Henry swam up slowly from the warm, dark depths. His chest no longer pained him quite so much, but it felt tight so that he had difficulty breathing. He could see light, then shapes, but his eyes would not focus properly so he couldn't tell what they were.
'I think he's opening his eyes again.'
'Are you sure?'
'No. I thought I saw -'
'Try for a pulse again, Prince Pyrgus.'
Pyrgus was here! This was great. Pyrgus was here. Henry tried to say Hello, Pyrgus, but could not take enough breath in to form the words. He felt something brush against his neck, like the touch of a butterfly's wing.
'No – nothing.' Was that Pyrgus's voice? It didn't sound like Pyrgus's voice, but then everything was echoey and boomy.
'Is the silk working?'
'The fusion's taken, Serenity, but that doesn't necessarily mean
…'
Serenity? Did that mean Blue was here? Henry made a massive effort and opened his eyes. The light blinded him.
'We're fitting the gloves now. His hands are in a much worse state than his chest. He must have tried to protect himself.'
'Fusion is automatic – it's a property of the silk. It doesn't mean there's healing.'
'Healing is a property of the body.'
'Although a silk fusion will promote healing in some circumstances.'
'Providing the body can support it.'
'If the body can support it, healing can be quite rapid.'
It wasn't Blue. There was a woman bending over him, but it wasn't Blue. It occurred to Henry he was ill. He couldn't see properly, he couldn't hear properly, he couldn't breathe properly, his skin felt tight and there were stabbing pains in his hands and chest. That couldn't be right. He wondered if he was coming down with flu.
To one side of the woman he saw Pyrgus and tried to smile at him. But his face wouldn't work either.
A soft female voice said, 'His eyes are open, Highness.'
That was quite true – his eyes were open. Things were coming slowly into focus as well.
Pyrgus reached out to touch him on the neck. 'Henry,' he said. 'Can you hear me?'
I can hear you, Pyrgus, Henry thought. I just can't tell you I can hear you.
'There's a pulse,' Pyrgus said. 'Quite strong too.'
'That cinnamon scent means -'
Someone pushed Pyrgus and the woman rudely aside and bent over Henry. His eyes grew misty. It was Blue. It was definitely Blue.
'Oh, Henry!' Blue exclaimed and kissed him on the mouth.
The pain was just as bad and he still couldn't move, but Henry suddenly felt a whole lot better.
Henry pushed himself to his feet. He could see clearly now, could even remember – more or less – what had happened, although what had happened didn't make a lot of sense. He thought perhaps he'd been struck by lightning: a huge fireball had rushed towards him just before he blacked out. But if it was lightning, he'd somehow survived.
Amazingly, his chest had stopped hurting. Even the tightness was easing now, so he could breathe properly. He remembered the Silk Mistresses and how they'd tried to help him, but now Blue was here as well, and Pyrgus. He wondered what was going on.
He smiled at Blue who'd just kissed him. (She'd just kissed him!!)'Hello, Blue.'
'Hello, Henry,' Blue said.
'Hello, Henry,' Pyrgus said.
There was a pretty girl in a black uniform standing to Pyrgus's right and two others in black behind her. Both Pyrgus and Blue seemed to be wearing black as well, for some reason. They were all carrying weapons and had that nervous, alert look you used to see in television reports of occupying soldiers.
Henry took a deep breath. He no longer felt he might fall down at any minute. He no longer felt shaky at all. There was a pleasant warmth in his chest and it seemed to be giving him energy.
'Hello, Pyrgus,' he said. 'What's happening?'
The girl beside Pyrgus said, 'Prince Pyrgus, time is short. We need to be moving on.'
'Henry comes with us!' Blue said fiercely.
'This is Nymphalis,' Pyrgus said, gesturing towards the girl in black.
Nymphalis said, 'If he's able. Of course he -'
Blue said, 'Henry's coming, whether he's able or not.'
Henry felt pretty able. His whole body was warm now and he was experiencing a remarkable surge of energy. He reached out his hand and said, 'Nice to meet you, Nymphalis.'
'We have to find my father,' Pyrgus said. 'I'll explain as we go along.' He glanced at Nymphalis. 'Of course Henry's coming.'
'Are you all right?' Nymphalis asked Henry, frowning.
But Henry was frozen, staring in astonishment. He had multicoloured hands.