Garth Nix - Lord Sunday

“Oh, you couldn’t even touch her, sir,” said Phineas. He frowned then added, “Least, I couldn’t. You’re powerful, so maybe you’d bring her into our time, but that wouldn’t be good.”

“I suppose not,” said Arthur thoughtfully. He was wondering if he could make Emily fall asleep and then synchronise her with House time and take her home…except the house would still be here.

Perhaps if I just took Mum back to somewhere she knows well, Arthur thought. Even if our place has disappeared, it would be better to get her back to Earth —

“Who are you, sir?” interrupted Phineas. “Are you…are you Lord Sunday?”

“No,” said Arthur. He stood up to his full height, towering above the boy. “I am Lord Arthur, Rightful Heir to the Architect.”

“Oh,” said Phineas. “Um, am I supposed to know what that means?”

“You haven’t heard of me?” asked Arthur. “How I have defeated six of the seven treacherous Trustees of the Architect and taken their Keys of power?”

“No…” said Phineas. “I don’t really get to talk to anyone but my boss, the Second Assistant Sub-Gardener for Bed Twenty-seven. His name is Karkwhal and he doesn’t talk, not really, so I never know what’s going on, even in the rest of the Gardens, let alone the House. It’s quite good to talk, I must say. So you’re Lord Arthur?”

“Yes. Sworn enemy of Lord Sunday.”

“Oh, right.” Phineas scratched his nose. “I wonder if I’m supposed to do something – I mean, tell someone you’re here or something.”

“No,” said Arthur. “You don’t want to do that.”

“Fine by me,” said Phineas. “Well, I s’pose I’d better go back to the shed and see what else needs doing. Can I have my flaming fork back?”

“That depends,” said Arthur. “Do you know where Part Seven of the Will is?”

“Don’t think so,” said Phineas. He scratched the side of his nose again and his forehead wrinkled in deep thought. “Nope. Is it rare and valuable?”

“Yes.”

“Hmmm…could be in the Arbour…or the Gazebo…or the Elysium. Most likely the Elysium, I should think…”

“Where are these places?” asked Arthur. “Are they part of the Incomparable Gardens?”

“Yes, indeed. Not that the likes of me have been there. But I know where they are, theoretically speaking.”

“Why would the Will be in the Elysium?”

“That’s Sunday’s favourite bit,” said Phineas. “Everyone knows that. He keeps all the rarest exhibits there. The perfect place. I’d love to work there, not that I expect they have a weed problem in the Elysium—”

“Ah, the weeds,” said Arthur. “What are they exactly?”

“Oh, Nithlings of one kind or another,” said Phineas. “When Lord Sunday brings in a new exhibit, sometimes a few weeds come in with them and, if you don’t get to them quickly, they spread. Why, there was this one ship thing Lord Sunday brought in that was covered in weeds. There were lots of us on that job, and a Sub-Gardener First Class in charge. But I didn’t get to do much; they made me hang back and watch for any getting away. Only none did get away. And no one talked to me.”

“Why does Sunday collect people and living things for the Garden?” asked Arthur. He remembered that Grim Tuesday had liked to collect valuables, things that people had made, but not living creatures or plants.

“Dunno,” said Phineas. “He just does. We have to look after them carefully though – the boss is always going on about that. Weeding, for example. Can’t let a Nithling interfere with any of the exhibits.”

“Could you show me how to get to the Elysium?” asked Arthur. “Is it far away?”

“I s’pose,” said Phineas. He scratched the bridge of his nose. “We’d have to cut between the hedges here, get on to the Garden Path…pick up a dragon—”

“A dragon?”

“Dragon fly ,” said Phineas. “Big ones, fitted for riding. Only I’ve never ridden one, though I s’pect they’d do what you tell them. Anyhow, we get on a dragon and fly towards the sunset – have to wait for it, of course, cos Lord Sunday moves the sun around, but the Elysium always faces the setting sun.”

“If he likes it so much, there must be a good chance Lord Sunday will be there himself,” Arthur guessed.

“I dunno,” said Phineas. “There’s a lot of Garden. You could sort him out though, couldn’t you? What with being…what did you say?…the Rightful Heir and all that.”

Yes, I could, thought the angry, boastful part of Arthur. But his more sensible side said quite the opposite, remembering what he had been told about the Keys, and how the Seventh Key was paramount over all.

I’d have to find the Will quickly enough to get its help to force Lord Sunday to relinquish the Seventh Key, thought Arthur. But if I run into Lord Sunday first, I’ll be toast. Perhaps I should get help first, like Part Six of the Will said…

“I wouldn’t mind seeing you and Lord Sunday have a punch-up,” remarked Phineas eagerly. “That’d be right promising, I reckon.”

“You’d probably get killed just watching,” said Arthur bleakly, remembering the Keys being used in battle back in the Great Maze, and when Saturday had first broached the Gardens.

He shook his head and took out the Fifth Key.

“I have to go somewhere,” he said. “Don’t tell anyone I was here, all right? And make sure this house…this Garden bed stays weed free.”

Phineas nodded, but his dark eyes were fixed on the mirror, intent on what Arthur was going to do.

Arthur held the mirror up, looked into it and tried once more to visualise Thursday’s room. At first he saw only his reflection, but that wavered and he felt a surge of relief as the now-familiar carpet with its battle-scene motif slowly coalesced into a solid view, with the rest of the room shimmering into focus around it. But just as it was about to become entirely crisp and real, the mirror shook in his hand and the vision wavered. Arthur frowned and gripped his wrist with his left hand to steady it, but the mirror continued to shake and twist, as if someone else was trying to take it away from him.

“Steady!” hissed Arthur, exerting his willpower to keep the mirror still and the scene in view. But just as he had with the Atlas, he felt an opposing force, one that grew stronger and stronger, until the Fifth Key flew from his grasp and clattered on to the floor.

Arthur clenched his fist, but seeing Phineas watching him so intently, he managed to contain his anger. Instead of punching the walls, he knelt down and picked up the mirror, slipping it back into his pouch.

“Maybe I won’t be going after all,” he said. “How do we get out of here?”

“Through the hedge,” said Phineas. “It’ll open for me, being a Gardener and all. Just stay close behind.”

He touched the hedge that blocked the kitchen door and a boy-sized hole opened in the greenery.

“Come on, bigger than that!” said Phineas. The hole grew large enough for Arthur. Phineas put one leg through it, then hopped back again. “My fork! Can I have it back, please, sir?”

“Yes,” said Arthur. “Do you want it lit?”

“Oh, that’s all right,” said Phineas. “I’ll swap it for another one. I just have to have one to hand in.”

He climbed through the hole.

Arthur looked around the kitchen and glanced up at the ceiling, to the room above where his mother was trapped in a small circuit of time.

At least I know where Mum is, he thought heavily, then stepped through the hedge.

He found himself in a cool green alley between two hedges that were at least fifty feet tall. Above them he could see a perfect blue sky with a faint touch of white clouds – it looked like it might have been painted by some old master, and possibly was. He couldn’t see a sun, but there was a source of illumination somewhere above for the sky was very light. Probably the sun moved along a track, just like the suns in other parts of the House, though Arthur guessed that the one here would be more impressive and move more smoothly than in any other demesne.