Hidden Among Us (24 page)

We didn’t even know if she was still alive.

I wished I could die of that filthy sickness there and then. Just for it all to be over. I squeezed shut my eyes in the darkness and all I could see was Connie crouching by that puddle, turning to smile at me as Rose watched, her stripey t-shirt and red shorts, just a little kid. She’d trusted me.

“Larkspur,” Lissy said, “apart from paying with Rafe and Connie’s lives, is there any other way out of the bargain my mother made with you?”

“As I told your mother, the only other price I can accept is the life of a Hidden, willingly given.”

Silence.

“You made the bargain,” I said. “Why can’t you break it? Why not just say you’ve changed your mind, that Lissy can go back to her mam for free, without anything bad happening to Connie or Rafe?”

“Because I spoke the words. I made the pact. There is power in a Hidden promise. Once made, the bargain exists for all time. One cannot just be unmade.”

“That’s just bloody stupid!” I hissed.

The Hidden sighed. “I cannot expect you to understand, but believe me.”

“It’s true,” the little girl, Philippa de Conway, said. “Their bargains are unbreakable. They’re so cunning, you see. Men make pacts with the Hidden and think the Hidden have cheated them. But it’s only because they haven’t thought carefully enough about the words. If Larkspur made the pact with your mother, she won’t be able to break it. He will make it impossible for her to cheat.”

“I’ll have to stay, then,” Lissy whispered. “I’ll stay with the Swan King if he makes Connie better, if Rafe doesn’t die too.”

“Look,” I said. “Can’t you see that the Swan King tricked
you
, anyway, Lissy? What’s the point in him saving Connie’s life if everyone’s going to be killed by this plague? She’s going to die anyway.”

And Rafe: Lissy had no idea he was gone. I didn’t know where to start. I couldn’t stop thinking about that letter: David Creed shot dead in 1917 just for knowing about this.

Rafe’s probably already dead
, I told myself.
Just get used to the idea. There’s no way he could have escaped
.

“The boy is right,” the little girl said. “It
was
a trick.”

“No,” Lissy said. “I’m not going to let him do it. We’re going to get out. All of us. And we’re going to
stop
him. We can steal back my blood, escape from here and then if the Swan King has the power to save Connie that must mean
you
could, Larkspur.”

The Hidden just sighed. “I have the skill, but I’ve told you: a bargain woven tightly enough cannot be broken.”

“What, we’re just going to let Connie and her brother die, or Lissy has to stay down here in this dump for the rest of all time?” I couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of my voice. “It doesn’t seem very likely that one of you lot would give up the whole of eternity.”

“We’ve got to try
something
. We can’t let the Swan King do this!” Lissy hissed. “There must be a way around it.”

“Right. And how are we meant to escape? A, we can’t see. B, this place is heaving with freakish alien creatures who aren’t exactly on our side.” There didn’t seem much point saying what I really thought, which was just
I may as well sit here and wait for it
.

“I really am sorry, Joe,” Lissy whispered. “You should never have been involved in this.”

“I’m the one who’s sorry. I should have told your mam about Rose.”

No one argued with me. And now Connie was going to die unless Lissy returned to the Swan King, or one of the Hidden gave up their life without a fight. Either way, whichever way you looked at the deal, either Lissy or Rafe and Connie were going to lose.

39

I’m writing this in the last few hours of Connie’s life. It’s nearly midnight. Lissy will be gone by now, my Lissy. I never even said goodbye. I never explained. Even so, they’re going to kill Connie. Is the Swan King punishing me for choosing Adam instead of him? Or even doing this just for fun? I wouldn’t put that past him.

When I reach out and hold Connie’s hand it still feels so warm and alive. I want more than anything to climb into the bed and lie beside her as I did those endless nights when she was a tiny baby, and we weren’t quite two separate people yet. I’m afraid to disturb the drip line coming out of her hand; I don’t want to hurt her, so all I can do is hold her hand. My little girl.

Her condition is deteriorating. She’s still not responding. The consultants and nurses were so kind, so expert at dispensing the cold, bald truth, using my first name as if we were old friends. It won’t be long now, Miriam.

The Hidden cheated me. Larkspur or his father, I’ll never know which. They demanded Connie and Rafe if I didn’t bring them Lissy. Well, they’ve got Lissy. They’ll have her by now.

