The Lost Queen (19 page)

“I do,” Sancha said. “It is a blessing to know that five hundred years in the Mortal World has done no harm to the Queen—none that can be seen, in any hap.”

“How was this likeness created?” Cordelia asked, peering over Tania's shoulder. “I see no brush work, yet it has the look of oil and pigment in the hands of a master artist.”

“It's a photo,” Tania told her. “It's another bit of gear that I can't really explain,” she said with a half-smile. “It comes from a small metal box. You point it at someone and press the button, and there you are. An instant picture.” She looked at the empty digital
camera cradle at the side of the computer. “I'd be happy to show you how it works, but Jade's taken hers on holiday.”

“At another time, perhaps,” Zara said. She grimaced at the computer. “The noise of this machine makes my head hurt,” she said. “Thank you for showing us our mother's likeness, but with your leave I will await you below.”

“As will I,” Cordelia added. “In truth, your
contutor
buzzes like a nest of summer wasps!”

“Computer,” Tania said quietly. “Sorry, I'll turn it off now.” She was surprised that the low humming was bothering them so much—she was hardly even aware of it.

“I'll put the kettle on,” Edric said. “Sancha? Coffee?”

“That would be kind,” Sancha said.

A few moments later Tania was left with only Sancha standing at her side as she closed down the computer.

“I saw that there were words on the machine,” Sancha said, staring at the blank screen. “But I cannot
feel
them; they are not real to me.”

“How do you mean?”

“A word written in a book has texture, it has form, it is a thing of ink, a real thing, a thing with substance. But I can feel nothing within your machine. It is as empty to me as the face of the moon.” She touched a very tentative finger to the top corner of the screen. “No, I see nothing.”

“That's because I've switched it off.”

“You do not understand,” Sancha said. “Remain seated, and I shall explain my meaning to you.” She moved away so that she was standing behind Jade's desk, facing Tania. She lifted her hand and made a small twirling movement of her fingers.

Tania heard a soft sliding sound. She turned her head and saw one of Jade's books slip off the shelf and float toward her. Sancha's fingers moved again. The book hung in the air in front of Tania and opened itself, its cover toward Sancha so that she could not see the pages.

“Behold words of ink,” Sancha said. “Words on paper. Look to the top of the left-hand page. ‘David was back within ten minutes. “All done,” he said. “We've got the whole place to ourselves now. Come on, let's see if we can find out anything about that White Lady.”'”

They were the exact words that Tania's eyes were following in the book. She glanced at Sancha. Her sister's face had gone blank, save for two deep lines between her eyebrows. Her eyes were half closed, the irises hidden under the fallen lids so that only a thin white line was visible.

“How are you doing that?” Tania asked. “You know what's written in the book without reading it, don't you?”

Sancha opened her eyes. “It is part of my gift,” she said. “I can feel the substance of written words even if they are not visible to me. In a library as vast as the one
in the palace, it is a useful ability, would you not say?”

“Extremely useful, I should think,” Tania said.

Sancha pointed to the computer. “But I see nothing in the machine. There is no life in there, no depth.”

“I wish we'd had you with us when we went to the place where Titania works,” Tania said. “You could have just read her telephone number and her home address from their personnel files.” Her voice trailed off.

“What is the matter?” Sancha asked.

“I've had an idea,” Tania said, springing out of the chair. She ran from the room and bounded down the stairs. “Edric! Cordie! Zara!”

“In here,” came Edric's voice from the kitchen.

Tania ran in with Sancha close on her heels. Edric was standing by the kettle. Zara was at the table, spooning up the remnants of chocolate spread from the jar. Cordelia was at the window, gazing into the garden.

“Sancha can read things from a distance,” she announced. “Without having to see them.”

“This is known to us, Tania,” Zara said with a puzzled frown.

Tania looked at Edric. “What information did we want from that man at Pleiades?”

“Lilith Mariner's phone number, for a start,” Edric said. His eyes sparked with understanding. “You think Sancha might be able to read the number off her file?”

