The Underground City (17 page)

A few days after Prince Casimir brought Neil and Clara safely back from Loch Ness, the MacArthur decided to throw a party; a Christmas party. They were all there, except Arthur, who had decided to stay for a while with his Nessie in Loch Ness.

Neil and Clara weren’t sure if the MacArthur hadn’t had a hand in arranging the weather to suit the occasion, for it was a positively magical scene. Snow was falling gently and as the MacLeans flew towards the hill on their magic carpets, Edinburgh stretched beneath them like a huge Christmas card. Once inside, they gasped in wonder for the tunnels were lit by hundreds of fairy lights and the great cavern, strung as it was from wall to wall with Christmas decorations, lanterns and dozens of brightly lit Christmas trees, was a sparkling fairyland of light and colour.

“It looks wonderful,” Clara smiled, hugging Lady Ellan.

“I’m glad you like it,” she smiled, as Amgarad swooped down to land on Clara’s shoulder. “We’ve been busy as you can see! Actually, Archie, Hamish and Jaikie did most of it!”

Jaikie, perched at the top of a ladder, waved down to them as he fixed a star at the top of the tall Christmas tree that stood beside the MacArthur’s throne.

Lewis laughed and waved back. “I can’t quite believe it all, Neil,” he said, marvelling at the sight. “It’s fab, isn’t it?”

Kabad came shyly over wearing his striped pantomime clothes. Mrs MacLean had shortened them for him and they sparkled in the light of the torches. He had never seen a Christmas tree before and gazed up at it in wonder. What with
the tree, the decorations and his fabulous new clothes, he was the happiest water goblin in the world.

“Is the Sultan able to come?” Sir James asked as he and the Chief Constable added some brightly wrapped packages to the pile of Christmas gifts under the huge tree.

“Yes,” Lord Rothlan answered, “he’s at Ardray at the moment with Prince Casimir. Sorting out last minute business and the like.”

Lewis heard him. “He’s gone to Ardray?” he said in
astonishment
. “But Ardray was destroyed. All that was left was a sort of pillar of energy!”

“The Sultan has already restored Ardray,” Lady Ellan said with a smile, “according to Alasdair, the estate is completely different now.”

“You went there, Lord Rothlan?” Neil asked, his eyes round.

Alasdair Rothlan nodded. “You wouldn’t recognize it, Neil. The Sultan blotted out the magic forest and the Black Tower and has replaced them with a beautiful castle that is set closer to the sea. Casimir is delighted with it and I think he plans to invite us there once he’s got it all fixed up.”

“Prince Casimir’s all right, is he?” Lewis asked anxiously.

“Here he is now,” Lord Rothlan said as the Sultan and Prince Casimir stepped through the gilded frame of the magic mirror. “You can ask him yourself!”

Everyone bowed as the Sultan appeared but Lewis ran straight to Casimir and hugged him. “I’m so glad to see you!” he said. “You look really well!” Indeed, they all looked at Casimir in astonishment. The Sultan’s generosity had been such that there was no room for discontent and his face, now calm and untroubled, was kindly and pleasant. His eyes
twinkled
as he looked at Lewis.

“You haven’t changed a bit, Lewis,” he said, with a sigh. “Where’s your bow to the Sultan!”

Lewis reddened and bowed hastily to the Sultan.

“Don’t worry, Lewis,” the Sultan smiled, “we all understand your concern for Prince Casimir.”

The ice was broken and it was only after they had finished eating an absolutely massive Christmas dinner of turkey and Christmas pudding that they all sat, chatting idly together round the table.

Prince Casimir looked across at Sir James and asked about the pantomime. “Is
Ali Baba
still running, Sir James?” he
queried
.

“Oh yes,” Sir James nodded. “It doesn’t finish until the
middle
of January.”

“And are Neil and Clara still taking part?” asked the Chief Constable, looking across the table in surprise. “Sorry, I’ve been busy. I meant to ask earlier.”

Neil and Clara both nodded. “Matt Lafferty gave us a really funny look when we turned up again, though,” Clara grinned.

“Gob-smacked is the word he’d have used!” Neil said.

“And he looked absolutely floored,” Clara added, “when I had to have a new costume made!”