I never even got to tell her I’m sorry.

The Hidden have got what they wanted, but Connie’s not going to live through the night. God knows what’s going to happen to Rafe—

My little girl.

I don’t want to say goodbye. Someone told me that hearing is the last sense to go before you die. I don’t want her to be frightened, but I want her to know I’m here.

I’m going to put down my pen now, to hold Connie’s hand, and hope she knows it’s me.

They cheated me.

And where is Rafe?

All my children will soon be gone. The ultimate punishment for a bad mother.

I’m sorry, Lissy.

40

I turned to Larkspur, a patch of deeper darkness at my side. My eyes were adjusting, getting used to the black; I was starting to make out shapes, outlines.

“Are you really going to let your father do this, Larkspur? He banished you for fourteen years. He’s thrown you down here with us. He treats you worse than a slave. You don’t owe him anything. Help us escape. We can stop him. There has to be a way.”

“Stop it!” Joe said. “This is all just stupid. Shut up, Lissy – there’s nothing we can do—”

“Larkspur!” I found his hand in the darkness, gripped it with mine.
“Please.”

He spoke so quietly I could hardly hear. “You don’t understand. He’s my father. I’ve betrayed him so many times already.”

Larkspur pulled his hand away.

“What’s he going to do to
you
anyway?” Joe shouted at him. “It’s not like he can kill you, is it? You’re the one who took Lissy – it’s your fault we’re all here in the first place.”

“Shut up,” I hissed. “No one’s going to escape if you bring all the Hidden running back here, are they?”

“What difference does it make?” Joe snapped.

“There are things worse than death,” Larkspur said, simply.

“Great,” said Joe, sarcastically. “Sorry I won’t be able to share them with you.”

“In all these many years,” Tippy said, “I never thought you were a coward, Larkspur. Help us leave this place. I want to see the sky again.”

The cave lit up around us as Larkspur balanced a ball of light on the palm of one hand. There
was
a way out. A dark space in the glistening wet rock face. A tunnel. We’d work the rest out later. The Swan King was not going to hurt Connie any more.

I refuse to let it happen
.

But deep down I was terrified that we’d fail to cheat the bargain. Connie and Rafe would both die. Because of me, no matter how much Joe blamed himself.

“Right,” said Joe, “and how many of them are waiting to catch us?”

We couldn’t just walk out.

“It’s time, Larkspur,” Tippy whispered. “I know it’s time.”

There was just silence. Larkspur reached out and rested a hand on Tippy’s shoulder.

Tippy took his hand in hers. “It has been long enough. Please, Larkspur.”

“I don’t understand,” I said. “What are you two talking about?”

“I’ll do it,” Larkspur said. “I will fight him.” He stood up with all the loose, easy grace of a cat. “But you must come, Lissy. You alone.”

“I can’t,” I whispered. “What do you mean? We can’t just walk out of here. The Swan King must have this place guarded—”

“But he won’t expect you to try escaping,” Tippy said. “Your brother and sister are like hostages. They’re cursed.”

Larkspur knelt down to her height and they hugged, holding each other tight.

“I can’t do this,” he said, quietly. “I can’t bear it.”

“You must,” she said. “It’s the only way. Where shall we meet?”

“The Western Caverns. There’s a way out.” Larkspur sighed. “Tippy—”

“Go! There is scarcely time to waste!”

“No way,” Joe said. “Lissy, come on – that lunatic’s not just going to let you wander away. What are you going to do, just
ask
him for the blood? Come on. Let’s think this through properly—”

“You don’t have to walk,” Larkspur told me. “You know the truth, Lissy. It’s the royal gift of the Hidden, and you have it.”

No,
I thought.
You can’t mean that. Not the dream. Not that
—

He held out his hand and I took it.

“Yes,” Larkspur said. “Yes.”

For the first time ever, his fingers felt warm in mine. Hot, even. And the heat spread across my skin, up my arms. A searing pain shot between my shoulders and I cried out.

“Hush!” Larkspur said, gripping my hand. “Look at me, Lissy.”

“It hurts—” I gasped. “Larkspur, stop it – this really, really hurts,
please
—”

“You can do this, Lissy,” he whispered. “You know it’s true. You’ve dreamt of it so many times.”

