The Starkin Crown (32 page)

Molly smiled up at him. ‘I'm fine. It was only a scratch'.

Together they watched as the hunter was borne away into the lightning-racked sky. Peregrine watched them go, waving the spear joyously. Lord Grim turned back to wave and salute. The hunter struggled and fought but could not break free. The Wild Hunt soared after Lord Grim, snatching up soldiers, fat courtiers and screaming ladies as they went, the hounds baying with hellish joy. As they disappeared into the snowstorm, the yelping and howling gradually faded away.

The torches slowly spluttered back to life, glinting on the rows and rows of starkin soldiers, still kneeling in the icy slush. The hearthkin serfs began to cheer, waving their tools. The two hobhenkies danced a tumultuous jig. The dogs waved their plumy tails and pressed close to Peregrine's legs, looking up at him with adoring eyes.

Peregrine's gaze dropped to the starkin crown, which he still held in his other hand. Then he looked round the crowded courtyard and saw his father on the scaffold, the noose that was to hang him swaying in the breeze. Peregrine smiled and began to shoulder his way through the crowd, Blitz flying above his head.

As he passed her, Grizelda curtsied deep to the ground, her head bent. Lord Goldwin bowed. The rest of the starkin lords and ladies stiffly followed their lead. Peregrine held the starkin crown in one hand and the glowing spear in the other. He shone as if with starshine.

King Merrik, dishevelled and exhausted, was leaning on
his sword. Peregrine knelt before him in the muddy snow and held up the crown.

King Merrik dropped one blood-smeared hand on Peregrine's unruly brown head and said hoarsely, ‘Thank Liah you're alive! We were so afraid for you'.

Then he let the sword fall with a clatter. He took a deep, steadying breath and took hold of the crown with both hands, lifting it and placing it on his brow.

‘All hail King Merry!' Peregrine cried jubilantly.

‘All hail King Merry!' Jack and Molly shouted.

Zed stepped up beside Merry, bowing low, and then slinging one arm about his shoulder. ‘All hail the king!'

Grizelda knelt ostentatiously, her turquoise skirts billowing around her in the wind. ‘All hail Merrik, the true king of Ziva!' she cried, bowing her head so low her ringlets fell into the mud.

Her brother dropped to one knee. ‘All hail the king!'

One by one, the lords and ladies dropped to their knees in the filthy snow. A ragged shout went up, calling King Merrik's name. Rozalina and Liliana both ran to embrace him, their faces shining through their tears. Then the Erlrune was there, hugging Peregrine, hugging Liliana. Lord Pedrin and Lady Lisandre rushed to join them, the grogoyle soaring above, bugling triumphantly, breathing great spouts of flame through the frosty night.

‘Welcome to my humble abode,' Lord Goldwin said with a sweep of his fine feathered hat. ‘Thank heavens I can at last offer you the hospitality you deserve'.

King Merrik laughed. ‘What, no more dungeons, Lord Goldwin?'

‘I'll have the finest suite of rooms prepared for you and your lovely wife,' he said, snapping his fingers for a servant.
When nobody responded, he looked around, raising a haughty eyebrow in surprise. The servants were all too busy laughing and celebrating, though, to pay him any attention. ‘My sister and I shall make everything ready for you with our own fair hands,' Lord Goldwin assured the king. ‘Grizelda!'

Grizelda swept the king a graceful curtsey, saying sweetly, ‘I am so glad that the House of ziv Zadira shall be the first to welcome you, your Highness'.

‘Father, she tried to poison me!' Peregrine cried. ‘She ordered her dog to kill Jack and she was the one who marked the secret entrance to Stormlinn Castle. And her servant shot Stiga!'

Liliana went white, tears springing to her eyes. ‘Oh, no! Stiga? Stiga is dead?'

‘She tried to poison you?' King Merrik said. ‘And she marked the entrance?'

‘An unfortunate misunderstanding,' Grizelda said through stiff lips.

King Merrik stepped towards her and she flinched at the look on his face. ‘Hundreds of my people are dead, murdered in their sleep or cut down as they tried to defend their home. Hundreds more are hurt and wounded. You broke bread with us, you shared the Yuletide feast with us. How could you do such a thing?'

‘I … I …' Tears rose in Grizelda's eyes. She looked around at the crowd of cold, implacable faces. ‘I didn't know what would happen. I swear it! How was I to know?'

