Alfie Bloom and the Talisman Thief (3 page)

“Emily Fortune will discuss the minutiae with you when we arrive. I must attempt to open negotiations with the Queen. We have sent a coach for her. Ashford has told her that we hold the talisman here, but if they break him they will find a way to return to the castle and get it.”

“Break him? They're going to torture him?” cried Alfie. “Then you can't waste time talking to this Queen; you have to find him and stop them! If they want the talisman I'll give it to them. Just get him back!”

The oil lamps flickered, sending shadows dancing around the carriage as Caspian's expression darkened. Amy snapped her eyes away from the window and they all shrank back a little in their seats as the solicitor seemed to tower over them without even moving.

“I do not
have to
do anything – except observe proper customs and protocol. We do not charge into another people's land and jeopardize peace with brash demands. Do not presume that you have any say in this. Giving up the talisman would
risk
the lives of many for just one man.” The lights stopped flickering and the darkness fled as Caspian leaned back into his seat.

Alfie's stomach was churning. Ashford could be getting tortured while they spoke, and there was nothing he could do about it. He glanced at Amy. For the whole journey she had remained as cool as if she was in an ordinary car, but by the way that she was sitting so stiffly he knew she didn't like the way Caspian spoke to them at all. Alfie was used to the solicitor's coldness by now, but Amy never let anyone get away with trying to intimidate her. She looked Caspian up and down.

“Who do you think you are?” she asked. Alfie exchanged a nervous glance with his dad.

“I beg your pardon?”

“You heard me.
You
might not have an ounce of compassion, but
our
friend has been hurt and kidnapped and all you can do is talk down your big nose and bully Alfie into shutting up.”

Caspian glared and the lights started to flicker again.

“Don't start that nonsense.” Amy got to her feet and pointed at him. “You're not half as intimidating as you think you are. You're Alfie's solicitor. It's
your
job
to help him and answer his questions. So stop being so … so obtuse!”

The carriage was silent as Amy and Caspian seemed to be locked in some kind of staring competition. Alfie held his breath. Caspian broke the silence first.

“Obtuse?”

“Yeah. It's a word. Look it up!”

“I
know
what it means,” said Caspian. Alfie wasn't sure, but he thought he might have seen the slightest trace of a smile flicker across Caspian's lips. He spoke again in a very slightly softer tone. “I'm afraid I am not one to offer false hope and reassurance. The most you can do is hope that there is something, other than the talisman, that she is willing to accept in exchange.” Alfie and his dad stared at Amy in a mixture of amazement and admiration, unable to believe that she had faced down the haughty solicitor.

At that moment the coach bounced and shuddered. The horses dropped from a gallop to a canter before slowing to a stop. Alfie wondered if he would ever be allowed to travel up top with Johannes to see their journey. He didn't think it was likely – everything about Muninn and Bone's operations seemed extremely secretive.

The
doors popped open and Alfie leapt out into the huge coach house, glad to be away from the silence that had descended on the carriage. Johannes jumped down to tend to the horses as Caspian swept ahead, leading them through the door to the entrance hall. Alfie could tell that Amy was dying to stop and investigate the array of coaches as they hurried after Caspian.

“Emily will join you shortly,” said the solicitor as he strode across the grand reception to stand on the round brass crest that served as a lift to the upper floors. The brass cylinder that formed the walls of the lift descended from the ceiling. “I must prepare to meet the Queen and begin our negotiation.” The cylinder clanked down around him. There was a hiss of steam and a whooshing noise that lasted nearly a minute before the cylinder retracted back into the ceiling, leaving them alone in the entrance hall.

The Greatest Thief Who Ever Lived

“OK, I didn't want to say anything in front of that pompous git,” exploded Amy, “but that coach was awesome, and the journey here?
Crazy!
This place is so weird! Where are we?”

“A long way from home,” said a gentle voice behind them. A small woman with huge green eyes had entered the hall. She was smiling at Amy's ill-timed outburst, but didn't seem quite her usual bubbly self.

“Emily!” shouted Alfie, rushing to greet Caspian's administrator. He realized too late that he wasn't sure whether to hug her or shake hands, and ended up delivering an awkward combination of the two.

“
Smooth,” Amy whispered out of the corner of her mouth as she came over to introduce herself.

“Oh, your poor face!” said Emily. Amy's left eye was swollen and her cheek was turning a nasty shade of purple. “Come on. Let's get you all fixed up.”

Alfie had hoped they would be taking the odd lift Caspian had used, but the route Emily took them on was even more interesting. He was amazed to see behind the scenes of Munnin and Bone's strange offices as they followed Emily down corridors high enough for a giant. His dad hobbled along, his arms around Alfie and Emily's shoulders as they passed small meeting rooms, grand halls and an elegant ballroom. In one room a very old little man on a tall rickety ladder on wheels skated between towering filing cabinets. A multi-level room nearby was full of chattering people tapping away on old-fashioned typewriters.

Emily opened a huge door and they went outside briefly to cross a large internal courtyard. In the centre was an enormous tree with hundreds of ravens nesting in its twisting branches. The birds cawed loudly down at them as they walked past. Alfie wished he had more eyes to take everything in as Emily led them into another wing of the
building.
He wondered just how big the whole place was.

Each row of tall arched windows that lined the various corridors seemed to look out on to a different scene. Through the first Alfie could see a night sky filled with swirling coloured galaxies. The second looked out on to a desert city roofed with golden domes that shone in the sun. Through the third was a vast lake fed by dozens of roaring waterfalls. Amy ran ahead, calling out what she could see.