“And I needed a new turban! I gave mine to Nessie to use as a flag and I’m sure he recognized it from the TV footage,” Neil said with a grin. “He knows that something odd was going on the night we disappeared and I think he’s guessed that magic was involved!”

“An intelligent man,” nodded the Sultan, his eyes twinkling.

“He doesn’t miss much,” Sir James agreed, “but, you know, even
he
will be hard put to make up a story that’ll link you to the Loch Ness monster!”

There was a murmur of laughter.

“I do miss Arthur,” Clara said sadly. “Don’t you, Archie? I know he’s happy with Nessie but there’s not a lot to do at the bottom of Loch Ness.”

“He’ll stay a few months and then come back,” Archie sighed. “I wish he hadn’t missed our Christmas party, though.”

“What I’d really like to know is what happened to the bank robbers?” Clara asked. “Did you catch them, Sir Archie?”

“We only caught two of them,” Sir Archie replied, “Murdo and Tammy Souter. Wullie managed to slip through the net.”

At Clara’s questioning stare, the MacArthur chipped in. “You
did
hear what happened to Wullie, didn’t you?”

Lady Ellan burst out laughing at the mention of his name. “He was fantastic,” she said. “The ghosts of the plague victims didn’t stand a chance against Wullie! Not a chance!”

At that, both Neil and Clara sat up straight and looked at one another in horror. “You mean the ghosts of the plague got out?” Neil gasped.

“Yes,” she said, startled. “I’m sorry! I forgot you didn’t know! Yes, when the crooks blew up the vault, the explosion knocked down the walls of their cellars. Mary King’s ghosts got all the policemen out safely, thank goodness, but they somehow
managed
to miss Wullie.”

“You don’t mean …” Neil looked stricken, “you don’t mean …?”

“Nothing happened to Wullie,” Lady Ellan grinned despite herself. “The plague ghosts went for him, of course, but would you believe it, he killed them off! All by himself!”

“Wullie?” Clara said. “I thought he was a bit … well, he wasn’t sharp like Murdo.”

“Make no mistake,” laughed Lady Ellan. “Wullie was
marvellous
!”

“It was his cigarettes that finished them off,” nodded the MacArthur with a grin. “He absolutely reeked of tobacco smoke and they couldn’t take it!”

“Especially when he flapped his overcoat at them,” added Jaikie. “That’s what
really
did for them! They just fizzled up
and died!”

“I still can’t believe it!” Sir Archie said. “To tell you the truth, I don’t know what we’d have done if it hadn’t been for Wullie! The very thought of the Plague People getting out into the streets still gives me nightmares.”

“Have all the ghosts gone back to Mary King’s Close now?” asked the Ranger.

It was the MacArthur who answered. “Well, we had a bit of trouble about that,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “The Plague People put them in a blind panic, as you can imagine. Once they’d seen your policemen safe in the Assembly Hall, Sir Archie, I’m afraid they just lost their heads. Some of them went up to the castle but most of them moved down to Holyrood Palace and well … you know how it is, they got accustomed to living in style and didn’t fancy moving back to the High Street.”

Jaikie grinned. “And you can just imagine what happened when they first arrived at the palace!” he grinned. “Believe me, it was absolutely manic! They scared the living daylights out of the tourists for a start and, in the end, the staff had to close the palace altogether!”

“Rizzio,” Lady Ellan said seriously, “was not amused.”

“You can’t blame him,” the MacArthur said, reasonably. “After all, he’s had the run of the palace for centuries!”

Jaikie grinned. “Apparently, he threw a thousand fits when they all poured in from the High Street. The very thought of them living in the
palace
… well, I ask you! He’s such a snob!”

Sir James and the Chief Constable looked at one another with lifted eyebrows. They both knew who David Rizzio was, of course. Italian by birth, he’d been secretary to Mary, Queen of Scots before her husband had murdered him!

Lewis smiled at the mention of his name and looked over at Casimir. He not only knew that Lord Darnley had murdered Rizzio but also knew the date — 1566.

“As Jaikie said, he was really furious,” continued Ellan. “He called the Council of Elders to a meeting at the palace and demanded that all the ghosts be made invisible again and ordered to move back to their old quarters.”

“Aye,” said the MacArthur. “There was a real stramash about it but he won in the end.”