She saw Peregrine and took a step towards him, her hands flying up in appeal. ‘Robin! Tell them!'

‘Don't call me that,' he answered, arms folded across his chest, his face stony.

‘Please, Robin … Don't be angry'.

‘Don't be angry? You tried to poison me! Your dog almost killed Jack. You blinded me!'

‘You must understand how hard it was for me,' Grizelda said. ‘I was all alone. I didn't know what to do. Nothing had gone as I planned'.

‘Hmmph,' Molly said and gave the broom she still held a little shake, as if wishing she could give the starkin girl a good whack. The pug darted forward and tried to bite the pointed toe of Grizelda's shoe, and she kicked him away so she could come and stand close to Peregrine, smiling up at him. The sweet scent of her perfume drowned out the smell of smoke and sweat and blood.

‘I did warn you about the soldiers, didn't I, Robin? I put myself in danger to warn you. And I could have poisoned you a thousand times. I put it off as long as possible'.

‘What's the starkin punishment for a poisoner, Molly?' Peregrine asked.

Molly looked at him in sudden horror. ‘To be boiled alive in a giant iron cauldron'.

Grizelda took a step back. ‘You wouldn't!'

‘No, of course I wouldn't!' he said bitterly. ‘We don't boil people! Or rip out their tongues, or cut off their hands'.

King Merrik said in an icy voice, ‘I think, though, that we may offer Lord Goldwin and Lady Grizelda the same accommodation they offered us. Take them to the dungeons'.

‘No!' Grizelda screamed. ‘No, you can't do that! How dare you?'

The two enormous hobhenkies lumbered towards her, happy grins splitting their faces.

‘Get your filthy hands off me! I won't go, I won't, I won't!' Grizelda kicked at one hobhenky's ankle but only succeeded in
bruising her toes. Hopping on the other foot, she screeched and cursed and shouted, but the hobhenky simply picked her up and tucked her under his arm, carrying her away towards the castle, both her legs kicking wildly behind her.

‘Noooooo!' she howled. ‘Rooooobin!'

‘Don't call me that!' Peregrine repeated softly. ‘Only people I love can call me that'. He glanced at Molly and she blushed as red as a wild rose.

‘King Merrik, I must remind you that I am Lord Goldwin, the Count of Zavaria, and that this is my castle!' Grizelda's brother said rapidly, backing away from the second hobhenky.

‘Which is why you simply must spend a little time getting to know it better,' Queen Liliana said. ‘My guess is you really have no idea what a horrible, filthy, stinking place your dungeon is'.

‘If you did, you would have cleaned it up long ago,' Queen Rozalina said, smiling.

‘It's cold down there,' Lord Zedrin advised him. ‘Luckily, though, we left you a pile of animal skins. They help keep out the cold—a little, anyway'.

‘I must protest … you have no right …' Lord Goldwin cried.

‘No right? If I remember correctly, the penalty for treason is being hanged, drawn and quartered,' King Merrik said coldly. ‘So which would you prefer? Your so-called queen's justice, or mine?'

‘Yours, your Majesty, of course,' Lord Goldwin said with an exaggerated bow, before sweeping grandly after his struggling, squealing sister, the hobhenky trotting behind him, looking rather disappointed he did not have a struggle on his hands.

‘Whatever are we to do with them?' Peregrine asked, staring after the odd little procession.

‘There's a lot of work to be done now Vernisha's gone,' Molly said. ‘Children left without parents, poor old people left starving, the sick and wounded to care for. There's plenty they could do to help'.

‘Good idea, Molly! Really, you are a very useful person to have around'. Peregrine gazed at her with warm admiration. She blushed.

Peregrine heaved a deep breath and took her hand. ‘It's over,' he said.

‘Not yet,' she answered, gesturing at the crowds of people still milling about the courtyard. ‘Look at them all! What on earth are we to feed them?'

‘T
HEN YOU DROP IN A GOLDEN COIN,
' P
EREGRINE SAID, MIXING
the batter for the Yuletide cake in a bowl with a wooden spoon, ‘and whoever finds it is the Lord of Misrule'.

‘I haven't got a golden coin,' Molly said. ‘Have you?'

‘No'.

‘Well, you'd better hurry up and find one, because this cake is almost ready'. Molly wiped her brow with a floury forearm.

‘Jack will have one,' Peregrine said. ‘I'll find him in a minute'. He passed the bowl to Molly, who began to scrape the currant-studded dough into a deep floured pan while he sat on the edge of the table, falling into a moody silence. Molly glanced at him once or twice, but Peregrine did not notice, frowning as he stared at the glowing coals of the fire.

