Amelia was feeling ill. Worrying could do that, and the person she was worrying about was Tab.
She hadn’t been concerned until she arrived at Nor’west City Farm to find that Tab wasn’t there. Bendo was, though, looking furious. ‘Where is that friend of yours?’ he demanded. ‘She’s in trouble, I tell you.’
Amelia shrugged. ‘I haven’t seen her all day,’ she replied. ‘I was hoping you might know where she was.’
‘Well I don’t,’ he snapped. ‘So if you do come across her, you should warn her that when I see her there’ll be hell to pay.’
‘I’ll be sure to let her know,’ Amelia replied.
Philmon was on a day off. She found him outside his quarters, sitting against a wall in the dim overcast daylight. He was reading a book, and seemed a little annoyed that Amelia would interrupt his day off to ask if he’d seen Tab.
He laid his book in his lap and sighed. ‘Amelia, what you’re forgetting is that I don’t keep an eye on every single movement Tab makes,’ he said. ‘You know what she’s like – she’s always off on one kind of adventure or another.’
‘I guess that’s what’s worrying me,’ Amelia said. ‘Most of the time when she gets into these adventures she’s got you or me to look after her.’
‘I don’t think she needs all that much looking after,’ Philmon said. ‘Most of the time it’s her looking after us. You know, I think she’ll probably turn up at any moment with a cheeky grin on her face.’
Amelia tried to smile. ‘You’re right, Philmon. I should stop worrying.’
Philmon picked up his book again, and Amelia turned to leave. Then she stopped and faced him again.
‘Can I ask you something?’
Philmon returned his book to his lap and looked up. ‘What is it?’
‘How long since you’ve seen Torby?’
‘I don’t know – a few days. Why?’
‘I just got a feeling that I should check on him.’
Philmon scratched his ear. ‘A feeling?’
‘Yes. It wasn’t a big feeling, more just a… a thought, I guess.’
‘About Torby?’
‘Yes. Do you think that’s weird?’
Philmon shook his head. ‘I think about people all the time, but it doesn’t make me wonder if it’s weird.’
‘I know that. I just… It’s a very icky feeling, Philmon, right here.’ She rested her hand on her stomach.
‘You’ve probably eaten a bad thickleberry tart.’
‘We both know there’s no such thing as a bad thickleberry tart. No, it’s strange, I know, but I really feel that I need to go and see him. Will you come with me?’
Philmon sighed and closed his book. ‘It doesn’t look like I’m going to get this finished today.’
‘What’s it about?’ Amelia asked.
‘It’s a retelling of The Gimlet Eye. It’s not the full-length version, though. It’s one of those condensed book thingies. But I thought I should read it before we go to see the play. It’s not a bad yarn, actually.’
‘Excellent. You can explain it to me on the way.’
The nursemaid in the entry hall of the infirmary was busy. Or at least, she gave a very good impersonation of someone who was busy. She tutted and sighed, and continued writing in her large book. ‘I really don’t have time for this,’ she complained. ‘You’ll just have to wait.’
‘Look, it’s very simple,’ said Philmon. ‘We just want to see our friend. We come in here quite often, and it’s never been a problem before. Can’t we just go up?’
‘You do know that I’m a magician, don’t you?’ Amelia said.
The nursemaid glanced up at her, a sneer on her lips. ‘I know who you are, and I know you used to be a magician. Or it was in fact an apprentice magician, wasn’t it? Otherwise…’ She finished the sentence by mouthing the words ‘Skulum Gate’.
‘Yes, that’s true,’ Amelia muttered. ‘But I still learnt some pretty good spells.’
‘Don’t threaten me,’ the nursemaid replied. ‘I’ll get to you when I’m good and ready.’ Then, almost as if to emphasise the point, she bit on her thumbnail while she took a moment to read back over what she’d just written. Finally, after she’d written no more than a couple of words to finish, she laid the pen down and looked at them. ‘Now, children, can I help you?’
‘We’d like to see our friend Torby,’ Philmon said.
The expression that crossed the nursemaid’s face sent a sudden shudder through Amelia, not quite as strong as the bad feeling that had sent her to Philmon to begin with, but still an unpleasant sensation that crawled across the back of her shoulders.
The nursemaid’s eyes narrowed, and her voicebox bobbed as she swallowed suddenly. ‘Torby, did you say?’
Philmon nodded, ‘Yes, Torby. You know, the boy who lies there with the blank face.’
‘Oh, I know who Torby is,’ the nursemaid replied. ‘But you want to see him?’
‘Yes please.’
‘Just to see if he’s all right,’ Amelia added.
