The room was a featureless white cube, about eighteen feet across. There were no furnishings, no doors or windows, no curtains or carpeting, although the floor was slightly soft underfoot. She couldn’t see a light source, but there was light, a soft, white illumination that was neither too bright nor too dark. She still had no idea how they got here.
Henry was squatting on the floor, his back against one wall. His eyes were shut, but she knew he wasn’t asleep.
‘You can’t keep me here for ever!’ Blue exclaimed. It would have no effect, but saying something broke the sameness of the place. She was already beginning to lose track of time.
‘They’ll come for us soon,’ Henry said, without opening his eyes.
‘ Who’ll come for us soon?’ Blue demanded, not for the first time.
Henry didn’t answer. Henry never answered that one. Henry, Blue thought, had gone mad.
‘I need a loo!’ she said suddenly.
‘The room will absorb waste,’ Henry told her.
‘You want me to go in the corner?’ she asked angrily. She was furious with Henry, furious for the way he kidnapped her, furious for the way he was behaving now. There was nothing of the old Henry in him.
‘I don’t want you to go at all,’ he said off-handedly. She couldn’t believe the change in him. It was as if he didn’t care. For her or for anything else. He’d been so dominant, so aggressive as they left her uncle’s mansion. But since they arrived here he hadn’t moved.
‘I’m hungry!’ Blue told him loudly, hoping for a sensible response.
‘There’s no food,’ Henry said. ‘But they’ll come for us soon.’
Who’ll come for us? Somehow she was afraid to ask the obvious question. She couldn’t believe Henry might be working for Lord Hairstreak – it was unthinkable. But he had to be working for somebody . And they were coming soon.
Nothing made any sense. If her uncle planned to move against her – planned to kidnap or kill her, let’s not mince words here – why involve Henry at all? Hairstreak already had her in his power. No guards at all at first, and later no better protection than one injured Trinian. He could have -
She stopped mid-thought. Hairstreak didn’t want it known he’d kidnapped her. He couldn’t do the deed in his own mansion. That was why he involved Henry! It was all so simple.
Blue suddenly realised she was thinking the unthinkable. All the pieces fitted. Henry had betrayed her to her uncle. She looked over at him and felt sick to her stomach. What had Hairstreak offered him?
She wondered what he’d do if she attacked him. He was stronger than she was – there was a bruise on her arm where he’d gripped it at the mansion – but he didn’t look very alert. Every so often he closed his eyes. He wasn’t asleep. It looked more as if he was concentrating on something, almost listening. But all the same…
If she waited until his eyes were closed, she could creep up and press the stimlus to the side of his neck. Well, she could. She definitely could. It would be simple. She realised she was arguing with herself. Could she really kill Henry whatever he’d done? Could she -
The inner argument abruptly deflated like a balloon. She didn’t have the stimlus. She’d decided not to bring it in case her uncle’s security spells detected a weapon.
Could she overpower Henry without a stimlus? Go for his eyes or strangle him until he passed out? She was being stupid. There was no way she was strong enough, even if she could bring herself to do it. And what would be the point if she did? What would be the point if she even killed him? She didn’t know how she’d got into this creepy room and she didn’t know how to get out of it again. There were no windows, no doors…
Or were there?
It occurred to her suddenly that she’d been taking everything at face value. What she saw was a featureless room, but what she saw mightn’t be the way it really was. She remembered the time she’d broken into Brimstone’s lodgings. They hadn’t looked the way they really were until she’d discovered the illusion spell. It could be like that here. An illusion spell might have changed the whole appearance. After all, the light had to be coming from somewhere, so clearly the source was disguised.
She glanced at Henry. He’d closed his eyes again. Would he sense it if she moved? Only one way to find out. Cautiously she began to feel her way along one wall. Henry didn’t move.
She went carefully and very slowly. Henry could open his eyes again at any minute and, when he did, she wanted it to look as if she was just stretching her legs. That wasn’t going to be easy. A really good illusion spell affected the character of an object, not just its appearance; but even the best of them weren’t as good at fooling your sense of smell as your sight. If you took your time you could pick up the telltale signs. But that meant getting up close. Really close. If Henry opened his eyes while she had her nose pressed up against the wall he’d know at once what she was up to.
She looked back. His eyes were still closed, but his lips were moving silently and his body was tense as a coiled spring. His eyelids flickered.
Blue froze. She’d found a door! It wasn’t even that well concealed, except to sight. She could feel the outlines quite plainly. She glanced across at Henry. He still hadn’t opened his eyes.
Cautiously, Blue pushed the door.
It opened.