Alice Parker & the Curse of Fate (5 page)

‘
I certainly
do!’ replied Thomas. ‘Why are you whispering? If you’re
afraid of startling the carp down here, I’m sure the lift has
already done that.’

Alice wasn’t
in the mood for Thomas’s mockery. She was already on edge and
was now experiencing the most peculiar sensation as they passed
through the bottom of the lake. Everything went dark and just as she
was about to panic, a light shone up from beneath her feet.

‘
We’re
nearly at the village, just a few seconds more, I think,’
Thomas tried to reassure her. ‘And I guarantee you’ll
approve!’

Suddenly the lift
emerged from the dark earth and arrived with a smooth landing in a
brightly lit chamber. Alice looked out in bewilderment. A man in a
powdered wig, who reminded her of one of Cinderella’s footmen,
leaned forward to open the door and offered his hand to help her step
out.

‘
Guten
Morgen!’ he beamed. ‘Willkommen an Vingeldorf!’

‘
Erfreut hier
zu sein,’ replied Alice.

‘
Er, hello,’
said Thomas awkwardly.

‘
Ah, English!
In that case, good morning and welcome to Finwip village! Most of us
speak very good English here.’

‘
I feel very
inadequate,’ grumbled Thomas.

‘
It would be
rude of us not to,’ continued the butler. After all, history
suggests that Finwips originated in England.’

‘
I didn’t
know that!’ exclaimed Alice. ‘That’s wonderful!’

‘
Also the
wretched Sinwips,’ he added with a wink.

‘
Oh.’

‘
I am sorry, I
do not recognise you. Is this your first visit?’

‘
Yes,’
said Thomas. ‘But you may know our Grandad, John Parker? He
comes here every year.’

‘
Of course!
Oh, he has told me much about you! He is very proud of his
grandchildren, you know. Please, follow me.’

Alice looked around
in astonishment as he led the way. This place was not at all how she
had imagined it. Unlike the other Finwip villages she had been to,
there were no bare stone walls or dark tunnels. There was no smell
of damp in the air, no draughts or vibrations to make the lights
flicker. The lights themselves were not the usual lanterns burning
Finwip fuel, but exquisite crystal chandeliers. Dozens of tiny bulbs
distributed the green-tinged Finwip light as a warm glow. It was a
palace underground.

Even Thomas was
speechless as they passed through halls and chambers with the finest
silk wallpaper, ornate painted ceilings and cabinets full of antique
treasures. To Alice’s relief, they passed several other
Finwips who were dressed in normal clothes or traditional Finwip
robes to expose their wings. She had begun to wonder if everyone was
expected to wear baroque style costume, although she couldn’t
imagine her grandad in tights and breeches. What a hideous sight that
would be!

Finally they entered
a room which seemed less formal than the others. There were no glass
display cabinets or grand oil paintings, and Alice noticed a box of
toys on a gilded chaise longue.
At
the end of the room, a woman with rather plain white
butterfly
wings was sitting with her back to them. She appeared to be reading
to a small child. At the table a teenage boy was studying,
surrounded by piles of books. He was by far the most good-looking
boy Alice had ever seen. When he looked up from his work and smiled,
Alice blushed and turned her face away.

‘
Christina, we
have visitors from England,’ announced the butler. ‘John
Parker’s grandchildren are here.’

‘
Thank you,
Torsten,’ replied Christina, standing up to greet them. ‘I
am delighted to meet you at last! You are very welcome here!’
She smoothed down her pink-streaked black hair and held out her hand.

‘
You are Alice
and Thomas, correct?’ she confirmed as they shook hands. Alice
nodded. ‘Are you the leader of this village?’

‘
With my
husband, yes. We accepted the role as a family, since we live down
here.’ Hiding behind her mother, the little girl peered at the
newcomers with curiosity.

Alice raised an
eyebrow. ‘All the time?’

‘
We have no
choice until Daniela is older,’ Christina explained, stroking
her daughter’s blonde curls. ‘She is too young to
control her wings so we must keep her out of public view.’

Alice and Thomas
stared in disbelief.

‘
Oh dear!’
spluttered Thomas. ‘Alice is fifteen and she still struggles!
She even released her wings on the London Eye a few months ago!’

‘
Are you
saying your daughter is a Finwip already?’ asked Alice, unable
to take her eyes of Daniela. ‘How is that possible? She’s
so young!’

Christina shrugged
her shoulders. ‘Perhaps because my husband is also a Finwip?
We are not certain. Kat became a Finwip this year, at seventeen, but
Daniela’s wings appeared when she was three years old. She is
five now. Every time she is upset or annoyed, it happens. It was
not safe to take her out above ground, so we decided to live in the
village. We shall educate her here until we can return to our home
and our normal life.’

‘
Well, I’m
shocked,’ admitted Thomas. ‘I mean, it’s
incredible but ... so awkward for you. I’ve never heard of
such a young Finwip. We thought Alice was young when she had her
metamorphosis at thirteen!’

‘
Ah, yes, John
told us about that. Kat, come and say hello. My son has wanted to
meet you for a while, Alice!’

Alice could feel her
face burning as this striking boy approached her. His jade green
Finwip eyes were fixated on her, shining beneath his tousled black
hair. She could hardly bring herself to look at him, so fierce was
the heat in her cheeks.

‘
So, we meet
at last!’ he said, stuffing his hands in to his pockets. ‘Your
grandfather tells me we have much in common.’

‘
Does he? I
mean, do we?’ Alice blurted out, relieved he hadn’t
attempted to shake hands. Hers were so clammy she had been dreading
it. ‘Is your name really Kat?’

