Herbie Brennan - Faerie Lord

‘Serpents eat charnos.’ The remark made by the charno echoed in her memory. But the charno had still followed her into the cave, then turned into a clown and stolen her only means of leaving and…

She stopped the train of thought. Maybe it wasn’t like that at all. She’d briefly seen a charno in the passageway before it turned itself into this clown, but maybe that wasn’t the same charno who’d accompanied her from the monastery. She wasn’t sure she could tell one charno from another in bright sunlight, let alone in the depths of a gloomy cave. Suppose her charno was still outside, waiting patiently. Suppose this clown thing had taken the shape of a charno – a simple illusion spell would do it – just to confuse her?

Then why turn back to a clown the minute she stepped out? And if the clown wasn’t sent by the Abbot or the Purlisa, who was the clown? And whoever the clown was, how did he manage to sit on the head of the world’s largest serpent without being eaten like a charno?

It was all too much for Blue. Too many questions, not enough answers. But there was an answer to the only question that mattered. Henry wasn’t here.

‘I’m going,’ Blue said shortly and turned to leave the cavern.

The serpent twitched and a segment of its enormous tail closed off her exit.

Blue swung round again. The serpent was staring at her with vast, glittering eyes. The clown hadn’t moved. His legs dangled down on either side of its nose.

‘Do you control this thing?’ Blue demanded. ‘Tell it to let me out!’

Back into the passages, Blue, with the catsite worn off and no filament to guide you? her mind whispered. She pushed the thoughts aside. First things first.

‘Control?’ asked the clown, affecting a look of astonishment. ‘He’s an adolescent, bless him. Nobody controls an adolescent.’ He shook his head sadly. ‘Stays out all hours. Keeps bad company. Gets innocent girl serpents pregnant.’ He pursed his lips, opened his eyes wide. ‘Won’t do a thing I tell him.’

Blue pulled the Halek blade from her belt, turned and in a single movement plunged it into the serpent’s tail.

The energy discharge was massive. It poured from the knife like a lightning bolt, twisting and crackling. An overwhelming smell of ozone filled the air. The clown jerked suddenly and looked down as if something had bitten his bottom, then slid from his perch on the serpent’s head and leaped nimbly onto the floor. ‘That tickled!’ he exclaimed.

Blue withdrew the knife. The crystal blade was intact, but dull and lifeless as if every ounce of energy it had contained was now discharged. The serpent watched her curiously. It had not moved so much as a single coil.

Blue dropped the useless Halek knife and ran. She could not leave the cavern the way she entered, but there might be other exits. Maybe the light was sunlight after all, pouring through the roof of a side-chamber. She ran towards it.

Without haste, the serpent coiled itself around her and held her fast.

‘This isn’t right,’ said Henry.

‘What isn’t right, En Ri?’ asked Lorquin.

They had been trotting together for hours across the desert sands, baked by a relentless sun that somehow wasn’t having anything like the effect on Henry that it used to. His adventures with Lorquin and sojourn with the Luchti seemed to have toughened him up a lot.

‘You coming with me,’ Henry said. ‘This could be really dangerous.’

Lorquin said, ‘En Ri, you were my Companion when I became a man. It is fitting that I am your Companion now.’ He gave one of his sudden, broad smiles. ‘Besides, how would you find your way without me?’

That was true enough. Although Henry had picked up several tricks from the Luchti, finding his way in the desert was not one of them. Try as he might, he still could not see the patterns Lorquin saw. ‘All the same,’ he said, ‘I want you to stay out of the way if there’s any trouble. You just show me how to get to the mountains and then…’ He trailed off. He’d been about to say, And then you can go back to your people. But several things occurred to him at once. The first was that he didn’t want Lorquin to go back to his people. He’d come to love the kid (the man, Lorquin would say fiercely) and he didn’t want him simply to disappear. Lorquin was like the little brother Henry never had. That was part of the reality of his situation now. Another part was the fact that if he was going to rescue Blue (from what?) he might need all the help he could get, even from a youngster. Henry was no hero. He avoided fights whenever he could. He’d do anything in the world for Blue, but he knew his limitations. And assuming they did manage to get Blue out of whatever pickle she’d got herself into, there was the question of getting home again. They might need Lorquin’s help there too. ‘… then just keep out of the way,’ he ended lamely.

‘I shall behave as a Companion is supposed to behave,’ said Lorquin piously.

They trotted in silence for another hour; then Lorquin said suddenly, ‘We have reached our destination, En Ri.’

Henry looked around him. The sandy desert had given way to rocky wasteland, but otherwise he could see nothing of note, ‘I thought we were going to the mountains,’ he said.

‘We have reached the mountains,’ Lorquin said.

And indeed they had. The mountains loomed ahead, solid, threatening and gloomy. Henry blinked. He had no idea how he could have approached an entire mountain range without noticing. It just went to show how distracted he’d become. He stopped, staring up at the more distant peaks and suddenly realised how ill prepared he was for this whole adventure. All very well for Mr Fogarty to tell him he had to rescue Blue in the Mountains of Madness. But from what, in the Mountains of Madness. And where in the Mountains of Madness? They could spend the next month searching and never find her.

He realised he’d spoken the last thought aloud when Lorquin said, ‘Perhaps I can track her, En Ri.’

Henry didn’t quite see how, but he had long since stopped underestimating Lorquin’s abilities. Nonetheless he said cautiously, ‘You don’t even know what she looks like.’

‘Of course not, En Ri,’ Lorquin said. ‘But the mountains are haunted, so very few people come here. I can pick up the most recent trails. If we follow each, one will likely lead to your Blue.’ He looked carefully at Henry’s expression and added, ‘It will be quicker than searching all the mountains.’

‘Yes,’ Henry said doubtfully. Anything would be quicker than searching the entire mountain range, but that was about all you could say for Lorquin’s plan. The trouble was, he didn’t have a better one. ‘Yes,’ he repeated more firmly. ‘Yes, good idea. Lorquin. Thank you.’

In fact it took far less time than he imagined. They rested first for half an hour; then Lorquin led him to a place in the foothills overhung by two huge boulders. ‘We start here,’ he said.

Henry looked around. ‘Why?’ he asked curiously.

‘We approached the mountains from the deep desert,’ Lorquin said, ‘I believe your friend may have approached from the great city or the dwelling of the holy men. In either case, she would have used this pass. It is the easiest road into the mountains.’

Henry stared at him. The boy was nothing short of incredible. Give him a suit and an office in London and he’d be running the city in a month. After a moment, he said, ‘So what do we do now?’

‘Rest, En Ri, and gather your strength for your great ordeal ahead. I will tell you when I find her trail.’

When not if, Henry noted. He placed his back against one of the boulders, sank down into a comfortable squat and watched. Lorquin circled the site twice, his eyes on the ground, then trotted through the pass. As he disappeared from sight he called back, ‘I shall return for you, En Ri, when I find what we seek.’