‘ WHAT?’ exploded Mica, and Ivy nearly dropped Cicely’s ribbon in the fire. ‘That’s impossible! I chained that spriggan up myself — there’s no way he could have escaped!’
‘And yet he did,’ said Betony crisply. ‘Perhaps the iron was not as pure as you believed, or perhaps he found some way to weaken it. But the prisoner has gone, and taken Cicely with him.’
No, thought Ivy in dismay. He couldn’t have, he was with me. But how could she tell them that?
‘I’ll kill him,’ Mica’s voice was savage, his big hands clenched so tight they shook. ‘I’ll track him all the way across Kernow if I have to, but I swear I won’t rest until I break his skinny neck.’
‘There’s a search party heading to the surface,’ said Gossan, ‘and our most seasoned hunters and trackers are among them. They will do everything in their power to find Cicely.’
‘No doubt,’ Mica said flatly, ‘but they can only search for a few hours before they have to come back again. And that’s not good enough.’ He dropped to one knee. ‘Jack O’Lantern, Joan the Wad,’ he said formally to Gossan and Betony in turn, ‘I ask permission to track the spriggan myself, and stay out as long as it takes to find him and get my sister back.’
‘Alone?’ asked Betony. ‘Leaving Ivy with no one to provide for her?’
She didn’t even glance at Flint; they all knew that Ivy’s father was of no fit mind to look after anyone. He was safe enough working in the mine, but send him to the surface and he might well drown himself in a bog, or walk off a cliff into the sea.
‘Mattock would take care of Ivy, if I asked him,’ said Mica quickly. ‘Or Jenny’s clan could take her in, until I get back.’
And there it was again. Just because Ivy was wingless, because she was small and skinny, they were talking about her as though she were an invalid. Never mind that she’d been managing a household for five years and doing the bulk of the chores as well — that didn’t count as real work, apparently.
Betony and Gossan shared a look. Then the Joan said, ‘Cicely must be found, yes, and her kidnapper punished as he deserves. But this is not a matter for any piskey to undertake alone.’
‘Then I’ll put together my own search party,’ pleaded Mica. ‘I’ll take Mattock with me, and Gem and Feldspar too if you want. But you have to let me go!’
‘ Have to?’ Betony said coldly. ‘The Jack and I will do what is best for the Delve, Mica. Not only for you, but for all our people.’ She walked behind her desk and sat down, wings folded primly behind her. ‘I will consider your request, and inform you when we reach a decision. Until then, you may leave.’
Mica’s expression turned mutinous. He sprang to his feet and stalked out.
‘That one will make trouble,’ warned Nettle, as she poured the tea and handed a cup to Gossan. ‘He’s moody, like his mother. And if he’s not kept busy…’
‘He will be,’ said the Joan, and now she sounded weary. Then she turned to Ivy and said, ‘Did you bring something of Cicely’s with you?’
Silently Ivy got up and handed her the hair ribbon. Betony smoothed it out upon her palm, then laid her other hand over it and closed her eyes. She must be casting a spell to try and find Cicely, Ivy realised, and held her breath. Of course the Joan would have tried the same thing when Keeve went missing, but perhaps this time…
‘Nothing,’ said Betony. ‘I fear she is already beyond the range of my spells.’ She laid the ribbon down. ‘Tell me, Ivy. You said you and Mica had both warned Cicely against going to the surface. Do you have any idea what drew her there, or what made her disobey?’
‘I-’ Ivy’s throat was so tight she could hardly speak. ‘I don’t-’
‘My love.’ Gossan leaned close to his wife’s ear. ‘She has already lost her mother, and now her sister as well. Give her time to grieve.’
Gratitude rushed into Ivy, followed by a hot wave of shame. She didn’t deserve the Jack’s compassion, not after the things she’d done. But if she confessed, they’d lock her up in the dungeon. And then she’d never get the chance to go outside and search for Cicely as only a swift could do.
‘Very well,’ said Betony, waving a hand at Ivy. ‘You may leave.’
As Ivy walked to the door, Nettle followed her. ‘I know how it feels, to lose a sister,’ she said in a cracked whisper. ‘It’s a hard, hard thing. I’ll never see my poor Gillyflower again, but I hope you find your Cicely.’ She gave her a last, sad smile, and closed the door.
Ivy was left alone with Flint, who stood like a statue with his thunder-axe over his shoulder. ‘She’s gone, Dad,’ Ivy said, clutching at his free hand. ‘Cicely’s gone. What are we going to do?’
She searched his face for a change in expression, but Flint didn’t even blink. He pulled out of her grip, hefted his pickaxe, and walked away.
‘What is wrong with you?’ Ivy’s voice rose high, breaking on the final word. ‘Don’t you care about Cicely, or anything? Is this all you can do — bury yourself in the ground and hammer away until you drop dead, and we’re left with no parents at all?’
Flint’s head drooped a little, but he didn’t answer. He kept walking past the stairs and the entrance to the Market Cavern, heading for the trapdoor that would take him down into the diggings.
Ivy stared after him until he was nothing but a blur in the distance. Then she wiped her eyes angrily on the back of her hand, and ran to catch up with Mica.
‘I can’t believe Aunt Betony just dismissed me like that.’ Mica paced around the cavern, kicking at the rug. ‘Cicely’s my sister; I should be the one to look for her. And I was the one who caught the spriggan in the first place. But from the way she was acting, you’d think it was my fault he’d escaped!’
Ivy sank into a chair, arms wrapped around her chest to hold the hurt inside. ‘I know,’ she said unevenly. ‘It’s not fair. You’re not to blame.’
‘I can’t understand how he got out of there,’ muttered Mica. ‘The iron was pure — I made sure of that. He couldn’t have got past that pile of rocks in the tunnel, and he couldn’t climb the shaft either, not without a rope…’
Apprehension stirred in Ivy. If she let him go on like this, it wouldn’t be long before he came to the obvious conclusion — that someone had deliberately helped the prisoner escape. ‘What are you going to do?’ she asked, to change the subject. ‘If Betony won’t let you go…’
‘She will. She’s got to.’ Mica flung himself onto the sofa across from her, fists clenched on his knees. ‘I know the surface as well as any hunter in the Delve. I’m not afraid of spriggans. And I won’t give up until I find Cicely, however long it takes. Who else can say that?’
I can, Ivy thought, but she didn’t dare say it. Not until she knew she could trust him. ‘But if she decides not to listen? What will you do then?’
His face creased with anguish. ‘What do you want me to say? That I’d disobey the Joan and Jack, break every rule in the Delve if I had to, just for a chance of finding Cicely again? You know I would. I know you would, too.’
Ivy’s eyes prickled, and she looked down at her lap. So Mica did understand how she felt, after all. If she could only explain to him that she’d felt the same way about finding their mother…
‘Then if someone told you that she was alive, and they knew where she was,’ she said, ‘then you’d do whatever it took to get to her? Even if — if everyone else said it was dangerous, and you shouldn’t go?’
‘Of course.’ His voice sharpened. ‘I’m not a coward. What are you getting at?’
She must be careful now, so very careful. If Mica guessed that Ivy had anything to do with Richard’s escape, he’d turn against her in a heartbeat. ‘I’ve heard stories,’ she said. ‘About our ancestors, and other magical folk. How some of them could change into the shapes of animals, or-’