‘
No! My name
is Ralph. Kat is just a family nickname – short for
Katalysator. Catalyst in English, of course. I enhance the
abilities of other Vingel – sorry, Finwips, when I am with
them. That is one of my abilities.’

‘
One
of
your abilities?!’

‘
Yes. Like
you, I have many.’

Alice was stunned.
For the past two years she had thought she was the only Finwip with
multiple abilities – although strictly speaking, Thomas had
two. Now here was another one like her. At that moment she couldn’t
think of anyone better.
But
why had her grandad told him so much and yet never mentioned Ralph to
her?

‘
Well, don’t
be shy, Ralph!’ insisted Thomas. ‘Tell us what they are.
I’m sure Alice would like to know that she isn’t the
only anomaly in Finwip society!’

‘
Of course.
You are not an anomaly, Alice. We’re the same. Your
grandfather said so himself. I am fluent in all languages, as you
see. Super-intelligence is one of my abilities too. I have a
photographic memory, I can run faster than a cheetah and I can fly.
Also, if someone is thinking about me I can hear their thoughts.’
He flashed a smile at Alice as he said it.

She couldn’t
believe what she was hearing. This was incredible! And yet she
wanted to turn on her heels and run. Never in her life had she been
so embarrassed. On the one occasion she had actually found a boy
attractive, he knew exactly what she was thinking! Even now as she
mentally kicked herself! Aaaargh!

‘
I wouldn’t
like that,’ said Thomas. ‘You must hear nasty things
sometimes.’

‘
I do. But I
try to ignore them.’

Alice wondered who
could possibly say anything unpleasant about him. She regretted it
instantly when he beamed at her. What an infuriating ability!

‘
So ... how
does it work?’ she asked. ‘I mean, can you tell if
someone is thinking about you even if they’re far away?’

‘
Yes,’
replied Ralph. ‘It is quite hard to explain. When someone
thinks about me, I can hear their voice in my head. I can sense
their location too. The more they think about me, the more accurate
I can be.’

‘
Can you see
what they’re doing as well?’

‘
No! I can
only tell the town or area that they happen to be in at that moment.’
He laughed at Alice’s obvious sense of relief. ‘Perhaps
we could fly together sometime?’

‘
Perhaps,’
said Alice, trying not to sound too keen. ‘Where do you fly?’

‘
In the forest
near the lake,’ said Ralph. ‘It would be nice to have
company.’

‘
Wonderful!’
beamed Christina. ‘Another Finwip who can fly, of a similar
age too! I am so pleased.’

‘
Another freak
with too many abilities you mean,’ said Thomas under his
breath. ‘Just what we need!’

Ralph glared at him.
Alice smiled as Thomas realised his error and bit his lip.

‘
Why don’t
you tell Ralph about
your
abilities?’
suggested Thomas.

‘
I think
Grandad already has.’

‘
Please,
remind me,’ said Ralph.

‘
Oh, I don’t
like to boast. Apart from super-intelligence and flying, I can
communicate with animals, swim very fast and I have an acute sense of
smell.’

‘
That all
sounds quite normal to me,’ replied Ralph kindly.

‘
Does it?
Well, I can also speak to dead people.’

‘
Finwips and
Sinwips specifically,’ added Thomas, delighted that his sister
had outdone Ralph in the abilities department.

Ralph’s eyes
widened. He looked impressed but slightly unnerved. ‘That is
... er ... an unusual ability, Alice,’ he admitted.

‘
Our village
is quite unusual, I am told,’ said Christina, tactfully
changing the subject.

‘
Quite
decadent, I would say!’ replied Thomas, running his fingers
over a tapestry hanging on the wall.

‘
Unfortunately
these things do not really belong to us. When this village was
created many years ago, all these objects were discovered. Many of
these rooms were already here. We believe that one of the residents
of Schloss Charlottenburg in the early eighteenth century was a
Finwip, and built their own secret palace underground. We have
simply extended it.’

‘
That’s
incredible!’ exclaimed Alice. ‘I’d love to know
who it was!’

‘
Me too,’
agreed Ralph. ‘I look at the portraits in the palace and try
to guess who was the Finwip!’

‘
I might try
that!’

‘
Come, let me
give you a tour. Will you join us for coffee and cake?’ asked
Christina.

‘
Yes please,’
replied Alice without hesitation, already trying to imagine how
extravagant the dining room would be.

‘
I will catch
up with you in a few minutes, if you don’t mind,’ said
Ralph. ‘I want to change my clothes and release my wings.’

Chapter 5

Family
Frustrations

Christina guided
them through elegant drawing rooms, luxurious bedrooms with
four-poster beds and a library that Alice would have killed to have
at home. It boasted a vaulted ceiling, hand-painted to mimic the
night sky. Every bookcase was carved from solid oak and decorated
with intricate engravings of leaves and flowers. She climbed a spiral
staircase to a balcony where she found a matching desk and a green
leather chair. From there she looked down on the room and admired
thousands of books stored carefully behind fine gilded trellis ...
until something distracted her. Ralph. He slipped in to the room
and looked all around for her, his wings clipping the top of the
enormous doorway. His Finwip robes were exactly the same shade of
blue as her own, and she had never seen wings of such proportions.
They were so huge, they were quite frightening. But Alice couldn’t
deny they looked amazing.

Thomas looked sick
with envy. ‘Oh. I wondered when I’d meet someone with
Atlas Moth wings. Nothing like a pair of those to give a Finwip an
inferiority complex!’