Between Two Thorns (23 page)

Struggling to keep her nerves under control, she forced herself to think about her situation logically. The last thing she’d expected was being dumped into the hands of an Arbiter by the Censor of Aquae Sulis. What the hell was going on? She thought of her parents at home, probably delighted at their wayward daughter being invited out for the day by the most important person in Society, when in fact she was locked in the boot of an Arbiter’s car in Mundanus. She started to laugh, her nerves making her predicament seem very funny all of a sudden. Her dress would probably be ruined. How was the Censor going to explain that away?

Once she stopped giggling nervously, she could think more clearly and it occurred to her that, whilst she was clearly being used as the proverbial pawn in a game much bigger than she could comprehend, it could work in her favour. She hadn’t considered it before, but the Arbiters and perhaps even the Sorcerers could help her get away from Aquae Sulis. By the time the car stopped, she had a new plan, and she readied herself by putting the blindfold back on, not wanting to give them a reason to be irritated with her.

The boot was unlocked and opened, her blindfold checked. She was helped out by the butler, who apologised surreptitiously again, and she found herself standing on gravel. A driveway?

“Mr Arbiter?” she said to the blackness.

“Yes?” He was close by.

“I need to speak to you. It’s not what you’ll expect.”

“We need to speak to you too, and I am certain you won’t be expecting what we have to say either.” She could hear him moving off on his crutches. The butler’s hand was around her arm again, but she noted it was in a different place from before.

“Listen, I need your protection.”

The sound of the hobbling stopped. “From what?”

“Not what, who. My family. You could do that, right? I mean, you stop the Great Families doing stuff all the time to protect people.”

“We protect the innocents,” he said. “Not the parasites.”

“But I’m not like them!” She heard him moving away and was steered in the same direction. “Really! I don’t want to live in Aquae Sulis any more, I need your help!”

“I wasn’t born yesterday, lady,” he replied. “I’ve heard every trick in the book. Save your breath.”

“It’s not a trick!”

“Steps ahead,” the butler said as she tripped on the first.

She heard a door opening and felt the flutter of returning panic. Where was she being taken?

There was the tell-tale sensation of entering the Nether. Her feet had been on gravel, then they’d climbed three stone steps and now their footfalls sounded as if they were walking on a wooden floor. The door was closed behind them; it sounded large and heavy. They were inside a house in Aquae Sulis, but which one?

“This way, please,” the butler said, as if she had a choice.

“What’s this about? Where are we?”

They didn’t answer and when her hand twitched towards the blindfold, the butler said, “Please don’t touch that, Miss, I would hate to have to be unpleasant.”

As much as she was trying not to admit it to herself, she was scared. She was marched down what felt like a very long corridor, this time on carpet. Occasionally she could hear the ticking of clocks and creaking floorboards upstairs. Eventually a door was opened ahead and she was steered to the right, their footsteps clicking on wooden floorboards again.

Somehow she knew there was someone else in the room. The butler pulled her further in and then pressed down on her shoulders. “Please sit down,” he said, and she felt a hard chair beneath her.

“This is the one the Censor delivered?” It was a new voice, male, deep.

“Yes, sir,” the Arbiter replied.

Sir? His boss? That meant–

“Are you a Sorcerer?” she asked, gripping the edges of the chair so they couldn’t see her shaking.

“Be quiet.” The man’s shoes clipped across the floor towards her. She had the intense feeling of being scrutinised. “There’s a curse upon her.”

“Has the Censor tricked us?” the Arbiter asked.

There was the rustle of fabric, like pockets being checked. “Hold still,” the man said and she heard the snip of a pair of scissors not an inch from her right ear.

“Hey! Did you just cut my hair?”

“Keep her here. If she tries to leave, use this.”

She had no idea what “this” was, but she didn’t want to find out. She heard the man leave, but the butler and the Arbiter were still in the room as far as she could tell.

“Listen, I was serious about what I said before,” she said.

“If you speak another word I’ll stuff a sock in your mouth,” the Arbiter said. “I’m not taking any risks with you.”

She sighed and slumped in the uncomfortable chair. It wasn’t too long before the door opened again and there was a second set of footsteps.

“What the hell?” Another man’s voice.

“Be quiet,” said the man she suspected was the Sorcerer.

“Is it a problem?” the Arbiter asked.

“Not for our purposes,” the Sorcerer replied.

“Are you OK?” said the new one. She could hear him coming closer.

