Once, when he was a boy, Pyrgus Malvae crashed a personal flyer into a tree that grew close to the main entrance of the Purple Palace. Now, he grazed the same tree by a whisker and, sirens screaming, ploughed up a stretch of turf on the lawn.
The Palace alarms were also sounding wildly as he dropped from his vehicle. He was vaguely aware that without the royal insignia – which he didn’t always remember to display these days – the security systems would have blasted him from the sky. As it was, a stream of guards was pouring from the Palace and running in his direction. He sprinted towards them, fervently hoping their captain was someone who would know who he was. But his hopes were dashed as they came closer and he discovered their leader was a young woman he didn’t recognise.
‘I am Crown Prince Pyrgus,’ he shouted loudly. ‘Brother by blood of Queen Blue, brother by marriage of Consort Majesty King Henry. It is my charge that you take me at once to meet with them.’
The woman stopped a few feet from him and the guards, to his relief, stood down their weapons. She smiled at him benignly. ‘Neither Blue nor Henry can see you at the moment, Pyrgus. Perhaps you might make do with me?’
Pyrgus frowned. The voice sounded familiar, but…‘Who are you?’ he asked, a little sharply.
To his astonishment, the young woman stepped forward and embraced him, with a warm kiss on one cheek. ‘Oh, you are such a sweet boy and always were. It’s Cynthia Cardui, Pyrgus. I’ve had a head peel.’
‘Good Gods, Madame Cardui! You look amazing! ’
‘Thank you, Pyrgus. It takes so much effort these days, I’m afraid, but it’s always nice to know one is appreciated.’
‘Why can’t Blue and Henry see me?’
She slipped a hand through his arm. ‘Now, my deeah, I think perhaps that’s something we should discuss in private. Along with the purpose of your delightful surprise visit.’
Pyrgus allowed himself to be led not to the Palace, as it happened, but to a lodge in the grounds. He noticed their escort dropped away once they were within a hundred yards of the door. ‘You’re Gatekeeper now, aren’t you?’ he asked.
‘Since poor Alan died. I don’t often use the lodge – I still think of it as his somehow – but it does have such excellent security. One of the benefits of paranoia.’
‘Do you speak to him much these days?’
‘Not nearly so much as Henry does. I’m afraid I find it very difficult.’
They moved though the door and Pyrgus heard the familiar click of the securities sliding into place. ‘Why can’t Blue and Henry see me?’ he asked at once.
‘Because they’re not actually here.’
‘The flag is still flying.’ He’d noticed it on his approach, despite his speed. The flag meant the sovereign was in residence. Henry might have taken himself off somewhere, but Blue must certainly be about.
‘A small subterfuge, I’m afraid,’ Madame Cardui told him. ‘In the current emergency Queen Blue and I deemed it best that all seemed business as usual at the Palace. When they left, I substituted dopplegangers. Poor creatures are too silly to rule, of course, but they’re quite capable of making small talk at State functions and waving from a balcony.’
‘What emergency?’ Pyrgus asked at once. Sometimes he almost regretted his life with the sanctuary and vineyard: it felt so cut off from the excitement of the capital.
Madame Cardui sighed. ‘I’m afraid Miss Culmella has been misbehaving again. Would you like a drink? Or perhaps not, since you’re flying. Unless you’d like to stay the night, of course. Although I don’t know when your sister might be back. Mella has disappeared – run away. Blue and Henry are searching personally and I, of course, have my best agents at work. Without much result, I am embarrassed to tell you. I suspect it has been much the same for Blue and Henry, since I haven’t heard from them.’
‘I think I know where Mella is,’ Pyrgus said.
Madame Cardui, who’d been fussing by the drinks cabinet, set the bottle down abruptly. ‘What?’
‘I think she may be in Haleklind,’ Pyrgus said.
‘I cannot imagine a less likely place,’ Madame Cardui murmured, but her tone indicated she was taking him completely seriously. Her ability to adjust to the unlikely was what made her an excellent spymaster. She looked at Pyrgus soberly. ‘Specifically where in Haleklind?’
‘Specifically, being held prisoner by the ruling Table of Seven.’
This time, Madame Cardui failed to hide her shock. ‘Are you sure?’
Pyrgus shook his head. ‘No, I’m not sure. But I had it from someone I trust, who assures me his source is sound.’
‘Does the Table of Seven know who she is?’
‘I don’t know. It’s possible they may not, but you’d imagine she must have told them.’
‘Unless she’s playing one of her silly games. What is she doing in Haleklind? I assume she entered the country illegally?’
‘I don’t know that either.’
Madame Cardui felt for a chair and sat down. Despite the head peel, Pyrgus suddenly realised how old she really was; and how worried. There was tiredness in her eyes, but determination too. ‘Help me here, Pyrgus: can you imagine any reason for your niece to go to Haleklind?’
‘To tell you the truth, I don’t know my niece all that well,’ Pyrgus told her. ‘I mean, I see her from time to time and I watched her turn into a young woman, but since I renounced the throne, I’ve kept away from the Palace as you know, so I’m not exactly in close touch. But I can tell you why I visited Haleklind at her age…’
‘Why?’ Madame Cardui asked.
