Vega Jane and the Maze of Monsters Page 11

  ‘It matters to me,’ I retorted.

  ‘I will tell you this, Vega. We created Wormwood. And then we managed the building of the Quag. And the decision was made to wipe away our history and replace it with another. We called ourselves Wugmorts.’ She paused. ‘Do you know why we chose that name?’

  I shook my head.

  ‘There is a plant that is universally considered bitter. It is called the Mugwort. We altered it slightly to Wugmort. The survivors carried that feeling of guilt, of bitterness, every time they uttered the word.’

  I sat forward, my mind filling with questions and possible connections. ‘I met a creature named Eon. Through him I went back in time. Not just into my past, but also further back. I was on a great battlefield. A female warrior, while she lay dying, gave me something she called the Elemental, which I could touch using the glove she also gave me. She knew my name. She said I had to survive. And she was in one of the paintings back in that room.’

  Astrea looked gobsmacked by this information. ‘You . . . you met her? As she lay dying?’

  ‘Yes. Who was she?’

  Astrea didn’t look nearly so formidable now. Her eyes held a faraway look, and I could see tears clutching at their corners. She said slowly in a trembling voice, ‘Her name was Alice Adronis, one of our greatest sorceresses and my dearest friend. The Elemental was her creation.’ She paused and swallowed. Astrea seemed to be trying very hard not to burst into tears. ‘She could only live as a victor or die as a warrior, could Alice.’

  ‘But why would she know my name? Why would she say I had to survive?’

  ‘I have no idea, Vega. I . . . I . . .’ She looked away.

  ‘What happened after that?’

  Astrea took a moment to compose herself. ‘As the first century went by, the magical powers with which we were imbued faded drastically. It was at that point that the decision was made to let them die completely.’

  ‘How do you let magic die?’ I said slowly. I didn’t know why, but I felt a great sense of loss at this.

  ‘By not using it. By not believing in it any more. Belief, having faith in something, is a very powerful thing, Vega. Perhaps the most powerful thing of all. And as the sessions went by and we started dying off, our descendants knew little of what we were. And finally, virtually no Wug in Wormwood knew anything of us at all, but accepted as their history the lies that had been created for them.’

  I took a deep breath, put aside my misery and told Astrea about the Adder Stone and Destin the chain and how I had come by them at Stacks.

  She nodded and said, ‘Stacks was the castle of our leader, Bastion Cadmus.’

  ‘You took his castle with you?’ I asked, wondering how this was possible. But, I supposed, magic made anything possible.

  ‘We had to create another place to live. Every bit was precious to us.’

  ‘And the Stone? And Destin?’

  ‘Objects possessed by Bastion.’

  ‘And the Quag? And what we were told about it? You haven’t explained that.’

  ‘I have no need to explain it,’ she said, her tone sharp again.

  ‘But why are you here?’ I asked.

  ‘I am, quite simply, the Keeper of the Quag.’

  ‘So, you had your family here with you at the cottage?’

  ‘Yes. Archie’s father, Thomas, and I came to live here with our sons and daughters.’ She paused and I could see her features soften, just a tiny bit. ‘Thomas never did take the elixir. He was the first of us to go. After Archie passes, it will just be me.’

  ‘Why do you stay here, then?’

  Her eyes flashed. ‘It’s my duty, Vega. I gave an oath as Keeper and I mean to keep it.’

  She rose, came around the desk and stood next to me. I tried to imagine her as more than eight centuries old, older than poor dying Archie, but I couldn’t.

  ‘How much did you know about your grandfather?’ she asked.

  ‘He was very nice. But stubborn too.’

  ‘He was far more than that. He was an Excalibur.’

  ‘A what?’

  ‘Those who are born with their magical powers intact and an innate and profound knowledge and understanding of our real history embedded in their minds. They are terribly rare, but he was one of them.’

  ‘My grandfather left Wormwood.’

  ‘I know he did.’

  ‘And no one could stop him leaving?’

  ‘Excaliburs do not carry a sign on their foreheads proclaiming them as such. It was only after he left that we truly became aware of what he was and could do.’