‘I see. Could you give me just a moment?’ the nursemaid replied, standing up in such a hurry that she almost knocked her chair over. ‘Excuse… excuse me.’ And she left the room, her skirts swishing around as she bustled out and headed down the long, echoey corridor.
‘What do you think that was all about?’ Amelia asked Philmon.
He shook his head and shrugged. ‘I don’t know.’
At the far end of the corridor, the nursemaid was talking to another, smaller woman, with a stern, officious face. Amelia recognised this second woman as the head of the place. She’d seen her around the infirmary, but they’d never spoken.
The conversation between the two women drew to an end, and the head of the infirmary nodded curtly, before striding officiously towards Amelia and Philmon.
‘I’ve got a bad feeling about this,’ Philmon said quietly.
‘Have you got it too?’ Amelia asked, her hand going to her stomach.
‘I don’t mean that kind of bad feeling. It’s not all magicky or anything. I just feel like she’s bringing bad news about Torby.’
Amelia’s mouth was dry as she said, ‘I think you might be right. I hope you’re wrong, but I do think you might be right.’
The head of the infirmary came into the room, with the nursemaid following a short but respectful distance behind. ‘Good morning. I’m Myla – I’m in charge here.’
‘We’ve seen you before,’ Amelia said.
‘Now, you’re looking for your friend?’
‘Yes, Torby. But we know where his bed is. There’s no need for all this fuss…’ Amelia began to say.
Myla gave a very quick, flickering smile, but her eyes remained very serious. ‘You might know where his bed is, but do you know where he is?’
‘I beg your pardon?’ asked Philmon.
‘He’s not here.’
‘So where is he?’ Amelia asked.
Myla shook her head. The flickering, humourless smile was back again for a moment. ‘He’s gone.’
‘Gone?’ Philmon said. ‘Gone where, exactly?’
‘We don’t know – he just disappeared,’ the nursemaid interjected. ‘Oh,’ she added quickly as Myla cast her a withering glare.
‘She’s right,’ Myla said. ‘He disappeared some time last evening.’
‘Wasn’t anyone watching him?’ Philmon asked, his face beginning to redden. ‘I mean, he doesn’t even move!’
‘We were otherwise occupied,’ Myla explained.
‘Yes. Things were falling down on the goat, you see,’ the nursemaid explained. ‘Plus there was the -’
‘Risha!’ Myla turned her head slightly to one side and cut the nursemaid off mid-sentence. ‘That will do. There are patients who need seeing to. Now,’ she added firmly as the nursemaid opened her mouth to argue.
She watched Risha leave, before returning her attention to Amelia and Philmon. ‘Last night, a wall fell down in the rear courtyard.’
Philmon frowned. ‘A wall?’
‘That’s right. Plop. Went right over.’
‘And what does that have to do with Torby?’
‘Or a goat?’ Amelia added.
‘This is a little embarrassing, but we – by that I mean me and the three other women who work here under very trying and difficult conditions, I might add – were out in the courtyard trying to put out the fire and free the goat.’
‘Free the goat?’ said Philmon, shaking his head slowly. ‘This is unbelievable! If it wasn’t so serious it’d be funny!’
‘I don’t understand,’ Amelia said. ‘So you were outside trying to free the goat from what? Did the wall fall on the goat?’
‘Yes, that’s what I’m trying to tell you,’ Myla said. ‘The goat was tied up to the lemon tree, right beside the wall. And then, somehow, the wall came down on the goat. It also flattened part of our kitchen, and started a small fire. The cook’s had to take the day off, he was so shaken by the incident.’
‘This is terrible,’ Amelia said.
‘Oh, it’s all right – the goat’s fine. Her milk might be a bit off for a couple of days, but that’s probably all. But as for our -’
‘We don’t care about the stupid goat!’ Philmon snapped, and Myla blinked in surprise. ‘What’s upsetting me is that while you and your staff were out the back pulling some farmyard animal out of a pile of rocks, our friend was being kidnapped!’
Myla cleared her throat. ‘Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We don’t know that he’s been kidnapped -’
‘Well let’s see: is he in his bed? No. Is he sitting beside his bed? No. Is he anywhere in this building? I assume you’ve looked for him?’
‘Of course. And you’re quite right, he’s not here.’
Amelia thought Philmon’s head was going to burst with rage. ‘Look, if someone who hasn’t spoken or moved for almost a year suddenly leaves their bed and disappears, I’d say there’s a good chance that they’ve been kidnapped, wouldn’t you?’
›››Armla! Armla!
‘Ah!’ yelped Amelia, as a sudden pain ripped through the space behind her eyes. Her hands went to her forehead, but no matter how hard she pushed, the pain wouldn’t stop.