‘Are you … are you upset about Grizelda?' Molly asked diffidently.

Peregrine glanced at her in surprise. ‘Well, I could wish she hadn't tried to kill me! And that she and her brother had really been on our side. We need some allies among
the starkin lords. But otherwise, no. I'm too glad at the way everything has turned out to hate her'.

‘It was a terrible thing she did, playing a double game like that!' Molly said indignantly.

‘Yes, but if she had not come to Stormlinn Castle I'd never have set out on this adventure,' Peregrine said, turning towards her. ‘And I'd never have met you'. Taking all his courage into his hands, he leant forward and kissed her on the mouth.

‘Well, we can't exactly boil her in oil for that, can we?'

Peregrine smiled at her and shook his head. ‘No, though I do hope Mam sends her to work in a hospital a long, long way away'. He kissed her again.

‘Mmm-mmm,' she agreed, lifting one hand to push his hair behind his ear.

Just then Jack came bounding in. He looked more handsome than ever, the scar on his throat giving him a rakish, dangerous look. ‘What's this? Canoodling in the kitchen?'

‘I'm helping to cook'. Peregrine picked up the wooden spoon and waved it to prove his point, sending cake batter flying.

‘Well, your father wants you,' Jack said. ‘That looks good, can I lick the spoon?'

‘Do you have a gold coin?'

‘Well, yes,' Jack said in surprise. ‘Do I need to pay to lick the spoon?'

‘We need it for the Yule cake,' Molly said, laughing, as Jack tossed her the coin.

Peregrine gave him the dripping spoon, mouthed an apology to Molly and went back up to the banqueting hall.

All his family were there, bathed and dressed in clean clothes, and busy trying to bring order to the chaos. King
Merrik and Lord Zedrin were deep in conversation with the Erlrune and the leaders of the hearthkin villages, including the Marsh King and his council, who had been experimenting for some time with the use of marsh gas as a way for propelling horseless carriages and had found, to their surprise and joy, that their invention worked quite well. They were all rather wind-blown, with blackened faces and singed beards, but overjoyed to see Peregrine with the spear of the Storm King thrust nonchalantly through his belt.

‘Where's my Molly?' the Marsh King demanded after he had shaken the prince's hand so vigorously Peregrine was afraid his arm would be jerked off.

‘Cooking,' Peregrine said with a shrug.

‘That's my girl! We're mighty hungry, aren't we, lads?'

A roar of approval met his words.

Hobhenkies were blundering everywhere, moving tables around in an effort to fit everyone in. Wood-sprites flew about, draping evergreen wreaths from the rafters. Tom-Tit-Tot was excitedly turning somersaults midair, changing shape from an omen-imp to a black rat to a weasel to a cat, which made all the hobhenkies scream and run in terrified circles. Liliana, Rozalina and Lisandre were sitting by the fire, deep in conversation with a small, thin woman with short grey curls and shrewd hazel eyes.

Peregrine recognised her at once. ‘Grand-Mags!' he shouted.

His grandmother turned and grinned at him. ‘Leeblimey, Robin, what've you been up to? The tales I'm hearing!'

Peregrine ran to embrace her. ‘What are you doing here?'

‘You expected me just to wring my hands and weep when I heard that old hag had hold of my boy Merry? Hayhead! Of
course I got here as fast as my skinny old legs could carry me. I brought my men with me,' she waved one hand at a group of tall, bearded, rough-looking men who had been among the hearthkin to storm the castle, ‘and we were trying to figure out a way to get into the castle when we saw you a-coming! Leeblimey, but it was a sight to freeze your blood!'

‘I'm so glad to see you,' Peregrine said happily.

‘Me too, laddie. But come! We all want to hear about your adventures'. Mags cupped both hands about her mouth and yelled, ‘Hey, Merry-me-lad! Come talk to Robin'.

Merry and Zed and the Erlrune at once came to join the family group around the fire, bringing chairs and stools to sit on. Peregrine gazed around in great satisfaction. He could not remember the last time he had had his whole family together in the one place.

‘Now, Robin,' his mother said, waving one finger at him in mock exasperation. ‘You have some explaining to do. You were meant to be safe and sound at Briony's, not galloping off on some wild adventure. How did you end up in the fenlands instead of at Evenlinn?'