“Stay back,” the Sorcerer said. “She’s not as harmless as she may appear to be.”

“What do you think I’m going to do?” she asked. “This is a bit over the top, isn’t it?”

“One should never underestimate one of your kind,” the Sorcerer mumbled. “Now, we don’t have a great deal of time. Did the Censor tell you why we’ve brought you here?”

“No. Can I please take this blindfold off?”

“No, you may not. I understand you’re the favourite of Lord Poppy.”

“Is that why I’m here?” There was a pause. “Yes, I am, even though I don’t want to be.”

“She’s been trying to make us think she isn’t like the rest,” the Arbiter said.

“The rest of what?” the new guy said and was shushed into silence.

“Will someone please tell me why I’m here?”

“You are required to take a gentleman into Exilium to meet Lord Poppy. There is–”

“Now just wait a bloody minute,” Cathy said, now angry. “You convince the Censor to drive me out of Aquae Sulis, chuck me out into a mundane field, then your mook comes and throws me into the boot of a car, blindfolded, no explanation. I’m brought God knows where and you want me to go into Exilium to speak to Lord Poppy? No fucking way!”

There was an uncomfortable silence.

“This sounds a bit like kidnapping,” the new one said. “I don’t want to be involved in anything like this.”

“Neither do I,” Cathy said, liking him more than the others.

“Were you or were you not told to cooperate by the Censor?” the Sorcerer asked.

“She didn’t tell me you wanted me to go into Exilium! Don’t you know how dangerous that is?”

“Of course I do, but this is a necessity. We have a man here who’s been put under a Fool’s Charm and we need the memory that it’s hiding to be revealed.”

“Do it yourself,” she said, folding her arms. “There’s no way I’m going to see Poppy.”

“I can’t without killing him,” came the reply.

“I’m not discussing this a moment longer with this bloody blindfold on,” Cathy said but her hand was pushed back down as she reached up to take it off. That hand then rested on her shoulder, ready to act if she moved again. She hoped it was the butler and not the Arbiter, not that it made much difference.

“That won’t be removed until you are in Exilium,” the Sorcerer said.

She sucked in a breath, steadying her nerves and frustration. “Listen. If I’m going to risk more than my life for this, there has to be something in it for me. If I get this Fool’s Charm lifted, I want you to–”

“There’s no negotiation to be had, puppet,” the Sorcerer butted in. “You have no bargaining power. If you won’t cooperate, I will not hesitate to inform the Censor and I’m certain she could make your life very difficult indeed.”

She let her head drop. He was right, she had as much leverage as a lettuce leaf. One day, she promised herself silently, I’ll be free of each and every one of you heartless bastards.

“I don’t have anything to offer Poppy.”

“You’ll think of something, I’m sure. Being his favourite sets you in good stead.”

“Who put the Charm on the man?”

“One of the Fae lords.”

“Oh dear,” she said, not holding back on the sarcasm. “I’m guessing you don’t know which one?”

“No.” Unsurprisingly, he was reluctant to admit it.

“Let’s hope it isn’t Poppy.”

“You don’t seem to have much respect for your patron.”

“I’m not like the rest of them. But you don’t believe me and you don’t care, so if I have to do this, then let’s get it over with, even though it’s the worst plan in the world. You do know that, don’t you?”

“It’s the only option we have,” the Sorcerer replied. “Get the Fool’s Charm lifted and come back here, then you’ll be returned to the Censor with a glowing report.”

“Whoopydo.”

“I’m going to open the Way. You will be guided through, then you may remove the blindfold.”

“What about getting back?”

“Your companion has a key. It can only be used when you are both in contact, and it will only bring you back to this room.”

“So don’t bludgeon him over the head and try to run away, is that what you’re saying?”

“I simply wanted to make it clear. Any questions?”

“None that you’ll answer. Oh, wait! Do I look like I’ve been thrown in a grotty car boot? Because if I do, you need to fix that. The Fae are shallow bastards and it could screw everything up.”

“I’ll get the clothes brush sir,” the butler said and she heard him walking away. The hand didn’t lift from her shoulder. She shivered.

“You certainly don’t talk like they do,” the Sorcerer said thoughtfully.

“Their ruses get more sophisticated all the time, sir,” said the Arbiter, from right behind her.

“Oh, for God’s sake,” she said. “You hardly have the moral high ground here.”

“We had to take this action because the law has been broken,” the Arbiter replied.