And there was the voice, like the sound of grinding teeth. ›››Armla! Armla! These is steel kelp!
‘Amelia, are you all right?’ Philmon asked, placing a steadying arm around her shoulders.
‘Do I look all right?’ she said through clenched teeth. ‘Something’s happening. Someone’s trying to say something to me.’
‘Are you sure?’ asked Myla.
‘No, I’m creating a diversion. Of course I’m sure!’
‘No, well you don’t look at all well. There is a bed just through here. Come this way. Risha! Risha!’ she called.
But as quickly as it had come, the pain went, along with the teeth-grinding voice. Amelia felt suddenly drained, her energy depleted, and stumbling forward to a nearby stool, she sat down carefully.
‘What was it?’ Philmon asked.
‘I’m fine,’ Amelia replied. This wasn’t what Philmon had been asking – she knew that – but she didn’t want to talk to him about it until they were alone. Myla and the nursemaid, who was now fussing around getting a cup of water for Amelia, didn’t need to hear what she was about to tell Philmon.
She was going to tell him that someone had been trying to mind-meld with her, but that she didn’t have a clue who it was.
‘So tell me again, what did the voice say? Tell me exactly.’ Philmon seemed excited at this new development. Excited and thoughtful.
Amelia glanced around to make sure that no one could hear her. There was no chance of anyone within the infirmary overhearing her, since the door had been shut rather firmly behind them when they left. But these days it was hard to know who to trust out in the street.
‘Come over here,’ she said, leading Philmon to one side, near the path that led around to the back of the infirmary. ‘I told you, the voice sounded as if it was saying something like “Armla, armla, these is steel kelp”.’
Philmon screwed up his face as he thought about this. ‘That’s strange,’ he said at last.
‘I know. I’ve been going over it in my mind, and I think it might have been meant to sound like “Amelia, Amelia, this is steel kelp”, whatever that means. Steel kelp… Steel -’
‘No!’ Philmon said suddenly. ‘No, I’ve got it! It’s saying “Amelia, Amelia, this is Stelka”. Help. Could that have been it?’
‘Of course!’
‘So why wasn’t she clearer?’
‘The thing about the mind-melding is that Stelka’s not very good at it yet. I mean, Tab’s been teaching her through the mind of a rat, for goodness sake.’
‘And can you do it? Can you mind-meld?’
‘Tab’s tried to teach me, but it’s not a skill you can just pick up, like playing hooey.’
‘I know that, but I didn’t ask if it was hard. I asked you, can you do it?’
‘I’ve managed once or twice, but it’s hard to get right. I’ve watched Tab do it – she’s amazing.’
‘Yes, well in case you hadn’t noticed, Tab’s not here, so it’s up to you. Did Stelka give you any kind of hint of where she might be?’
‘No, she only said what I told you.’ Amelia frowned. ‘This is getting very strange now, Philmon. First Tab disappears, then Torby, and finally Stelka sends a message asking for help.’
‘You said “finally”. There’s no guarantee that there’s anything final about it. For all we know, we could be next.’
‘Don’t,’ Amelia replied. ‘That’s not funny.’
‘Do you see me laughing?’
‘So, what now?’
Philmon scratched his ear. ‘Do the goat, the falling wall and the fire strike you as a little odd? Especially considering that while all that was going on, Torby disappeared.’
‘Connected?’ Amelia said.
‘What do you think? Since we have no other leads just now, we should probably check out this wall and the burnt-down kitchen. Do you know where it is?’
‘She said it was around the back. Come on.’
Trying to ignore the dull headache that lingered after the message from Stelka, Amelia led the way around the back of the infirmary. The gate in the little archway was locked firm. Philmon jiggled the latch, then craned his neck to peek over the gate. He glanced up at the wall, which was far too high to climb over, then went back to jiggling the gate.
‘No, it’s no good. We’ll go around the other side,’ he said at last. ‘There’s a laneway that runs along the other side of the wall.’
‘Can you see where’s it’s fallen over?’
‘Yes. It’s a bit of a mess.’
They hurried around to the other side, and down the narrow lane that ran along the starboard side of the infirmary. The lane was empty, and the courtyard wall was slumped over in the middle. Several rows of bricks had fallen in, and were now rubble on the courtyard paving stones.
‘Oh, that poor goat!’ Amelia said. ‘I’ll be surprised if it ever gives milk again!’