“What, er … happened?” asked Sir James faintly.

“Well, it was Her Majesty!”

“The Queen?” said the Chief Constable, in tones of surprise.

“Aye,” the MacArthur nodded, “as you know, she’s always in residence in the summer. And, as Rizzio said, it just wasn’t on. Her Majesty accepts
his
presence as a matter of course, you see, and he’s very discreet. Just a dignified bow if he ever encounters her. But, as he said, she really shouldn’t have to put up with half the High Street drifting through the walls of her apartments whenever they felt like it!”

“Not at all the done thing,” said Sir James, keeping his face straight with an effort.

“Exactly!” said the MacArthur, heaving a sigh. “Anyway, it was all sorted out in the end. The Council of Elders made them all invisible again and they’ve already moved back up the High Street to Mary King’s Close.”

“And what about the bank?” Neil asked curiously. “I can’t understand it. Dad told me it wasn’t a branch any more but I see from the papers that quite a lot of money was taken.”

Everyone looked at Sir Archie. “It
isn’t
a branch anymore,” he agreed, “it’s a museum now, and normally, it wouldn’t have held any money at all. But it turns out that the Bank of Scotland were in the process of refurbishing some of their branches and, well, I suppose they had to put the money somewhere. The empty vaults at the Mound were ideal for the purpose. It was just bad luck that Murdo, Wullie and Tammy decided to rob it when it was stuffed full of cash.”

“And there’s no doubt they took it,” Sir James added, “for when we emptied the charity baskets in the foyer that were used for donations, we found bin-liners full of used notes at the bottom of most of them.”

“Wow!” Clara’s eyes grew large.

“Ali Baba and the Forty-Three Thieves,” grinned Neil.

“I’ve good news for you, though,” and here Sir James smiled happily. “The bank has been very generous and has made us a gift of the money we found, so we’ll be able to send a much larger donation to Children’s Aid than we thought! Much larger!” he added.

The Chief Constable, who knew exactly how much money the Bank of Scotland had quite happily shelled out, had his own ideas as to the origin of their sudden fit of reckless generosity and eyed the MacArthur with deep suspicion. The MacArthur, well-aware of what was going on in Sir Archie’s mind, met his eyes blandly, however, and nodded with a smile at the excited murmur that greeted the news.

“Will the thieves be going to jail, then, Sir Archie?” Clara asked. “I didn’t much like Murdo, but Wullie seemed a good sort.”

The Chief Constable smiled wryly. “It’s all been a bit
difficult
,” he admitted, “and we’ve actually had to let them go.” His eyes twinkled suddenly. “And to tell you the truth, I’m not sorry about it,” he admitted, “not after what Wullie did! And, when all’s said and done, I doubt if we’d have been able to bring any sort of case against them, anyway. The problem, really, was the ghosts — for we could hardly ask Mary King and her friends to testify, could we?”

Sir James smiled appreciatively at the thought of the ghosts in court. What a sensation that would have caused!

“I’m glad,” Clara said happily. “I liked Wullie and he
did
save Edinburgh from the plague, didn’t he!”

“Yes,” Neil said, “but if they hadn’t blown up the vault in the first place then the plague ghosts would never have got out! I reckon they’ve been lucky!”

The MacArthur and Lord Rothlan exchanged amused glances. They had both taken a liking to Wullie and had made quite sure that in facing up to the Plague People and saving the citizens of Edinburgh from the Black Death that he had been suitably and adequately rewarded.

“Talking of people being lucky,” the MacArthur smiled at Neil and Clara, “I think there are two
very
lucky children here because all of the presents under the tree are our gifts to you for Christmas.”

Neil and Clara looked delighted but eyed one another awkwardly, nevertheless. What about Lewis? Were there no presents for him?

“We’d like you to take them home and keep them until Christmas Day,” Lady Ellan added, smiling understandingly at their discomfort, “so that you open them at the same time as Lewis.”

Neil grinned. He might have known that they wouldn’t
forget
Lewis.

“We’ve been doing a little scheming,” Lord Rothlan
admitted
, placing an arm round Lewis’s shoulders.

“You see, we can’t actually give you presents to take home, Lewis,” Lady Ellan said, “because your parents would wonder where they came from, but we
have
cast a spell so that you’ll have quite a few more gifts than usual. I hope that’s all right?”