“Not by me,” she said, and sank into silence.

The butler returned and she was invited to stand as her clothes were brushed. The activity elicited an astonished gasp from the new guy.

“Bloody hell!” he said, which sent a flash of excitement through her. He must be a mundane; no Fae-touched or any of the Sorcerer’s people would have reacted like that. She hoped he would give more away but he was shushed before he could say anything else.

“My apologies for the state of the car boot, Miss,” the butler said. “Your dress is as it was when we first met you.”

“Remember what I told you,” she heard the Sorcerer say quietly, presumably to the man under the Fool’s Charm.

There was a sound of a curtain being drawn back, then one similar to a watch being wound, a loud knock of something against the wooden floor and then birdsong filled the room. Cathy was pushed forwards. A hand took hers and then with the next step she felt uneven ground instead of wooden floorboards and smelt the sweet scent of flowers on the breeze. She was in Exilium again. And she was not happy about it.

 

24

 

Will’s father held out his hand. “Well?”

He dropped the opal into his palm. “She’s pure,” Will said, with a confidence he didn’t feel.

“Thank goodness for that.” Father slipped it into its velvet pouch and locked it away. “And you’re certain no one saw you?”

“I’m certain, Father,” he said, smiling; sat down at the wave of his father’s hand
.
I didn’t even see it myself, he thought. “And I’ve been thinking about all this... I’d like to marry Catherine sooner than we’ve discussed.”

Father leaned back in the chair, tossed his fountain pen onto the desk and laced his fingers. “What’s brought this about?”

Will chose his words carefully. “I believe Catherine would be more confident socially once we’re married. The scrutiny of being the only engaged couple of note during the season is proving to be unpleasant for her.”

“She’ll be just as much the focus of attention as a young bride.”

“But it will pass quickly enough, and I plan to take her away for a honeymoon.”

“And what of the rumour?”

“I haven’t heard anything more, but I have the feeling it’s not going to go away. Another reason I believe marrying sooner would be prudent.”

“I’m glad to see you taking your responsibility so seriously, Will.” Father tapped his index fingers together. “I confess I was anticipating far more resistance, considering who you need to marry.”

Will was relieved his mother hadn’t revealed her son’s true feelings. “I’ve had my Grand Tour and it served its purpose admirably. I’m ready to settle down.” He hoped he sounded convincing.

“That being so, I feel I can speak with you frankly. I was summoned by the Patroon this morning to discuss this.”

Will frowned. “Is the Patroon actively involved in all Iris marriages? Or is that unusual?”

“The conversation we had was certainly unusual,” Father said. “The Patroon has been interested in this match for some time. After all, it was he who suggested it.”

That surprised Will. The Iris Patroon was the head of all the Iris families, responsible for hundreds of people across dozens of family lines. Will found it hard to believe the Patroon would make all the matches himself; surely that would be too much trouble? In fact he was certain the head of each line was responsible for the marriages taking place within their family.

“I thought it was you and Mr Rhoeas-Papaver who came to the agreement,” he said.

“We discussed the possibility of a union between our families some time ago. I had Nathaniel and Elizabeth in mind for a while but it was the Patroon who insisted it be you and Catherine. Will, Lord Iris himself is pressing for this marriage to go ahead. The Patroon summoned me to confirm everything was progressing as it should, and I had the distinct impression that Lord Iris is putting pressure on him to see this through.”

“What did you tell him?”

“That the contracts are signed, the engagement has been announced and the wedding is being planned. I didn’t mention the rumour.”

Will nodded. “I can see why, Father. You wouldn’t want that to get back to Lord Iris.”

“Not when it comes from a weasel of a Rosa, who, less than an hour ago, presented the deeds to the reflection of Prior Park.”

“Really? The place that’s a mundane school?” Will had heard it spoken of at dinner parties. It was one of the great mysteries of Aquae Sulis; a fantastic property with no one resident, even though several families, including his own, would have paid a princely sum for it if anyone had known where the deeds were hidden.

“Yes,
the
Prior Park, and now he claims ownership of a property in Aquae Sulis he’s exercised his right to request citizenship of the city from the Council.”

“A Rosa in Aquae Sulis permanently?”

“That’s what he’s pressing for, and seeing as he’s the source of this rumour, and given the concern expressed by the Patroon that this marriage go ahead without any problems, I’m tasking you with ensuring he doesn’t make it public.”

