, now looking with all seriousness at Percival.

  "But she'll see me just like you can." Percival shuddered.

  "That is true. However, I was of the impression that if you truly didn't want to be seen you could avoid it in any situation." Merl mused.

  "That I can!" Percival stated proudly as he fell for Merl's trap. "I am famous around the island for it. I was famous for it before the gate too. They don't call me the 'Night Thief' for nothing they don't." He nodded, not really grasping the irony of his statement.

  "Perfect, then you will be quite up to the task in hand."

  "Well what do I get from it? I'm not risking my life for nothing I'm not." Percival said stubbornly.

  "Name your price." Merl replied.

  "I want you to arrange a meeting with my sister." Percival started cautiously. "Just for a short time, I just want to see her. I haven't seen her in so long and then I will leave and you can make her forget." I was sure Merl was going to refuse before Percival finished his sentence but something changed in his demeanour when Percival asked him to make Bettery forget.

  "Agreed." Merl nodded stoically.

  "I will take some provisions and set off for Forge Gate in the morning." With that Merl walked away, Percival by his side skipping merrily as if he were going on a visit to his grandmothers.

  "I guess our conversation will just have to wait then." I called after Merl who answered with a dismissive backward wave of his skinny arm.

  Once again, I retired to the tower, frustrated that I hadn't had the chance to talk to Merl about Dahlia's pregnancy. Even so, sleep came more easily to me, a dreamless, responsibility-less sleep. It was as if my subconscious was allowing me a period of blissful ignorance and that it was. I hadn't realised how heavy everything that was happening to me was weighing on my mind until I felt Merl's bony finger nudge me in the head and I woke feeling refreshed for once. So refreshed that it seemed somewhat odd to me that the room was dark and the tiny wax candle still flickered in the bay of the window. I noticed the moons absence in the star-lit night sky.

  "Get up you nincompoop. We have an important matter to attend to."

  "Right now?" I wished he had informed me earlier that we were going to sneak around the castle grounds in the dead of night.

  "Yes, if now was not the time to attend to our matter I would not be here." Merl tutted like an incredulous old maid.

  "Okay, okay. My bow?" I asked optimistically.

  "Is still broken." Merl answered, seeming more than a little annoyed.

  "Where are we going?"

  "Just a little way into Thistlewick Forest, I have heard rumours of a Barghest that stalks a narrow entry. It is imperative that we go now."

  "Right now? Why what's the rush?" I asked.

  "Because I have also heard rumours that a small army of Gnarls is on a southward march, it is quite conceivable they could be heading here. Agrona will not take the coronation of Dahlia lightly. She will see it as an insult to her majesty."

  "She's no queen." I felt the same sharp chill that stung me every time we talked of the witch, the only thing she deserved to possess was her own all-consuming darkness.

  "In Agrona's mind she is the most powerful being in the land, therefore she is the ruler of the land. She is gifted with such enormous arrogance that she fails to understand that power is not just merely suppressing, using and slaughtering others."