“Thank you,” Lewis said gratefully, feeling touched that they’d gone to so much trouble on his behalf.

The Sultan then stood up and beckoning Neil and Clara
forward
, held out two small packages wrapped in scarlet paper. “The MacArthur, Lord Rothlan and I,’ he smiled, “have decided to give you each a very special, magic gift. Now that you’ve become so involved in our world we felt it suitable and sensible to give you some protection against its dangers.”

Their excited smiles faded at the seriousness of his voice and their faces became attentive. “Thank you, your majesty,” they said, looking somewhat doubtfully at the brightly-wrapped gifts.

“Open them, then,” urged Lady Ellan with a smile. “They won’t bite you, I promise!”

Hands trembling slightly, they tore off the wrapping paper to reveal small velvet boxes. They both knew what they were. Ring boxes. Clara flipped open the lid of her box and her face fell as she looked at the ring inside. She glanced across at Neil, who didn’t look too impressed, either. They’d expected something bright, sparkling and exciting, not this plain band of rather dull silver. “Is it a magic ring?” she queried, trying to hide her disappointment as her eyes met those of the Sultan.

“I know they don’t look very special,” the Sultan apologised, his eyes twinkling as he glanced at Lord Rothlan and the MacArthur who were grinning broadly, “but they’re made from a very special metal and I’m afraid there’s not a lot we can do to improve their appearance.”

“What do they do?” Clara asked, curiously.

“Well … if you wear the ring on this finger,” the Sultan said, indicating the third finger of Clara’s right hand, “then nothing will happen, but if you slip it onto the ring finger of your
left
hand … why don’t you try it on and see for yourself.”

“Okay,” Clara smiled a trifle nervously as she lifted the ring carefully from its box, slipped it onto the third finger of her left hand — and immediately disappeared.

“Clara!” her mother sprang to her feet. “Clara? Where are you?”

“I’m still here, Mum,” Clara’s voice said, “Wow! I … I think I’ve just become invisible! This is fantastic! Neil! Lewis! Can you see me?” She reached out and Lewis jumped as he felt her hand grab his arm. It was the weirdest thing.

Neil’s heart lifted excitedly as he looked around, trying to see the slightest trace of Clara. “Come on, Neil,” her voice urged, “try yours on! It’s amazing! The magic rings make us invisible!”

She watched as Neil slipped his ring onto his finger and promptly vanished as well.

“Crumbs,” Neil said, walking round, “this is great! It gives you a strange feeling, though, doesn’t it? Everybody looks … not quite real, somehow.”

She nodded and then remembered that he couldn’t see her. “Yes,” she agreed, “it’s … well … magicky. I can’t see
you
at all now but I can see mum, dad and everyone else through a sort of gauze … like a thin veil.”

“Well, we can’t see
you
through a veil,” her father said. “We can’t see you at all — not even a shadow.”

“There are one or two things to remember about the rings,” the Sultan said with a smile, “but we’ll tell you all about them later. Nothing at all to worry about,” he assured them, catching a glimpse of Mrs MacLean’s face.

“Could you take the ring off, now, Clara,” her mother said, trying not to sound too concerned. “I want to see you appear again!”

“To see if it works both ways, you mean,” said Neil.

“Don’t worry about the children, Janet,” the Sultan smiled, “they’ll come to no harm.”

Clara pulled off her ring and, transferring it to the third
finger
of her right hand, materialized the minute the switch was made. “Thank you, your majesty,” she said, giving the Sultan a really delighted smile. “Honestly, I’ve never had a more
wonderful
present!”

“Absolutely brilliant,” agreed Neil as he, too, pulled the ring from his finger. Never, in his wildest dreams had he expected anything like this. Magic rings! They were truly wonderful gifts but what meant more to him was the fact that the Sultan was
trusting them with real magic.

“What if we lose the rings, though?” Clara looked at the Sultan worriedly. Her mother was always getting on to her about being untidy.

“You won’t lose them,” the Sultan shook his head. “Prince Casimir and I have seen to that.”

Still thrilled at the thought of such a marvellous present, Neil spread his fingers and looked at it in wonder. He owned a magic ring! How cool was that!