“Her phone number, her home address, the lot.”
Tania turned to Sancha. “If we take you to the place where Titania works, could you do that? Could you read her file?”

“If ink has been applied to paper, then time and silence are all the tools I will need,” Sancha said.

“We have to go there,” Tania said. “We have to go there right now!”

It was mid-afternoon. Tania and Edric and the three princesses were standing in the paved courtyard outside unit five of the Spenser Road Forum. Banners of thin white cloud straggled across the sky, but it was warm when the sun broke free, although in the shade a keen east wind took the edge off the summer heat and more than once Tania had felt a chill on her neck that made her think that Gray Knights were near. Not that they had seen any sign of them on their way here from the Andersons' home.

Tania had not been looking forward to getting her three sisters all the way to Richmond, especially not since the quickest and easiest route was via the Underground. She had feared that the noise and the crush and the claustrophobic nature of a tube train might freak them out, but they had endured the journey in tight-lipped silence, keeping close together,
braced against the cacophony as the carriage had rattled its way through the tunnels.

Surprisingly to Tania, Zara had showed the least fear. She had sat between her two sisters, holding their hands and, when the noise levels permitted, comforting them with quiet words. Cordelia had been the worst affected, flinching away when other passengers passed by her in the aisle, jumping at the hiss and clatter of the doors.

Sancha and Zara had stayed on either side of her when they had finally come up out of the Underground system and had begun the brief walk through Richmond to Spenser Road.

“The animals are strange here,” Cordelia had remarked at one point. “In the song of the birds I can hear lamentations for the loss of the wildwoods. Although they are drawn to this place, they say that the mortals who dwell here are wasteful and dangerous. Many birds die by mischance and cruelty in the brick and stone canyons of the city, but those that live grow fat on discarded mortal food. And I sense foxes and squirrels and other small beasts, although they are hidden now from the sun. But they smell strange to me, tainted by eating mortal food and walking mortal streets, and they have lost the ways of the wood. But other beasts thrive and are merry, rats and spiders and the animals that live on shadows and decay. And the insects care nothing for mortals, for they have been here since before time began, and they will be here still when even the memory of this
place and of the race that built it has been dust for a million million years.”

Shortly afterward, they had arrived at the wrought-iron gateway of the Spenser Road Forum. They had stepped into the sunken courtyard and walked across it to stand together outside the red-brick facade of the Pleiades Legal Group.

Shining images of the cloud-striped sky filled the tall windows. The sun reflected off the steel-and-glass doors that led to the reception area.

Cordelia was staring into the sky and frowning.

“All will be well,” Zara said, taking her hand. “We will be with our mother soon.”

Cordelia looked at her, but to Tania it seemed that her sister's clear blue eyes were still full of the sky. “The birds are uneasy,” she said. “They smell evil moving on the air.”

“Is it the knights?” Sancha asked. “Are they near?”

Cordelia lifted her head. “I smell horses that are not horses,” she said. “Their breath is cold; their brazen hooves strike sparks on the stones. They draw closer.” She looked at Tania. “Do your business in this place as swift as you may. We should not have left our swords behind.”

Cordelia had argued for them to come here armed, but Tania and Edric had convinced the others that it would be impossible to carry their swords through the city without being arrested.

“Will you stay out here with Cordelia and Zara?” Tania asked Edric. Sancha had already told her that
she would need to be inside the building in order to be able to seek out Lilith Mariner's records.

“Of course. Be as quick as you can.”

Tania nodded.

She walked toward the glass doors, tucking loose strands of her hair under the black cloche hat that she had borrowed from Jade's wardrobe. She had tied her hair back into a long, thick ponytail, and the hat hid the rest. She had also brought sunglasses with her—the idea of this simple change of appearance being to stop the receptionist from recognizing her and immediately calling security to have her thrown out.

She put on her sunglasses and pushed through the doors, leading Sancha to the low seats in the waiting area.

“You sit there,” she told her. “I'll keep the receptionist busy while you do your thing, okay?”

A wry smile lifted Sancha's lips. “Oh-kay,” she said. “And pray that Cordelia is wrong and that I shall have time to…do my thing…ere the Gray Knights fall upon us.”