“How is this possible?” asked Alfie's dad as he hobbled along. “Are we even in the same building we entered?”

“Our offices are multidimensional,” said Emily. “A kind of hub between worlds. That's what makes them so secure.” Alfie didn't even have time to be amazed at the revelation as she hurried them down yet another corridor. This one was lined with pillars carved with intertwining Norse patterns. Its windows looked out over what Alfie could only describe as a modern interpretation of a huge Viking city.
Where on earth are we?
he wondered.

“Phew, sorry about the long trek, but here we are,” said Emily. “This wing is part of Mr Muninn's world. He's not around, as usual. Oops,
forget
I said that, shouldn't speak ill of the boss, but really, I wish he'd arrange cover for when he heads off on his long expeditions – I'm sure it's all very important, but it does rather leave us in the lurch when he ups and leaves and it's not like I can even broach the subject with him – I remember when I first started here and all I did was ask where…”

“Does she always talk like this?” Amy whispered in Alfie's ear as Emily recounted the whole conversation in a single breath. He nodded.

“… can you believe that?” Emily finished. “On my first day too. Needless to say, I never mentioned paper clips ever again. Ooh, he's a stern one is Mr Muninn.” Alfie had never met Caspian's business partner but couldn't imagine anyone being as prickly as Caspian Bone.

Emily stopped and opened a burnished copper door. Alfie blinked against the brightness as they followed her through. They were in a large round room constructed of white marble with a stained-glass-domed roof. A large tree grew from the centre of the room and up through the centre of the dome, where its canopy gently shaded the room from the sun. Tiny colourful birds the size of bees darted between the flowers that covered the vines
climbing
up around the tree. Emily motioned them to three reclined throne-like chairs.

As Alfie settled into one of the seats, three tall women dressed in long robes silently entered the room. All three had white blonde hair coiled up in plaits. They took up positions by the chairs and laid out jars and bandages, then set to work rubbing salves and ointments on to bruises with long, slender fingers. As the doctor tending to Alfie smoothed a thick green ointment over his bruised chest, he could feel the ache ebbing away and his breathing become less painful.

“That's amazing,” said Alfie, as the bruising already seemed less vivid. “What is that stuff?” His dad and Amy seemed to be dozing off in their chairs as the doctors worked their magic.

“Only the best treatment for our clients,” smiled Emily. As Alfie's doctor finished bandaging his chest and rubbing strong scented oil on to his sprained wrists, Emily held out her hand. “Come walk with me.” Alfie clambered out of the chair and thanked the woman who had been treating him. She gave a graceful bow of her head in return.

“They have taken a vow of silence to enhance their powers of healing,” said Emily as Alfie followed her from the room, leaving his dad and
Amy
sleeping. “As the others are asleep, I thought we could talk.” She led Alfie to a balcony that jutted out from the corridor. They sat on a stone bench looking out over the strange city. It was a few minutes before she spoke again.

“Was Ashford badly hurt?” Emily's hands were clenched tightly together in her lap as she gazed straight ahead. “When our ravens brought the message that the castle had been invaded, they said that he had been shot – with an arrow.”

“It went into his left shoulder.” Alfie flinched as he remembered the sound the arrow had made as it struck bone. He felt sick. “It was quite high up. I think – I think he'll be OK if they treat the wound.”

Emily bowed her head and flicked at an imaginary spot of dirt on her dress. She seemed to be holding back tears as she spoke about Ashford. Alfie realized that she had been putting on a brave face since they arrived. He looked at her restless fingers and wondered if she thought of Ashford as more than just a friend.

“Treating him will be the last thing on their minds,” she said in a quiet voice. “They want the lens and won't let him rest until they have it. I don't know how they found him.”

Alfie
remembered the blue light he had seen flickering around the tree when he returned from his flight on Artan. “I think he had been using the portal. The one that opened in the oak. I saw him near it, not long before they came through.”

Emily's face froze. “I don't believe it. He went back into their realm? Why would he take such a stupid risk? You are very lucky that they didn't realize he had led them right to your talisman.” She sighed. “Ashford has … unusual skills, as I'm sure you have realized. Unfortunately, he is rash and impulsive. He made poor choices earlier in his life, using his gifts in a manner I am sure you would never dream of.”

“Caspian told us he was a thief.”

“The greatest that ever lived.” Emily seemed to catch herself smiling and quickly adopted a disapproving expression. “Of course that's nothing to be proud of. His biggest mistake was trying to break into one of our vaults.”

“He tried to break in here? What was he trying to steal?” asked Alfie.

“Nothing in particular – he did it for the challenge. It was amazing that he even managed to find a way here. Caspian wanted to see him imprisoned, but Mr Muninn thought he could be
useful.
The choice of prison or working for the firm wasn't much of a decision for Ashford. He has retrieved many stolen items for our clients.”

“So
that's
why Caspian doesn't seem to like him!” said Alfie as everything began to drop into place. “And Ashford doesn't like Caspian because he was forced into working for him?”

“And because he caught him. The world's greatest thief, caught in the act. I can tell you, the atmosphere between those two was stormy at best when he was working here. Things certainly calmed down when he was sent to look after you.”

“He didn't seem too pleased when he first moved in.”

“At first, but he could hardly let Caspian know he ended up quite happy about it.” Alfie wanted to ask more but she looked on the verge of tears again. She took a long breath then stood up. “Come on – Amy and your father will be awake by now.”

A plate of colourful fruits and jellies was sitting on Alfie's chair when they returned. Amy and his dad were already tucking into theirs.