Chapter 2

Chapter

Two

I nhale.

I adjusted my grip on Gladius Acutissimus Gloriae Et Sanguinis – Gladys for short – and spun, slicing the air in front of me.

Exhale.

I ducked, jabbing the tip of her blade forward forcefully.

Inhale.

I side-stepped at speed, raising her up in a blocking motion.

Exhale.

I pivoted to my right, stumbled – and planted my entire body face-first in the soft ground. The tinnitus that had been my frequent companion for weeks flared up, whining out of pitch, while my whole body shivered. Cumbubbling bollocks.

I cursed aloud. ‘Fuck.’

A shadow fell in front of me as I struggled to raise my head and forced the rest of my body upwards until I was standing once more.

‘You lost concentration again,’ Miriam chided. ‘But at least this time you remembered to breathe. ’

I hissed with frustration. ‘I’m tired.’ It sounded like a petty excuse but it was the truth.

Her response was both quiet and kind. ‘I know. You’ve been training for twelve hours a day for six weeks, Daisy, and it’s bound to take its toll. Your late night can’t have helped, but it’s the training regime that you and Hugo set up which is causing the real problems. If I could grade you for effort you’d be top of the class, but you must learn when to give yourself a break. You’ve been pushing too hard. You didn’t even take a day off last week when it was your birthday.’

I’d had birthdays before and I’d have birthdays again – if I could beat this and succeed. I met her eyes. ‘This is the best opportunity I’ll have to bring my magic under control. If I can’t, I’ll never be in a position to wean myself off spider’s silk.’

I was already running out of time; as my trembling hands attested, the side-effects of my long-term drug use were getting worse. I had magic lessons with Hugo, sword lessons with Miriam and meditation lessons with several of the Primes who resided at Pemberville Castle – but I still didn’t have control.

‘You’re doing too much.’

‘I promised Hugo. This was the favour he asked of me.’

‘ He’s asking too much.’

I sighed and wiped away the sweat and mud from my face. ‘We all know what the alternative is.’ My magic would grow wilder and I’d take more spider’s silk to try and control it. As a result, I’d end up dead. I knew that was still the most likely outcome, no matter how hard I tried.

‘Are you training for yourself, Daisy?’ Miriam asked. ‘Or for Hugo?’

I didn’t reply. To be honest, I didn’t know the answer.

Her mouth puckered in disapproval. ‘The pair of you are both too stubborn for your own good. Don’t think I don’t know about all those late nights you’re spending on fiend research. Athair could have been lying about his relationship to you, but even if he was telling the truth, none of us care about who your birth father was.’

They’d care if I turned into a fiend, though I didn’t say that. Instead, I slid Gladys into her sheath at my side and bent down to pick up my water bottle. After taking several long glugs, I faced Miriam again. ‘Where is Hugo, anyway? I’ve not seen him since last night.’

Despite my best efforts not to, I’d fallen asleep in the car on the way back to Pemberville Castle after the party. Hugo and I had not spoken at any length, and the matter of Gordon’s magical golden skull was itching at me – plus, I’d missed Hugo’s company at breakfast.

The more time I spent with him, the more comfortable his presence made me feel – and there was always the underlying lusty simmer between us that we’d agreed not to act on until I’d sorted myself out. Even I had to admit that was part of the reason I was pushing myself so hard.

‘He headed out at dawn muttering something about some business he had to attend to,’ Miriam said. ‘I don’t know what.’

I frowned. Since the time I’d sneaked into Pemberville Castle to steal his old dragon’s egg, while he’d been planning to slip away with it for the same reason as me, we’d made a point of not keeping secrets from each other. That was why I’d told him and the rest of the Primes what Athair had revealed about my heritage.

‘I’m sure he’ll be back soon,’ Miriam reassured me.

I hoped so. ‘I’ll find him when he returns.’

‘Go for a nap. I’ll make sure someone wakes you up when he arrives.’

Sleep was incredibly tempting. I glanced towards the towering turrets of Pemberville Castle then looked away again. ‘I’ll go for a run first.’

Miriam’s eyes narrowed. ‘Daisy?—'

‘Only to clear my head,’ I said quickly. ‘I won’t overdo it and I won’t go far.’

She tutted. I smiled and nudged Hester and Otis awake; they’d been snoozing in a makeshift nest in my discarded hoodie. ‘Up for a run, you two?’

Hester’s face screwed up. ‘ Run ? Fuck off.’

‘I’ll run. You can sit on my shoulder.’

Otis flapped his iridescent wings, flew upwards and immediately made himself comfortable. Hester continued to scowl but, unwilling to be left behind, climbed onto my other shoulder. ‘Just don’t jiggle around too much,’ she yawned. ‘I need another forty winks.’ She nestled against my collar bone and started to snore.

I grinned and wished I didn’t feel envious, then I nodded at Miriam and headed off.

I hadn’t exactly lied to Miriam: I did want to clear my head, and enjoying some time away from the rigours of training, even if I was running, was the best way to achieve clarity.

There was another reason, too, and I had a specific destination in mind. I’d caught glimpses of it a few times on other runs during the last few weeks, albeit from a distance. This time I would head directly there and finally give in to my natural nosiness. It wasn’t far away; if I cut across the woods at the edge of Hugo’s many acres, I’d be there within the hour.

When I veered off the path, Otis started to pay attention. When the ground became more uneven as I entered the woods, Hester woke up and began to look around. ‘Where are we going?’ she asked.

Otis answered for me. ‘It’s obvious, isn’t it? ’

I wove in and out of the trees, taking care to avoid the low-hanging branches.