  ‘So, you saw this, what, through your Seer-See?’

  ‘Yes.’

  I felt my anger rising. ‘Then I suppose you saw my parents disappear in a ball of flames? Did you see me crying my heart out? Did you see that, Astrea Prine?’

  Her gaze never wavered. ‘I did, Vega. I did indeed.’

  ‘Well, good for you!’

  I was halfway to the door when she called out.

  ‘Do you know where they went, Vega?’

  I slowly turned and looked at her questioningly. ‘No, I don’t. But I believe they’re beyond the Quag. I don’t know exactly where, and I don’t understand how my grandfather could leave Wormwood without ever having to step one foot into the Quag.’

  ‘Leaving Wormwood and bypassing the Quag would have been easy enough for someone like him.’

  ‘And my parents?’

  ‘Virgil summoned them.’

  ‘Summoned them? Why?’

  ‘Did he never talk to you about it?’ she said fiercely. ‘Tell me the truth!’

  ‘No, never,’ I said, taken aback by her harsh tone.

  ‘You do not know of his plans? Tell me if you do. Tell me!’

  I took a step back, for her face had twisted into a furious mass.

  ‘I have heard nothing from my grandfather since he left,’ I said calmly. ‘And he never told me anything about any plans. All he ever told me was . . . that he loved me.’

  This was a lie, of course. My grandfather had said that the most bitterly awful place of all is one that Wugmorts don’t know is as wrong as wrong can possibly be. I had no idea what he was talking about then. But now I did.

  Her expression became normal once more and she sat behind her desk and steepled her hands in front of her. ‘I think that is enough for one night. At next light, we will fetch your friend. And then all will be right again.’

  She smiled at me in a way that made my skin crawl.

  I walked slowly back to my room, wondering who I really was and concluding that I was nothing. If Astrea was right, my grandfather had been able to leave Wormwood because he was magical, this Excalibur thing in fact. And he had summoned my parents to join him, which showed that he could bring others to him if he so desired. But he hadn’t summoned me. He had left me behind, in Wormwood. He apparently considered me of no importance whatsoever.

  So, no matter whether I made it through the Quag or died here, I was nothing. Sometimes the truth helps. Sometimes it hurts.

  And sometimes it destroys you.

  17

  REUNITED

  The next light, Harry Two and I found the kitchen by following the smell of food. Seamus and Astrea were already there. She was standing in front of an enormous and ancient blackened stove where several fat pots sat bubbling and two skillets were sizzling.

  ‘I hope you’re hungry,’ Astrea said to me.

  ‘I am. And I’m sure Delph must be famished.’

  She shot me a glance. ‘I suppose you would like to break bread together?’

  ‘I would, yes, please. I really, really would.’

  ‘Well, then let’s be off,’ she said decisively.

  She moved so quickly that Harry Two and I barely had time to react. A cloak appeared out of thin air and settled neatly around her shoulders as she headed down the hall. We hurried after her, with Seamus bringing up the rear.

  The front door opened of its own accord and we all passed t
hrough it. The green dome remained over the cottage although through it I could see that the sky was now clear and bright. She passed through the emerald wall and we scurried after her.

  She took out of her cloak pocket something that looked like a shiny stick and pointed it at the sky. Her lips moved, though I couldn’t hear the words coming out of her mouth. A few moments later, Delph hurtled across the clear sky, still asleep and still inside the web that Astrea had configured last night. He settled gently upon the ground in front of us, curled up and snoring. Astrea gave a final wave of the stick, and the web, which I could see as a number of lines of vivid lights, disappeared. As we watched, Delph started to wake up, stretched, yawned, opened his eyes and . . .

  ‘Holy Steeples!’ he yelled as he jumped nearly three feet in the air before landing upright, poised ready to fight.

  ‘Delph!’ I cried out and launched myself at him, squeezing him tightly.

  But Delph, while he hugged me back, was still staring warily at Astrea.

  ‘It’s OK, Delph,’ I said. ‘This is Astrea Prine.’

  Delph was obviously mightily confused by what was happening. Well, I knew what would take his mind off that. I said, ‘Are you hungry? We’re about to take a meal in Astrea’s cottage.’

