Alfie Bloom and the Talisman Thief (13 page)

“We need to clean him up first,” said Madeleine, taking charge. “Have you got a first aid kit, and a bottle of iodine? That's what Granny uses on my cuts. It stings, but they never get infected.”

“I don't know,” said Alfie, “Maybe in the kitchen?”

“I'll take a look,” said Amy, hurrying away, as though glad of something to do.

“
I'll get some hot water and bandages,” said Robin, following her.

Alfie was tempted to follow them to avoid looking at the damage to Ashford's shoulder, but the butler's eyes were open again.

“Alfie,” he said weakly. “I'm so sorry.”

“What for?” asked Alfie, focusing on Ashford's gaunt face and trying not to let his eyes slip to the wound, which Madeleine was examining without the slightest revulsion. He was amazed at how little blood seemed to bother her – even Amy had rushed from the room as soon as she could.

“It's my fault they're here.” The butler's voice cracked slightly as he spoke. “I used the portal, twice. I was so careful about it, but they discovered I had been through and the second time they tracked and followed me. I've been a fool.”

“But you're the one that's hurt,” said Alfie. “We're fine. They can't get in, and they can't keep that mist around for ever, can they? Someone will come for us, eventually.”

“You don't understand what I've done.” Ashford grabbed Alfie's arm. “They didn't know the lens was here. When they took me I told them it was in Muninn and Bone's vaults where they couldn't reach it.”

“
So why are they here then?” asked Madeleine, pausing in her examination.

“It wasn't deliberate,” said Ashford, his grip on Alfie tightening. “You've got to know that.”

Alfie stared back into Ashford's pained eyes. “You told them?”

“Yes,” Ashford's voice broke. “They drugged me, and their sprites took on familiar forms so that I hardly knew who I was speaking to: you, Caspian, Emily. When I finally came back into myself, they knew about the talisman and the fact that it was here. I had told them. They had left a sprite on this side in the form of a mouse in case he could find out anything else, but they were sure that it was with Caspian until I told them otherwise, and then they gathered for when the sprite reopened the portal at Beltane. It's all my fault.”

Ashford seemed unable to meet Alfie's eyes.

“Even if you hadn't told them,” Alfie said at last, “they would have found out anyway. The sprite they left on this side disguised himself as you. He saw me wearing the talisman and stole it to open up the portal. He would have taken it through if Madeleine hadn't snatched it away from him.”

“You see?” said Madeleine. “It didn't matter that you told them.”

“
But I led them through in the first place!” exploded Ashford. “You don't know Merioch. He's biding his time until the Queen gets here, then nothing will keep them out.”

“That's enough!” snapped Madeleine, sounding very much like Granny. “We're safe for the moment. Let's not waste time worrying about who's to blame and what
might
happen.”

“She's right,” said Alfie. “Come on, we'll fix you up, and then figure out a way out of this.”

Robin and Amy reappeared with a large first aid kit and a bowl full of water that smelt like antiseptic. Ashford sank back into Alfie's pillows, his expression a mixture of guilt and relief as Madeleine went to work on his wounds.

Under the Dome

Alfie's watch told him it was long after midnight. The powerlessness he felt at the situation his talisman had landed them in grew worse as he watched the twins patching up Ashford. The butler looked as though he hadn't eaten in days. Desperate to feel useful, Alfie headed down to the undercroft pantry with Amy to find some food. Galileo followed to check whether there were any mice hiding down there.

“Ash doesn't look good,” said Amy as they raided the pantry. It was upside down after being ransacked by the fake Ashford in his search for the lens.

“
I know,” said Alfie, digging out cheeses, chutney and pâté from the jumble of food on the shelves. He had been thinking the same. Ashford's wound had gone so long without treatment that it must be infected. Madeleine was doing her best with the salve Emily had given them, but Ashford needed a real doctor. “We've got to find a way out.”

“It would take a while, but what if we dig under the dome?” said Amy. “Artan could fly us down between the courtyard walls and the mist. They wouldn't see us, and as long as we're quiet, they'd never know we were digging our way out.”

Alfie stared at her. “You're right. I don't know how far the mist extends, but if we all work together we'll get out eventually. We've even got enough shovels for the four of us in…” he paused.

“They're in the shed, aren't they?” said Amy. “The one in the courtyard?”

Alfie sighed. “Well, we nearly had a plan.” He passed her a loaf of bread and gathered up the rest of the food.

“Come on, Leo,” he said to the cat as it scratched the door to the cellars. “There's nothing for you down there.” Galileo obediently bounded up the stairs to the kitchen in anticipation of being fed. As Alfie followed, he was hit with a sudden thought.
Perhaps
there was another way under the mist after all. He dropped the food back on to the shelf and unlocked the door Galileo had been scratching at.

“Where are we going?” Amy asked.

“Out.”

Alfie grabbed one of the flaming torches from the wall and led the way through the cellars, pausing briefly to grab a very long coil of rope from one of the rooms on the way. Amy hurried after him as he unlocked a large studded door and followed the stairs down into the cellars below.

Their footsteps echoed in the dark labyrinth as Alfie headed for the central chamber and the strange round pool it held. He had leapt into it once to save Robin, and a strong current had dragged them both out into Lake Archelon. They had nearly drowned that night.

“Give me a hand with this,” he said as they reached the pool. His dad had covered it up with a large wooden lid to prevent any further accidents. With Amy's help, Alfie slid it aside.

“We're going out through there?” asked Amy, the dark water reflecting the flickering flames of the torch.