“Here's hoping,” Tania muttered as she turned and walked toward the high-fronted reception desk. One problem disappeared as she leaned over the counter. The woman seated behind was not the same one as before—she was a small, thin, dark-haired woman in her midthirties. At least Tania was not going to be recognized and asked to leave—not unless Mr. Mervyn turned up.

Tania took off her dark glasses. “Hello there,” she said.

“Hi, can I help you?” the woman asked with a professional smile.

“I hope you can,” Tania said, leaning on the counter to try and stop her legs shaking so much. “I was wondering whether Lilith Mariner had come back from Beijing?”

“I'm afraid not,” the receptionist said. “But I believe she's due back in London any time now.”

“Really?” Tania asked, her heart jumping a little. “Do you know exactly when?”

“I don't, sorry. She's not expected back in the office till later in the week.”

“Oh, that's a pity,” Tania said. She got ready to spin the story that she and Edric had been rehearsing on their way over here. “The thing is, I was hoping to have a very quick word with her. I plan on studying law at university and I was hoping that Ms. Mariner might be able to provide me with some work experience over the summer holidays. I've been told that she's very keen on assisting women who want to get into the legal profession.”

“We do take on students as clerical assistants,” the receptionist said. “But Ms. Mariner doesn't usually organize it personally, and I think you might be a bit young for our program. I'll give Ms. Mariner's office a call. One of her assistants may be free to come down and have a quick word with you.”

“That would be brilliant,” Tania said. She didn't mind who she spoke to—short of George Mervyn—so long as it gave her an excuse to stay here long enough for Sancha to locate and read the personnel files.

The receptionist picked up the phone and punched in a number.

Tania shot a quick glance over to Sancha. She was sitting ramrod straight on the low chair, her hands clasped together on her knees, her knuckles white. She was frowning and her eyes were half closed. Her lips were moving, as if she was reciting something in her head.

“You're in luck,” the receptionist said. “Ms. Mariner's legal secretary says she can give you a couple of minutes. If you'd like to go and sit over there, I'm sure she won't keep you waiting long.”

“Great,” Tania said. “Thanks. Is there a coffee machine or anything?”

“Yes, of course.” The receptionist stood up, obviously intending to point out where Tania should go to get refreshments, but something caught her eye, something that she could see through the windows behind Tania. “It's getting very dark out there,” she said. “Looks like we're in for a storm, and the weather girl said on TV this morning that it'd be a sunny day.”

A cold fist clenched in Tania's stomach. She snapped her head around. The day had grown suddenly dark but Tania did not think it had anything to do with gathering storm clouds.

An oncoming movement swelled behind the tinted
glass, like a gray wave beating its way across the courtyard. And there was noise: the clatter of hooves, the swish of sharp swords slicing the air, the rattle of harness, the slap of leather.

A moment later the glass doors were flung open and Edric and Cordelia and Zara burst in, running for their lives.

“They are upon us!” Cordelia screamed.

The gray wave hit the windows. There was a tumultuous crash as four mounted knights plunged through the windows, sending thousands of fragments of glass exploding across the reception area. Tania threw herself over the reception desk, pulling the receptionist down as shards rained over them.

A wild neighing tore the air and the four knights began to shout in shrill, cruel voices. Tania heard Cordelia shouting, her voice thin but brave in all the tumult.

“Gray steeds! Gray steeds! Harm us not! I have the power of love over you! I have the power of light over you! I have the power of the sweet white water over you! I have the power of lush spring grasses over you! These powers I have over you. Go back! Harm us not. Go back!”

Tania pushed the terrified receptionist under the desk. “Stay there,” she said. On her knees, surrounded by broken glass, Tania looked around for some kind of weapon.

There was nothing. She lifted her head and peered over the desk.

Sancha had been thrown to the floor by the assault of the four horsemen, but her chair had tipped over on top of her and seemed to have shielded her from the flying glass. Zara and Edric were leaping this way and that, their arms up to ward off the lashing hooves of the horses. Only Cordelia was standing still in all the mayhem, her arms stiff at her sides, fists clenched, out-staring the horses as they reared and bucked around her.

