'You don't want to be noticed,' Peach Blossom said. 'But on the other hand, you don't want to be dressed in rags either. You need to be taken seriously, especially in Haleklind. The wizards lay much store by appearances. Nothing flashy, but the proper cut will help get you access anywhere.'
'Thank you,' Henry said, wondering what on earth she was talking about.
'You'll need that to find the Crown Prince,' Peach Blossom said, as if reading his thoughts. 'Now -' She handed him a pouch made from thin, shiny material that looked both waterproof and tough. 'This is your map and some gold.'
Henry blinked. 'Gold?'
'You can't possibly set out for Haleklind on foot. Much too far. You'll be little use to our royals if you take a month to reach them. The gold is to buy passage on public transports.'
Public transports? What public transports? Henry was as lost in the Realm as if he'd been dumped in the middle of the Sahara Desert. How could he take a public transport if he didn't know where to find one, didn't even know what they looked like? But despite his deepening confusion, he said, 'Gold? I really can't accept -'
'You don't have any option,' Peach Blossom cut him off. 'Believe me, you will not survive without coin. If it makes you feel any better, consider yourself in the employ of the Sisterhood. We wish you to carry a message to Prince Pyrgus and Princess Blue.'
'Is that in the pouch as well?' Henry asked.
Peach Blossom shook her head. 'Not that sort of message,' she said. 'We wish you only to tell them that the Sisters of the Silk Guild remain loyal to their rightful ruler and will fight to the death to restore him to the throne.' She hesitated. 'And correct the abomination of Lord Hairstreak in what he has done to the former Emperor.'
Henry murmured, 'I'll tell them.' He felt real admiration for these women. Even from the little he'd seen of the Realm since his return, he was sure they were risking their lives.
'One of the Sisters will take you into the city,' Peach Blossom said. 'Hairstreak does not yet suspect the Guild. But you must -' She broke off. 'What was that?'
That's trouble, Henry thought. There were sounds in the corridor outside and a woman's scream. Then the door of the chamber slammed open. Henry caught the barest glimpse of soldiers in black uniforms and dark shades before a ball of flame roared across the room to catch him in the chest. The impact was so violent it lifted him completely off his feet and slammed him back against one wall. His head struck stone in a sunburst of agony. He felt himself sliding down the wall and clung desperately to consciousness.
But by the time he reached the floor his limbs were folding like a rag doll and everything had turned to black.
CHAPTER SIXTY
The last time Pyrgus had been in the Keep he was only four years old. The experience had frightened him so much he'd burst into tears and wailed until his father picked him up. Afterwards, when Apatura Iris asked him why he'd been so scared, little Pyrgus told him firmly there were ghosts in the Keep.
The place still felt haunted. Pyrgus found himself in the middle of a stone-flagged floor waiting for the others to materialise. The chambers of the Keep were enormous – so enormous they dwarfed the stacks of storage crates pushed against the walls. They were also gloomy. Light filtered through slit windows, but was absorbed by the grey stone walls. The architecture was like nothing in the rest of the palace – there were levels upon levels, joined by wide, short flights of shallow steps. It gave the whole place the look of a three-dimensional maze.
Blue appeared, stepping out of a solid wall. She looked around and shivered.
'Have you been in here before?' Pyrgus asked.
She shook her head. 'Never. Do you know the way out?'
'I'm not sure. It's a long time since I've been here.' He decided not to tell her quite how long.
Nymph and her soldiers came through in a bunch. The two others were tough, silent men whose eyes darted round habitually as if watching for the possibility of an attack. Then Ziczac appeared, a bemused expression on his face. He stared at the multi-level chamber.
'Archaic engineering,' he murmured. 'I've never seen it before.'
Nymph said to Pyrgus, 'Can you lead us into the main palace, or should Ziczac…?'
Pyrgus was looking from one level to the other, trying to remember. 'I think so. I mean I think so. These are stores now, so the doors will be locked, but they should all recognise me – or Blue, come to that. With luck it'll be too early for Hairstreak to have changed the spell, even if he thought we might come back.' He hesitated. 'If we are in problems, can Ziczac get us in anywhere?'
He asked the question of Nymph, but Ziczac answered directly. 'Not exactly.'
'What do you mean, not exactly}' Blue demanded.
The wizard grinned benignly. 'We can only penetrate thick surfaces. A thin wall or door will stop us dead.'
'That doesn't make sense,' Pyrgus frowned.
'No, it doesn't, does it?' Ziczac agreed. 'I've never really followed it myself, but that's the way the magic works. You need to move inside something that's bigger than you are. The outer walls are enormous: the old cultures always built that way. But inside walls could be a different matter. I suppose we might risk it in an emergency, but…'
'There's a chance of getting stuck,' Nymph said.
'Which usually proves lethal,' Ziczac frowned. 'In fact, I've never heard of anyone who survived it.'
In the event, they managed quite well. The different levels were confusing and there were times when Pyrgus was a lot less certain than he tried to appear, but the lock spells recognised him without a problem so that they passed quickly through door after door. They reached an archway that looked decidedly familiar.
Pyrgus released a sigh of relief. 'That's it,' he said, pointing to the corridor beyond. 'That will take us into the lower reaches of the palace.' He stepped through the arch and Hairstreak's guards fell on him like an avalanche.
Stupidly, all he could think of was that he didn't have a weapon ready. He was armed with a short sword and fire wand supplied by the Forest Queen and his own Halek blade, overlooked by Hairstreak's men when they set him on the ouklo into exile. But the sword was in its scabbard, the wand in his belt and the Halek blade hidden in his boot. In short, he was helpless as an idiot. He spun and drove his elbow into the stomach of the nearest attacker and had the satisfaction of seeing the man double up and drop his sword. But there were others grinning evilly and they hadn't forgotten their weapons. He would be dead in seconds.
Then Nymph was at his side and she was utterly amazing. She moved faster than he would have believed possible, sometimes even blurring. She was carrying some sort of forest weapon, a triangular blade that was too short for a sword, too long for a dagger and left a silver energy-trail much like a Halek knife. She kicked the guard nearest him and killed him when he doubled up. Then she moved protectively in front of Pyrgus and launched herself savagely at two of the dead man's companions.
Pyrgus drew his own sword and spun to face another of their attackers. From the corner of his eye, he could see the forest soldiers hurl themselves into the fray. They had abandoned their bows for hand weapons, presumably to avoid injuring their own people in the close-pressed combat, but they moved almost as quickly as Nymph. As he parried a thrust from his opponent, Pyrgus realised suddenly how lucky he had been when he faced Nymph himself. The kick to the groin was obviously a favourite move, but at least in his case she'd not followed it up by cutting his throat.
It was over in minutes. Two of the guards were dead, the remaining three dying from multiple wounds. Now the heat of battle was over and he had a chance to remove the guards' dark glasses, Pyrgus could see from their eyes they were all Nighters – Hairstreak's men without a doubt. Even the black uniforms carried the House Hairstreak crest. Clearly Hairstreak did not trust the existing palace military, however firmly Comma was under his thumb; he had lost no time in moving in his own people.