“I’m starting to wonder if it should be treated as a threat, Father,” Will said. “Interesting that he gave me the chance to break the engagement first, don’t you think?”

“I think you shouldn’t underestimate this Rosa. We’ve been trying to track down the ownership of that property for over a hundred years, I’m amazed and quite frankly horrified that the deeds are in their hands. If we’re to keep the Rosas out, as we should, we need to be absolutely certain the rest of the Council will vote correctly, and the marriage to Catherine Papaver binds her father to supporting me when the time comes. Do whatever it takes, Will, but make sure that Rose keeps his foul lies to himself.”

“And the marriage date, Father?”

“I’m speaking to Charles Papaver later today, I’ll see what I can do.”

 

Cathy pulled off the blindfold and checked where they were before opening her mouth. She couldn’t see any trees nearby and the meadow they stood in was free of flowers. She breathed out in relief, then spun around to catch a glimpse of where she’d been taken in the Nether, but the Way had already been closed. It seemed the Sorcerer was very keen to keep his face a mystery.

“Bloody hell.”

She looked at the man holding her hand. He was a few years older with dark brown hair and he looked very tired. His jeans and jacket, coupled with the shocked expression, confirmed her suspicion he was a mundane. He noticed her looking at him and let go of her hand.

“Are you all right?” she asked.

“Well… I’m not hurt, at least. Are you OK?” he asked.

She shrugged. “As OK as can be expected. That’s not much.”

“Sounds like they put you through the mill. That clothes-brush was bloody amazing though.”

“I’m Cathy,” she said, holding out her hand at an angle to be shook, rather than kissed.

He did the right thing, much to her relief. “I’m–” He cut himself off. “They said I shouldn’t tell you.”

“Who? The incredibly kind kidnappers we were just with?”

“Good point.” He shrugged. “I’m Sam.”

“Look, Sam, we’re in deep shit here. You do appreciate that, don’t you?”

“I’ve been in it for a while now,” he said as he turned in a slow circle, taking the scenery in. “They’ve treated me a bit better than you, but they won’t let me go home. Shit, this place… have they drugged me or something?”

Cathy sat down and patted the grass next to her. “We’re not going any further until I know what the hell is going on, and you need a minute too. It looks like you’re in just as a bad a situation as I am, and, believe me, I would really like to talk to someone normal right now.”

“They said I shouldn’t talk to you at all,” Sam said, sitting down beside her. “They said you’re dangerous and can do all kinds of tricks to make me fall in love with you and do what you say.”

“Bollocks,” Cathy said and Sam grinned.

“I thought as much. They’re so strange. You seem the most normal out of all of them, apart from your clothes. What’s with all the period costume?”

“This is not what I would choose to wear, believe me.” Cathy tugged at the jacket’s high collar. “I’d kill for a pair of jeans and my old trainers again. People in the Nether are about three hundred years behind the times, and weird. They’re not part of the real world, what do you expect?”

“Err, can you go back a step? Pretend I don’t know anything.”

“Do I need to pretend?”

“No.”

She smiled. “We’re in Exilium. It’s a really pretty prison, made for the kinds of things we’re here to talk to.”

“Are they criminals?”

“This isn’t a good place to debate that,” Cathy whispered. “And like all this kind of stuff, it depends who you speak to.”

He nodded. “This is the weirdest prison I ever saw. But then, it’s been the weirdest couple of days of my life. I know something’s wrong with me, but the way they’re acting… it’s creeping me out. They only let me send a note to my wife when I pointed out she’d call the police, and I’m not even sure if Axon really posted it.”

“Axon?”

“The butler.”

“Oh. He seemed the most decent out of all of them.”

“He’s all right. Petra’s the nicest, she’s the librarian, but they said she had to stay away from you.”

“Sounds like they made me out to be something really awful. If I was like the rest of the Great Families, they’d have every right to be nervous of me, but I’m not like them, I swear it.”

He was looking right into her eyes. “I believe you,” Sam said. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head. “So this is Exilium… what’s the Nether? I keep hearing that word.”

“It comes from ‘neither here nor there’,” she said. It felt odd explaining it. “It’s between the real, normal world – what they call Mundanus – and here. It’s where the Great Families live. And Sorcerers too. That was his house, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah. It’s a really weird place. The sky is all fucked up too.”

She chuckled. “That’s because there is no sky. I think. I don’t really understand the physics of it all. Suffice to say that in the Nether, you’re not in the real world, you’re not here, you’re in between. And you don’t age there either.”