All I could hear was Joe, just
Oh, my God, oh, my God,
over and over again, and when I looked into Larkspur’s eyes all I saw was tumbling feathers reflected. And there were feathers in the cave, feathers swirling everywhere.

Larkspur and I were no longer holding hands. I had no hand to hold.

My whole body shrieked in agony I’d never thought possible.

I was thrown through the air by a force I couldn’t see; I was lifted, rising, rising, rising.

I flew. The Swan King’s daughter.

In my mind, I heard Larkspur’s voice, full of laughter, joy and red-hot rage against his father.
My sister, the hawk. Fly with me
.

And so I flew; and so the dream was true.

41

We soared through the dark; cold dank air slid over my wings. My dream was real at last. I was flying. A hawk. I was filled with a deep tearing hunger, I couldn’t stand this blackness: there was no prey to be had. I followed Larkspur, my hawk-brother, matching the shadow of his wing-beats with my own.

I had changed.

I was something else.

And even now, the thrill of it swept me forward faster and faster.

We were going to get out of this place, Tippy too – she could come and live with us. It would be hard knowing that all her family were dead, but she’d have the chance to grow up like a real girl, have friends to play with, maybe Connie—

Stop. Don’t think about it. We can’t get this wrong. We can’t
.

The White Hall
. I heard Larkspur in my mind.
They will be feasting but it will still be guarded. Take care
.

The tunnels were lit now and I watched the rise and fall of his wings; my eyes were so sharp that I could make out every grain of soil in the earthen walls. A glossy black beetle inching along below made me thirsty for blood again but I fought it away, followed Larkspur as he banked off to the left and swept into a side-tunnel.

I saw the Hidden guards turn after us, their grimy beautiful faces shadowed by black hoods.

I heard one call out: “He has come, Lord – the traitor!”

The White Hall opened out before us, blinding and bright, full of Hidden. Hundreds of them. They lounged in groups like beautiful ragged cats; most sat around a fire flickering by the black pool, passing cups from one to the other; they played pipes, they played lyres. Someone was singing, and all fell silent when they saw us, tarnished rings glittering on long fingers, ragged silk, cloth-of-gold stained with aeons of woodsmoke and the darkened blood of their prey. The trees were green, the waters of the pool so flat and dark against the glittering quartz.

Stay high
. I heard Larkspur in my mind again, and in a burst of tawny hawk feathers that turned to ivy leaves as they fell, he took his own form again, landing in a crouch right by the fire.

I banked and hovered, looking down, my wings knew what to do; once again I wanted to shout out with the thrill of it. The Swan King got to his feet, letting a glass cup fall from his hand. It shattered against the white rock.

“You will have to try better than that if you want to confine me.” Larkspur’s voice rang out, harsh and mocking now rather than anguished and afraid. “No guard by the cave but my fear of you,
Father?
You show me no respect.”

The Swan King stepped forward, wiping dark liquid from his mouth. “I will bind you in rock for a thousand years.”

Every eye in the room was fixed on the two of them. The Hidden were silent, horror etched on their filthy faces.

“So try,” Larkspur said.

And I saw it. The silver bowl resting in a crevice high above the water, a dark wrinkle in the rock face.

My blood.

I had one chance. I flew.

Whirling faster than a cracked whip, the Swan King turned from Larkspur to me.

He held out one hand and I felt the heat of his eyes on me till I burned from the inside out; screaming in agony I fell hard to the floor.

“You are only just learning your true strength, daughter. Know that I will always better it.” And he laughed.

I couldn’t escape the pain; it was everywhere. I tried to shut my eyes but I couldn’t even do that. The Swan King had control of me. He had changed my shape. My fingertips shook with agony, scraping helpless at the cold hard ground.

My one chance to save Connie and it was gone, unreachable as the bowl of blood high above my head.

I heard Larkspur’s voice in my mind.
You have mortal powers he can only dream of; mercy, compassion, Lissy—

He might have control of my body but the Swan King couldn’t stop me loving my little sister. I could see her in my mind’s eye, asleep at Hopesay Reach in her pink and white striped pyjamas, already poisoned by Rose. I remembered Mum and Dad bringing her home from the hospital; I was six and I loved Connie so much the moment I saw her wrapped in a white blanket, her small red face, the thatch of black hair that fell out and grew back golden, her tiny soft fingernails. Dad smiling, looking strangely fragile, saying,
Do you want to hold her, Tinkerbell?