  As I knew he would, Delph focused very quickly. ‘Well, that sounds all right, then, eh?’ he said.

  I led Delph towards the emerald light, which he drew back from until I walked through it and beckoned him to follow. As we approached the cottage, Astrea gazed up at my tall friend.

  ‘So, you’re Daniel Delphia.’

  ‘I am,’ he said, shooting me a quizzical look. ‘Friends call me Delph.’

  ‘And you’re travelling with this one?’ she said, hooking a thumb at me.

  ‘I am,’ Delph said again.

  Astrea turned and headed into the cottage with Seamus without another word.

  When she had gone, I squeezed Delph so tightly I thought my arms might fall off and I felt tears rise to my eyes, ‘You’re all right, Delph. I . . . I was so scared. That cloud. You just disappeared.’

  He hugged me back and said, ‘I was talking to you and then the next thing I know, I’m in the middle of some trees with no idea how I got there. What happened to you?’

  ‘After you vanished, we went looking for you and met a hob named Seamus. He took me to Astrea’s cottage.’

  ‘And how’d I get back here?’

  ‘I’ll explain everything, but it’s going to take a while. So, be patient.’

  ‘Well, let me eat first and then I’ll be more patient.’

  We held hands all the way to the cottage. Part of me didn’t want to ever let go of Delph. I had lost my parents and my brother. I could not lose Delph. I just couldn’t.

  I led him into the kitchen, where Seamus was already seated in a chair by the stove, on which the pots and skillets were still bubbling and sizzling, respectively.

  ‘So, who’s the little bloke?’ Delph asked as he sat down.

  ‘Seamus, the hob I mentioned.’

  ‘Hob?’

  ‘Remember, in Quentin’s book. A hob!’

  ‘Oh, right. Helpful blokes.’

  ‘Well, actually, he isn’t really all that helpful,’ I whispered.

  Astrea had swept off her cloak and hung it on a wall peg and now was once more overseeing the stove. She called out, ‘Vega, please set the table.’

  This puzzled me for a moment before I figured what I needed to do. ‘Plates, cups, goblets, forks, knives and napkins. Please,’ I tacked on at the end.

  Delph nearly fell out of his chair when all these things came plummeting from the ceiling to land softly on the table all lined up proper-like.

  ‘What the—’ he began.

  ‘And bowls,’ added Astrea. ‘And spoons.’

  The bowls and spoons alighted next to the plates, making Delph jump again.

  I put a calming hand on his arm. ‘Patience, remember?’ I noted that on the floor a pan of water had appeared in front of Harry Two, along with a bowl of food. He looked at me as though waiting for permission to begin. I smiled and nodded at him and he started to gobble and slurp.

  ‘’Tis ready,’ announced Astrea.

  She swept a hand across the pots and skillets and then pointed at the table. What was on the stove was thus transferred to our plates and bowls. We looked down and saw fried eggs and bacon and ham and brown toast and sausages and kippers, and porridge in our bowls as well. Jams, butter and honey pots also appeared in front of us. Our goblets were filled with milk. Our cups nearly brimmed over with hot tea.

  I looked at Astrea enquiringly. ‘Aren’t you eating too?’

  ‘I’ve not much of an appetite. You two eat. We’ll talk later.’

  She walked out of the room. Seamus followed.

  As we ate, I told Delph everything that had happened to me as well as what Astrea had told me about our past. As I did, his jaw dropped so low it was almost resting in his pile of smoked kippers, and his features turned sombre.

  He said, ‘It’s all rubbish, ain’t it? All we’ve known. All lies!’

  He was right. They were lies. But there was also truth out there somewhere. And we would find it.

  Or die trying.

  18

  TRAPPED

  After we finished eating, Astrea led us into the room located off the library. She sat behind her old desk, staring at us and drumming her fingertips on the wood. ‘I want to be sure that I understand your true and sincere intent,’ she said.

  Delph and I glanced at each other.

  I spoke up. ‘I thought I made that clear enough. We mean to get through the Quag. The three of us, including Harry Two, of course,’ I added, scratching his ear.