Casimir now stood up and came forward. “I have a ring for you, too, Lewis,” he said kindly, handing him a similar box to the ones the Sultan had given Neil and Clara, “a different kind of ring, but equally useful!”

Lewis tore the wrapping paper off and, as Neil and Clara peered over his shoulder, opened the ring box carefully.

“How lovely,” Clara said. “It’s beautiful, Lewis!”

“Thank you, Prince Casimir,” Lewis said quietly, “thank you very much.” He knew just by looking at it that this was a very special ring and one that he would never be parted from. It was much more ornate than the silvery bands that decorated Neil and Clara’s fingers. It was a ring of tiny interlacing gold snakes.

Lord Rothlan raised his eyebrows as he and the MacArthur exchanged glances. They knew the significance of the ring even if Lewis didn’t.

“It’s a magic ring as well and,” Casimir added dryly, “you won’t ever lose it because I’ve hexed it to stay with you. I know how you leave things lying around all over the place.”

“Will it grant me wishes, like you did?” Lewis asked.

Casimir smiled. “No, but it will protect you from harm and if you are ever in dire trouble, Lewis, I will come to your aid.”

The sincerity in his voice brought tears to Lewis’s eyes and Casimir smiled as he slipped the ring on his finger.

As the MacLeans crowded round to admire Lewis’s ring,
Casimir turned to look at Kitor. “I still have two presents to give,” he announced gravely, “and the first one is for Kitor.”

Kitor had been sitting very quietly on the Ranger’s
shoulder
all evening, trying to avoid Casimir’s glance. He knew the prince had noticed him and had asked about him for he’d seen him talking to Lord Rothlan and to Clara. They must have told him how he had lied to Prince Kalman to save Clara’s life. He hoped that Casimir understood that he just couldn’t have seen her killed by a thunderbolt.

The prince held his arm out. “Come, Kitor!” he commanded.

Everyone watched as Kitor flew to the prince. The poor bird was trembling as he flapped across the cave but one glance into the prince’s eyes, reassured him.

“This, Kitor, is your present from me,” Casimir said, gesturing towards the magic mirror.

Nothing happened for a few seconds and then the mirror rippled as a crow flew through it. Kitor’s heart missed a beat. It couldn’t be! Surely it couldn’t be Cassia?

“Come, Cassia,” the prince said, and she flew to him and perched beside Kitor.

Had everyone not started to clap, Kitor would most certainly have burst into tears. As it was, he fluttered his wings happily and the two birds sailed into the air and swooped round the cavern in delight at being together again.

There were tears in Clara’s eyes, however, as she ran up to Casimir. “You couldn’t have given Kitor a more wonderful present, Prince Casimir!” she said, wiping her eyes. “He’s so happy!”

Kabad’s name was called next and as the little water goblin moved shyly forward, Prince Casimir smiled gently and
presented
him with a small, slim spear. Kabad’s eyes shone as he stammered his thanks. Everyone clapped as he hefted it in his hand; the balance was perfect and the steel tip shone, gleaming
and sharp. Tears shone in his eyes as he bowed low to the prince. It was all that he needed to make life ideal for there were fish in his loch and now he could go hunting.

As Neil and Clara fussed round the little water goblin, admiring his spear, Lewis drew Prince Casimir to one side. “I’m glad that I went to Al Antara that night,” he said, quietly. “I can’t believe it only happened a few months ago — Jack, Colin and Peter seem like silly kids now and yet I was always so anxious to impress them! They must have thought me a real moron!”

“They’re still young, Lewis. But like you, they’ll be more sensible when they’re older. You’ll be fine now and you’ll enjoy your new school, I’m sure.”

Lewis suddenly burst out laughing. “You’ll never believe it, Casimir, but I came out top in their entrance exam and the Headmaster said he’d never known a boy of my age with such an excellent knowledge of Scottish history! Mum and Dad were over the moon!” He paused. “And so was I,” he said honestly. “I’d never have done it if I’d stuck to comics!”

“So all the reading we did in the Robinson’s library was of use after all, then?”

“Yes, but it
was
interesting, Casimir. You know, when I grow up, I think I’d like to have a library like the Robinsons.”

Casimir looked into the future and he smiled at Lewis. “You will, Lewis,” he said. “You will.”