“We've got to try something,” said Alfie. He tied one end of the rope to a metal ring on the wall.
“
There's a strong current on the way down, so I'll need to use this to pull myself back up after you get out.”

“Wait, you want me to go – leaving you all here?”

“One of us needs to stay and let the others know, and you're the best swimmer by miles. If anyone can get out under the mist, it's you.”

“So you just expect me to clear off and leave you all here?” said Amy sharply. “You think I'd do that?”

Alfie sighed. “It's not about being brave enough to stay. We need you to tell Dad and Caspian what's happening in here. Maybe we can all swim out under the mist, but we'd need lots of help to get Ashford out that way.”

Amy seemed slightly mollified, but Alfie knew she couldn't bear the thought of leaving them.

“OK. Let's get this done then.” She took off her shoes and socks and stripped down to her T-shirt. “I'm leaving my trousers on,” she said firmly as she stood waiting for Alfie.

“Me too,” said Alfie, glad that he could stop trying to remember which pair of underpants he was wearing. He slipped off his chain mail, unclipped his walkie-talkie and tied the loose end
of
the rope through his trouser loops, knotting it tightly.

Alfie's breath caught in his throat as they lowered themselves into the freezing-cold water. The strong current of the water flowing beneath the castle dragged at his feet.

“Hold tight to the side,” he warned through chattering teeth. “When we let go, we'll be sucked down and into another tunnel. There's a metal grate at the end with a big hole in it. Squeeze through into the lake and we'll meet at the surface. OK, ready?”

They both took a deep breath and submerged, letting the current pull them down and along. The last time Alfie had done this he had been tumbling after Robin in a blind panic. This time he managed to stay fairly calm, despite the freezing-cold water chilling him to the bone. Amy swam ahead as though she did this sort of thing every day, and had already slipped gracefully through the grate by the time he reached it. He eased himself through, trying to avoid the sharp edges, then kicked off towards the surface of the lake, breaking through a few feet from Amy, who was gazing into the veil of mist.

“I didn't think this through,” said Alfie, shivering as he treaded water by her side. “It's
pitch-
black underwater. We're not going to be able to see if the mist goes right the way down.”

“Yeah, I realized on the way up,” said Amy. “It'd be risky to swim too deep, but we might be able to see if it goes down below the surface. Come on, let's take a closer look.”

Alfie swam after Amy, very glad he had thought to bring the rope. There was no way they would find their way back through the inky water to the grate without it.

They stopped at the edge of the mist and bobbed there for a while.

“It sounds weird, doesn't it?” he said.

“What do you mean? I don't hear anything.”

“Exactly. It's like its sucking in and blocking out all other noises. Like we're wearing earplugs or something.” Alfie even felt as though the mist was trying to mute the words coming out of his mouth.

“OK, I'm going under.” Amy took a few deep breaths, and then disappeared below the surface. Alfie counted under his breath as he waited for her to reappear. Faint laughter filtered down from the castle courtyard far above, followed by drums and the start of a song in Elvish. By the sound of the unpleasant laughter that punctuated the verses,
he
was glad he didn't understand what they were singing about.

His count reached eighty-five seconds. Just as he was starting to worry, Amy broke the surface. She wiggled her finger in one ear to clear the water and shook her head. “It's no good. I can only see for a couple of metres, but it looks like it goes all the way down and all the way around.”

Alfie's heart sank. He had been so sure he had found a way to outwit the elves. As the water chilled him to the bone, he regretted acting so hastily. Robin would have seen the flaws in the plan before they even set foot in the water. Laughter rang out again and Alfie felt sudden fury at their helplessness. He needed to do something. He swam a couple of strokes towards the mist but the rope around his waist pulled tight. He began to loosen it.

“Wait!” cried Amy. “What are you doing?”

“Take this,” said Alfie, handing her the rope. “I'm going through it.”

Amy grabbed his arm before he could swim a stroke. “Are you crazy? You saw what happened when Artan tried. It made him forget what he was trying to do.”

“I know. But, Artan is a bear. A very clever bear,
but
maybe a human wouldn't be confused the way he was.”

“Alfie, don't!” hissed Amy, but Alfie swam out of reach leaving her holding the rope back to the castle. “Don't be an idiot!”

“I've
got
to try,” said Alfie. “I'm just going to swim a little way in to see what it does.” Before Amy could say another word, he swam into the mist.

It was as though someone had pressed a mute button on the world. Surrounded by the white-grey mist, Alfie felt as though he was floating in some kind of limbo. He began to swim. A hint of a whisper brushed by his left ear. He stopped and turned around but there was no one there. Another whisper from his right. He paddled around in a circle, but all he could hear was his own splashing in the silence. He was alone.

Focus, Alfie,
he told himself. But what was it he had to focus on? Was he supposed to be going somewhere? It was so pleasant here in the mist he hardly wanted to leave. But he
had
to. He had to find someone – who?

“Alfie!” a voice was calling his name. A distant muffled voice quite unlike the whispers. “Alfie!” It was Amy. Maybe it was her he was trying to
find.
He tried to swim towards the voice, but couldn't quite figure out where it was coming from. “ALFIE!” Perhaps it was coming from beneath him. He stopped paddling and let himself float face down on the surface, his eyes open to search for Amy. It looked nice down there in the deep. Dark. Peaceful. He still couldn't see Amy. He decided to let himself sink down to look for her. He began to blow out bubbles of air, enjoying the tickling sensation as they brushed against his cheek. He felt himself begin to sink gently as the air left his lungs.

There was a sudden pain in the back of his head and he stopped sinking. Someone caught him by the hair and dragged his head up above the surface. “No, I've got to find Amy!” he spluttered.