“That’s why I haven’t needed to shave!” he exclaimed. He shrugged at her raised eyebrow. “I get hung up on the little questions. Mr Ekstrand really is a Sorcerer, then? Opening the door to this place was the first time I saw him do anything like magic. Oh, crap, what am I talking about?”

“It’s all going to be OK,” Cathy lied. “How did you end up with a Fool’s Charm?”

He rolled his eyes. “Wrong place, wrong time was how Petra put it. I got pissed, I ended up behind the Holburne Museum gardens, apparently. Max found my wallet there. He was the guy with the broken leg.”

“My God, my uncle lives there, in the Nether version of that house. Did they say why it’s important to lift the Charm?”

“They said some bloke has gone missing and I might be a witness.”

“Now it makes sense,” Cathy muttered. “No wonder the Censor was laying it on thick; something’s happened to my uncle and the Sorcerer must have approached her for help. She didn’t want to risk herself, so she packs me off to them. What a cow.” Her aunt couldn’t even bring herself to tell the truth to her own sister and niece. If she’d told her what it was all about in the carriage she would have helped without hesitation. But then her aunt probably only saw her as an untrustworthy and rebellious carbuncle of a girl who needed to be half scared to death to keep in line. Cathy looked at Sam, not wanting to think about her family. “I’m surprised the Sorcerer couldn’t lift it.”

“It’s too strong or something. And I’m protected by Lord Iron, whatever that means.”

Cathy shrugged. “Never heard of him.”

“He’s in the wedding ring business, I reckon.” Sam held up his bare left hand. “They said I had to take it off before I came here. I just hope that when this is all cleared up they’ll let me go home – my wife must think I’ve done a runner.”

Cathy wasn’t certain the Sorcerer would let him go without any trouble. There were rules about what mundanes should and shouldn’t know, and Sam was on the wrong side of them. But she didn’t know much about how the Sorcerers dealt with that kind of problem, and she didn’t want to worry him more than he already was. “Well, now we know what this is about, we’d better get moving,” she said. “Give me a hand up? These corsets are a pain.”

He helped her up and she lifted the hem of her dress so she could walk over the uneven ground without tripping.

“So you said this place is dangerous.” Sam looked around. “It doesn’t seem too bad to me.”

“Trust me, this is the most dangerous place you’ll ever visit. One tiny mistake and you can be turned into a slug, or enslaved or worse.”

“An enslaved slug?”

“Very funny.”

“And who is this Poppy guy we need to see?”

“He’s the patron of my family.”

“And what does that mean?”

“We’re all scared of him and have to do what he says.”

“Like a mafia Don?”

“I’ve noticed the similarity, but here’s not the place to talk about that. Just don’t touch anything, do anything or even say anything unless I tell you, OK? I’m going to do everything I can to make sure we both get out of this in the same state as we came in. What does that key look like, by the way?”

He pulled a door knob out of his jacket pocket. A large emerald was set into it and runes covered every square centimetre of its surface.

“Put it back,” she whispered, desperate to look at it more closely, but afraid their arrival had already been noticed. She’d never seen a Sorcerer’s artefact before. It certainly looked very different from the ones sold at the Emporium.

“Think it will work?”

“I’m sure they want you back,” she said.

“You really don’t seem like they said you would be.”

“It’s because I’m not. But we’ll talk about that later, OK? If we don’t focus on getting this done, the mess I’m in will be academic.”

 

The club was quiet enough to be relaxing yet full enough to be entertaining. Will sauntered to the bar and ordered a gin and tonic, glancing at the high-backed leather chairs filled with gentlemen lounging with cigars and discussing nothing of interest.

Glass in hand he strolled past the billiards room and ended up in the card room. Its wood panelling gave the large space a sense of age and cosiness. Oliver was sweating over a hand in the corner. No matter how hard he tried he was hopeless at poker. Will waited for the hand to finish before going over to him.

“How about a game of whist, old chap?” he suggested, knowing they’d be hard to beat after the amount of practice they’d put in over the Grand Tour.

“Rather,” Oliver said and withdrew from the game.

They sat opposite each other at a new table, sending out a silent signal for another pair of players to join them. Will was in no hurry so he didn’t wave anyone over, content to while away the time with his best friend until they were joined by others. He hadn’t counted on Horatio Gallica-Rosa walking in with one of the Wisteria twins.