‘Lady Rose’s house?’ Hester asked, her voice hushed with awe.

‘I believe so,’ her brother replied.

She thumped the side of my neck. ‘Is that where we’re going? Daisy? Are we going to where Lady Rose lived?’

‘Yep.’ I jumped over a small bush and my feet squelched in the mud as I landed.

‘You’re going to help Gordon!’

I shook my head. ‘I’ve not made my mind up about that yet. I won’t do until I’ve spoken to Hugo.’

‘She will help Gordon,’ Hester whispered loudly to Otis. ‘She’ll look for Lady Rose.’

‘That’s not what Daisy said,’ he replied.

‘I know what she said. But I also know what she meant ,’ she added smugly.

‘All we’re doing is having a look at where Lady Rose lived, Hester,’ I said. ‘Nothing more, nothing less.’

‘Uh-huh. If you say so.’

I gave up trying to persuade her otherwise and concentrated on staying upright. There was a lot of bracken to avoid and numerous gnarly roots that I could easily trip over if I didn’t pay attention. It didn’t help that I was assailed by bouts of light-headedness when I turned my head too swiftly. I gritted my teeth, willing the sensation to go away.

Eventually I reached a dry-stone wall that marked the boundary to Hugo’s land. It was about two metres high, its solid and imposing presence adding to the suggestion that there had been bad blood between the Pembervilles and the Assigney family.

I gave a low whistle and looked around for a convenient place to scramble over before deciding the wall was too precarious to risk climbing. I steeled myself and leapt upwards, combining physical effort with a spurt of carefully directed air magic to boost me up and over. I even nailed the landing on the other side. Go me.

Hester and Otis had abandoned their spots on my shoulders in favour of flying over the wall. I’d expected at least a flicker of wonder at the way I’d conquered the wall, but they were both looking downhill at the Assigney mansion rather than at my inimitable fabulousness.

I couldn’t blame them. As I followed their gaze, I gasped. The last of the swirling morning mist was curling around the large building, and swathes of ivy and overgrown weeds had sprung up the mansion’s walls and along its paths and driveway. From where I was standing, it looked like an ethereal faery palace.

‘Wow,’ Hester breathed.

Wow, indeed.

I stayed where I was for a moment, marvelling at the view. I didn’t know much about Lady Rose or her family because I’d only recently become part of the elven community, and I’d only heard of her a few months ago. I was aware that the Assigney mansion and grounds had been maintained for a few years after her disappearance, but it was clearly a long time since anyone had been here. Strangely, the place didn’t look desolate or depressing; somehow its abandoned air only made it more magical.

I twitched, discomfited by the realisation. That shouldn’t be the case; there should be a shroud of heavy tragedy, not an atmosphere of sparkling mystery.

I told myself firmly not to let my emotions get the better of me. This was a brief reconnaissance mission born out of curiosity: nothing more, nothing less. I pulled back my shoulders and jogged towards the mansion .

I didn’t have a plan, I simply wanted to get a feel for the place and any lingering ghosts left by Lady Rose. Once I reached the house I circled it, pausing to peer through the windows in the vain hope that I’d spot something interesting. Every single one had been tightly shuttered; there was nothing to see apart from a few cobwebs clinging to the glass panes.

‘We should leave now.’ Otis shivered despite the gentle warmth from the morning sun. ‘There’s nothing to see.’

‘We could leave.’ Hester flapped her wings and arched a grin in my direction. ‘Or we could break in and have a proper look around.’

Otis gasped with shock. ‘We are not criminals, Hester!’

‘We won’t steal anything. We’ll only be having a wee peek.’

‘Tell her, Daisy,’ Otis said. ‘Tell her we won’t be doing anything other than returning to Pemberville Castle.’

I looked at him then I looked at her. ‘Come on,’ I said eventually. ‘Let’s check out the back door.’

Hester pumped the air with her fists; Otis looked dejected.

‘Nobody lives here, Otis,’ Hester said. ‘Breaking in is a victimless crime.’

‘There’s no such thing as a victimless crime,’ he muttered. Perhaps he was right.

I moved to the door and knelt down to examine the lock. ‘You could kick the door in,’ Hester suggested helpfully.

That was a step too far; also, I doubted I’d achieve anything more than making a dirty scuff mark on the heavy wood. However, the lock appeared to be a simple affair so there could be a way of releasing the mechanism and opening it without causing any damage.

‘This is such a bad idea,’ Otis moaned, as I conjured up yet more air magic.

‘Shh!’ Hester said. ‘Let Daisy concentrate.’

It was a testament to Hugo’s magic lessons that I was in a position to attempt this feat. Until recently, my magic had been more akin to a raging bull stampeding through the proverbial china shop, but Hugo had taught me the benefits of a delicate touch – and that was exactly the sort of power I needed now.

Holding my breath, I carefully combined the air molecules around me into a slender, invisible tool, then sent it forward and pushed the burst of air into the keyhole. I closed my eyes and concentrated hard, pushing the air into the locking mechanism and twisting it. The door rattled several times and the lock juddered. I tensed my muscles and fiddled further – and within less than a minute there was a satisfying click.

I beamed in triumph while Otis sighed heavily. I didn’t look at him; I felt guilty enough without seeing my own culpability reflected in his expression. I straightened up, twisted the handle, and the door opened with a long, painful creak.

‘You can stay out here, Otis,’ Hester said importantly.

He huffed. ‘I will do no such thing. I’m coming in with you to make sure you two don’t do anything stupid.’

I couldn’t imagine what he thought we might get up to inside the Assigney home. Maybe it was better not to ask.

I sucked in a deep breath and stepped across the threshold.