‘To buy a Halek knife. I don’t suppose that would have much appeal to Mella, but most people visit Haleklind to buy magic – artifacts or crafted spells – that they can’t get, or aren’t allowed to get, at home.’
‘So you think she may have been buying illegal magic?’
‘It’s a possibility.’
‘Her parents think she may have gone to the Analogue World.’
‘Is that where they’re searching?’
‘Yes.’
Pyrgus said, ‘But you don’t think they’re right?’
Madame Cardui shook her head slowly. ‘I wasn’t convinced. Which was why I concentrated my own efforts elsewhere. Strangely enough, Haleklind was one of the places in the Realm that interested me.’
‘But you said you couldn’t imagine a less likely place for Mella.’
‘I can’t. But there’s something going on in Haleklind. We’ve had our suspicions for several months now, although we haven’t been able to discover any specifics. It’s my experience that when one is presented with two unusual situations occurring simultaneously, it is always worth looking for a connection, however disparate they might be. Now you tell me Mella is being held in Haleklind. It does suggest they may indeed be connected.’
‘What sort of activity is being reported from Haleklind?’ Pyrgus asked her, frowning.
‘Military,’ Madame Cardui told him shortly.
Pyrgus felt a small chill. More than half a generation had passed since the faerie wars that had threatened to tear apart the Realm. Most people believed such a threat could never arise again, but Pyrgus knew better. Faerie nature never changed and there were always those, within and without the Empire, whose lust for power led them eventually down violent pathways. ‘Troop movements?’ he asked.
Madame Cardui sighed. ‘No, that’s the strange thing.’
‘What then?’
‘Increased signal activity, increased espionage activity – greatly increased espionage activity – stricter border controls. You must have noticed on your recent visit.’
‘But no -’ Pyrgus stopped short. ‘How did you know I’d recently been to Haleklind? I didn’t tell you.’
Madame Cardui gave a small smile.
‘Oh, all right!’ Pyrgus said. ‘You’re Head of State Security. You know every time a member of the Royal Family sneezes – even retired members.’
‘Something like that.’ Madame Cardui nodded. ‘But when you read the intelligence reports on Haleklind over the past few weeks, they all point to a nation preparing for war. Not just the things I mentioned, but more frequent meetings of the Table of Seven, a vicious clampdown on subversive elements, a change of emphasis in the magical industry to weapons manufacturing… All signs of movement towards a war footing. But Haleklind has had a substantial standing army since the revolution and my spies show no unusual activity there at all. No troop relocation, no extra recruitment, no cancellation of leave. It’s a vital part of the overall picture, and it doesn’t fit.’
‘Could be just the usual Haleklind paranoia,’ Pyrgus suggested.
‘You may be right. But I still don’t like the signs of hostile intent, especially if they’re holding Mella.’ Madame Cardui stood up. ‘Will you come with me to the viewroom? I need to alert Queen Blue.’
The viewroom was Mr Fogarty’s invention: one of the strangest chambers in the entire Faerie Realm. It was a mix of Analogue World technology, Mr Fogarty’s own developments in psychotronics and faerie communications magic. The overall effect was of a hi-tech bed of spreading fungus. The screens flared into life as Madame Cardui entered, but she gestured quickly so that all but one faded immediately.
‘Did you catch any of that?’ she asked Pyrgus.
‘Catch any of what?’ Pyrgus replied blankly.
‘Well, I don’t expect you’ll use any information for subversive purposes, deeah. Come sit beside me and we’ll make contact with your sister. I expect she’ll be glad to hear from you despite her worries.’
Pyrgus slid into the chair beside Madame Cardui and watched as her slim fingers – slim, young-looking fingers: she must have had her hands peeled as well – stroked a series of bulbous, organic knobs. The screen remained bright, but blank. Madame Cardui thumbed the red reset button, waited for a second then tried again. The screen stayed blank.
‘Something wrong?’ Pyrgus asked quietly.
‘I seem to have lost contact with your sister,’ Madame Cardui said, frowning.
‘Where were they when you last spoke?’
‘Analogue World.’ Madame Cardui’s fingers were dancing in a complex pattern across the controls. Scenes kept forming and re-forming on the screen, but none stayed more than a fleeting second and none showed either Blue or Henry.
‘Oh, yes, you told me… Nothing coming in from there?’
‘They’re not there any more. They can’t be – there’s no interdimensional stream with their cipher. I’m searching the Realm now, but I shouldn’t have to. There should be a simple lock on Blue in this world: automatic discovery – it always works.’
‘Are there any circumstances when it doesn’t work?’
Madame Cardui turned to look at him. ‘Only when the target is dead.’
They looked at one another. After a moment Pyrgus said, ‘Maybe you should try locking on to Henry.’
Madame Cardui turned back to the controls without a word. Almost at once a picture began to form on the screen. It stabilised into the standard bird’s eye view, then carried out a swooping zoom. Pyrgus leaned forward, his shoulder almost touching that of Madame Cardui. Together they stared at the scene.
‘Oh, Gods!’ Madame Cardui exclaimed in horror.