  She looked at Delph. ‘And you?’

  ‘Like Vega Jane said. We want the truth. Done with all the lies, ain’t we?’

  Astrea nodded and drew out the sticklike thing she had used to bring Delph here. I could now see that it was made of crystal.

  ‘What is that?’ I asked.

  ‘My wand. It is a necessary element to perform magic.’

  I said slowly, ‘I did a sort of magic back in Wormwood, but I had no wand.’

  ‘You mean with the Elemental or the chain,’ she said.

  ‘No, I made a window that was destroyed put itself back together.’

  ‘Indeed?’ said Astrea, looking quite interested in this.

  ‘Why would I be able to do that?’ I asked.

  ‘If power runs down the line, it touches all in that line.’

  ‘My parents couldn’t perform magic,’ I said emphatically.

  ‘And how do you know they couldn’t?’ she asked.

  ‘Well, they never did.’

  ‘That is not the same thing as being unable to.’

  ‘If my parents were powerful, why would they have been in the Care?’

  ‘Maybe the fact that they were powerful caused them to end up in the Care.’

  My brows knitted together as I thought over this strange possibility.

  ‘Are you saying their power made them sick?’

  ‘No, I’m saying that their power made them dangerous to others.’

  As the meaning of her words sunk in, I rose on quivering legs, my face flushed. ‘Do you mean to say . . . ?’ I faltered.

  Delph reached over and put a supportive hand on my shoulder.

  Astrea said, ‘That they were cursed to prevent them from escaping Wormwood? Yes, that is exactly what I mean.’

  My eyes flashed. ‘Morrigone! She’s the only one that could have done it.’

  ‘I agree,’ she said so casually that my suspicions soared.

  ‘And you knew about it!’ I yelled.

  ‘Of course I knew about it,’ she replied so calmly that I wanted to hit her. ‘Our goal was to stop anyone from leaving Wormwood.’

  ‘So, you had Morrigone curse my parents into . . . into . . . what they became?’

  ‘I saw what she did.’

 
‘You could have stopped it, then,’ I pointed out heatedly.

  ‘But I did not want your parents to use their power to escape.’

  Now I pounced. It was stupid, but I couldn’t help myself. ‘So, then, why are you helping us to escape the Quag?’ I demanded.

  ‘Who said that I was?’ she replied instantly.

  Suddenly, I read all in her look. How I had so misjudged her I didn’t know.

  Delph leaped up, grabbed my arm and yelled what I was thinking, ‘Run, Vega Jane!’

  Before I could even move, Astrea pointed her wand at Delph and said, ‘Elevata.’

  Delph soared up into the air, stopping right before he hit the ceiling. She gave her wand a bit of a wiggle and he spun upside down.

  My eyes wide and my heart racing, I said, ‘Stop that! Don’t hurt him. I’m the reason we’re here. Leave Delph alone. Please!’

  Astrea flicked the wand downward, uttered one word, ‘Descente,’ and Delph turned right side up and fell heavily into the chair.

  Astrea laid her wand upon the desk and stared at both of us expectantly.

  ‘I may not be what I once was, but let me assure you, my powers are still far beyond your comprehension.’ She paused, letting her words sink in. ‘You shall remain here in my custody.’

  ‘For how long?’ I snapped, though I well knew the answer.

  ‘For the rest of your lives,’ she said calmly. ‘It gives me no great pleasure to do this. You are obviously brave, and your motives are genuine and deeply felt, I’m sure.’

  ‘But?’ I exclaimed.

  ‘But as Keeper of the Quag, I have a job to do, and I mean to do it. Now, you will have the run of the cottage and the land inside the dome.’

  ‘And if we try to get past the dome?’ Delph asked.

  Despite him asking the question, Astrea’s gaze held on me. Her eyes seemed to swell to match the size of the room. ‘Not pleasant,’ she said. ‘At all.’

  I really couldn’t believe what was happening. We had escaped Thorne only to be imprisoned once again by this evil witch! And while Thorne was dangerous, he wasn’t magical. Astrea, to my mind, was a hundred times more formidable.

  Astrea rose, pocketed her wand, and without another word, she left the room.