She stepped closer to the gap in the collapsed wall and looked across at the kitchen. A small added-on section jutted out into the courtyard, and part of its corner had been struck by some of the falling bricks. The damage from the bricks was minor, but not so the damage from the fire. Above the broken window, the eaves had been blackened by smoke, and the smell of fire and damp ash hung in the air.
‘How do you think that happened?’ she asked.
Philmon shrugged. ‘I don’t know – there are dozens of ways a fire can start. A brick fell through the window and knocked something into the stove, maybe?’
‘Must have been a pretty light brick, or a brick with wings,’ Amelia said. ‘Look where the chimney comes through the roof.’
‘And?’
‘The stove’s way over on the other side of the kitchen. That fire didn’t start by accident. This was a diversion.’
‘Hmm,’ Philmon said. He was busy inspecting the part of the wall that was still standing. ‘This is interesting.’ He pointed at a mark about halfway up the bricks. ‘What does that look like to you?’
‘Um… mud?’
‘Look down here,’ he said, pointing at the base of the wall.
Amelia looked down at a large patch of mud. There were footprints in it.
‘So?’
‘Someone’s tried to climb this wall. See how they’ve stepped in the mud, then tried to climb over and left mud smeared on the bricks? And their weight on the wall has made it fall down.’
‘Yes, onto a defenceless goat,’ Amelia said. ‘Poor thing.’
‘Hey, hold up, what’s this?’ Philmon said, bending over and picking something up. It was small, about the size of a peanut. ‘What do you make of this?’
Amelia shook her head. ‘I don’t underst… It’s a pip, Philmon.’
‘I know. And there’s another one here.’
Amelia was beginning to think that her friend might have finally lost it. ‘I don’t know why that’s such a huge discovery,’ she said.
‘Do you know what kind of pip it is?’
She took it from his fingers and looked at it closely. Then she sniffed it, and screwed up her nose. ‘Yes, of course I do. It’s a tigerplum pip. And now my fingers will be stinky for a week.’
‘Exactly – a tigerplum pip.’ He was already turning to go. ‘And do you know what that means? It means we know who kidnapped Torby.’
‘You can’t prove it!’ Amelia said as she jogged after him. She was getting the unnerving feeling that he was going to turn left at the end of the lane and make for the palace to have words with Kalip Rendana.
‘Amelia, when all the evidence points to one person, that’s who you have to talk to first,’ he was saying.
‘But that’s what I mean! The evidence doesn’t all point to Rendana. Let’s look logically at what we know: he took Fontagu’s script, which he returned, by the way; we know he works for Janus, who works for Florian, who is a rotter. And we know Rendana has a little knife that he uses to scare people.’
‘Exactly!’ said Philmon.
‘But none of that proves that he pushed down a wall, almost killed a goat and set fire to an infirmary kitchen just so he could kidnap someone. That could have been anyone!’
Philmon stopped. ‘You’re right,’ he said. ‘You say that all of that doesn’t prove a thing, and I was starting to believe you. But then you mentioned his little knife. Follow me.’
He ran to the end of the lane, but instead of turning left towards the palace, he turned right. Amelia raced after him, following him along the street in front of the infirmary, and back to the locked gate that led into the courtyard from the other side.
‘There,’ he said, grinning and running his fingers over the edge of the gate. ‘Now do you believe me?’
‘What am I meant to be looking at?’
‘ There!’ He pointed at a collection of fresh scars and scratches in the timber of the gate, just near the latch. ‘Do they look like the kind of marks someone would make trying to get through a locked gate? The kind of marks they might make with a little knife?’
‘Very well, I admit it,’ Amelia agreed. ‘But I still don’t think you should march up to the… Oh no,’ she sighed. ‘Where are you going, Philmon?’
Calling back over his shoulder, he said, ‘To the palace. I’m going to have words with Rendana.’
Amelia caught up with him just as he reached the street. She grabbed him by the arm and spun him around. ‘Philmon, think about this for a minute.’
‘What is there to think about? We need to ask this man where he’s taken our friend.’
‘What, and you think he’s just going to tell you? You think you can just walk up to him and say, “Hello, I’m Philmon, and this is Amelia, and we want to know where our… Oh, look, I’ve got a little knife stuck in my gut! ”? Come on, Philmon, not only does he work for Janus, but there’s a whole squad of huge, ugly Unja guards out the front of that palace. Now I think about it, you won’t have to worry about getting a knife stuck in your gut, because you’re going to get speared to death by Unja soldiers before you even get through the gate.’
Philmon closed his eyes and heaved a deep breath. ‘You’re right,’ he said, his shoulders slumping forward. ‘You’re right. I just want to know where Torby is. And Tab. And Stelka.’
‘Yes, and so do I. And I’ve just had a better idea.’