It looked to Tania as if at any moment, Cordelia would be struck down and trampled but for some reason the maddened horses never touched her as they plunged around her. One of the knights swung out sideways from the saddle, clinging grimly to the reins with one hand and aiming a long, sweeping blow at Cordelia's head.

“No!” Tania screamed. She snatched up the keyboard from the desk and flung it at the knight with all her strength. It struck his sword arm, jolting the blade from his grip, sending it spinning in a white blur through the air as he howled in rage.

Tania scrambled onto the top of the desk. With a wild yell she flung herself at the nearest of the knights. But he spurred his horse forward and Tania missed him by inches, her momentum sending her hurtling to the floor.

She sprawled on her face, all the air driven out of her lungs, colored lights flashing in the darkness that swam in front of her eyes.

She was vaguely aware of Edric's voice. “Zara! See
to Sancha!” And then a wild shout. “Tania! Tania!”

She managed to drag herself to her feet. She saw a sword slicing through the air toward her, the slender white crystal carving the gloom. A razor's edge come to spill her blood.

She even had time to regret that she would never see her Faerie mother. So sad that it would all end like this.

And then a second blade cut the darkness, blocking the first.

And then the black cloud was gone and the fog cleared from Tania's brain. Edric stood between her and the Gray Knight, fighting grimly, a sword rising and falling in his hand as he forced the dismounted knight back. He must have snatched up the blade that she had knocked from the other knight's hand.

Edric lifted the sword into the high ward and drove the blade down into the creature's chest. The Gray Knight's body exploded into dust. His clothing fell empty to the floor, his sword ringing on the tiles, his long glistening cloak settling like a shroud over the scattered ashes.

And as the creature died, his horse reared, screaming aloud as the flesh shriveled on its bones until it was nothing more than a skeleton hung with shreds of dried skin. The crazed red light went out of its hollow eye sockets and it fell onto its side, crashing to the floor and shattering to dust like its rider.

The three remaining horses reared away, letting out ear-splitting screeches of terror.

“Tania, run!” It was Edric's voice, and it was Edric's hand that caught her arm and pulled her away as another sword slashed the air where she had been standing.

She saw Zara ahead of them, running down one of the corridors that led from the reception area. She had Sancha with her. Cordelia was only half a step behind.

“Get them out of here!” Edric shouted to Tania, letting go of her arm and turning to confront the first of the oncoming riders. He lunged with his sword at the first knight. With a fierce snarl, the creature deflected the weapon with his own blade.

But even as he bore down on Edric, his horse swerved under a rising stairway, and the knight was knocked out of the saddle. The horse spun on its haunches, its head dragged around by the reins that were still clutched in the fallen knight's fist. The other two horses crashed into it and for a few moments everything was pandemonium as horses and riders fought to stay upright.

In those few precious seconds Tania hurled a pair of swing doors open and shouted for everyone to follow. They came tumbling through after her: Zara and Sancha first, then Cordelia and last Edric. Tania and Edric slammed the doors closed but there was no catch, no lock. Edric stared around for something to block the doors.

Tania saw that they were on the landing of a stairway that zigzagged up and down, but to one side she
saw an elevator, and the door was open.

“In here!” she shouted and her sisters plunged in after her. “Edric! Quickly!” He leaped across the landing, slipping through the doors just as they were closing.

Tania hit the lowest button and the elevator began to descend. She guessed that down would be safer than up. Down might lead to a way out; up could only trap them in the building.

They dropped three levels. The elevator came to a smooth halt and the doors opened. They were in a large underground parking lot, the low roof held up by rows of square concrete pillars.

The place was illuminated by yellowish strip lighting, but through the ranks of parked cars they could see a haze of white sunlight that filtered down from a ramp at the far end.

They ran toward the ramp, but at the top they found that the rising roadway was blocked by a steel grid. Edric led them to a narrow doorway and a flight of plain stone steps. They went through another door and came into an alley blocked off by a wrought-iron gate.