JOSEPH SPUN ROUND, trying to locate the voice.
‘Grubb! Grubb! Over here, you stupid mongrel.’
He crept closer to the cages. There, shaking the bars with his tiny fists, was a fairy. He was glowing in the darkness, his wings twitching with impatience. He wore a tiny waistcoat, jacket and breeches, and he had spiky hair and sparkling eyes.
Joseph recognized him at once.
‘Slik!’
The last time they’d met, Slik had been peering out from inside a glass bottle, screaming insults as the troll twins took him away to the Brig. He’d been Captain Newton’s old messenger fairy until he betrayed the Watch and joined forces with a dangerous shapeshifter. In other words, he was probably the least trustworthy fairy in Port Fayt – and that took some doing.
‘Mongrel! Am I glad to see you.’
Joseph frowned. So far as he knew, the fairy had never before been pleased to see him. Not when they first met, and certainly not when Joseph and the watchmen had shown up to arrest him.
‘Hello, Slik.’
‘Come to let me out, have you? About stinking time, if you ask me. I never did anything wrong, see, just sticking up for myself. Folk like us have to do that, don’t we? Put-upon folk who aren’t treated right. Me a fairy and you a mongrel.’
‘Um …’
‘Well, come on then. Get this cage open.’
‘We’re not here to rescue you.’
The fairy’s face clouded over, and he began to mutter angrily under his breath.
‘Maybe you could help though,’ Joseph added quickly. ‘Do you know a person called Pallione?’
Slik stopped muttering and peered up at him. A sly smile spread across his face.
‘What if I do?’
‘We’re looking for her. It’s really important we find her because … Well, it’s complicated. But if we don’t find her, it could be the end of Port Fayt.’
‘Pallione the mermaid? The King’s daughter?’
Joseph felt his heart beat a little faster.
‘That’s her! You know where she is?’
‘Aye, I know where she is. And what’s more, I’ll tell you too. Right after you get me out of here.’
Joseph licked his lips and shot a look back down the corridor. Tabitha and the troll were busy talking through the bars to an elderly ogre with a wooden leg. Meanwhile the clamour from the other fairies was drowning out his conversation with Slik.
Should he do it? It would only take a moment. Slik wasn’t exactly honest, but it was clear that he really did know who Pallione was. And if he knew that, maybe he knew where to find her, just like he’d said. On the other hand, if they were caught smuggling him out … Joseph remembered the cudgel blows the troll had dealt out and shuddered.
‘Come on, Grubb,’ said Slik. ‘Look at me. Look at this cage they keep us in. Barely big enough for a rat. Fairies are meant to fly, mongrel. You know that. And the sugar they give us … Don’t get me started on the sugar. Infested with weevils, and only a lump every two days. We’re criminals? No, Grubb, this is criminal. This whole ship. And the worst of it is—’
‘All right,’ hissed Joseph. ‘I’ll do it. How do I …? I mean, I don’t have a key.’
Slik rolled his eyes.
‘Maw’s teeth, you don’t need a key. This cage is built for fairies, you idiot mongrel. You might be weedy but you’re a sight bigger than us. Just pull it open.’
Joseph took another quick glance at the troll to check that his back was turned. Then he curled his fingers around the thin metal bars of the cage and tugged. It was stiff, but he felt it give a little. He tugged harder. And harder. He looked back at the jailer.
‘Put your back into it,’ demanded Slik. ‘I’ll tell you if that crazy troll’s coming.’
Joseph gritted his teeth and pulled again. This time there was a creak as the metal came loose. He took a deep breath and pulled one last time, as hard as he could. With a rusty screech, the cage door came clear.
Before he could reach inside, Slik had darted out through the gap and dropped down into his pocket, clinging to the fabric and glowing softly. The fairy put a finger to his lips and his light died away almost entirely.
Joseph pushed the cage door back into place and walked away from the screaming fairies. They’d seen what had happened, but thankfully they couldn’t get any louder than they were before anyway.
Tabitha turned to glare at him as he approached.
‘Where’ve you been? Keep up. We got nothing from the ogres. Going to try some of the prisoners further down.’
‘Right,’ said Joseph, eyeing the troll. ‘Actually, I’m not feeling all that well. I think maybe we should leave now.’
The troll’s brow wrinkled. Tabitha scowled.
‘We can’t go. We need to find out where that mermaid is, remember? So the merfolk will fight on our side. And so they’ll let Hal and the Bootle twins go. That ring any bells?’
‘Yes, but, I mean, I’m sure we’ll find her anyway.’
He felt sweat prickle on his brow. He had always been a terrible liar.
Tabitha narrowed her eyes.
‘What’s going on?’
‘What? Nothing! I, er …’ He turned to the troll. ‘Would you, um, give us a minute?’
The troll raised an eyebrow, then turned on his heel with a swish of petticoats and strode away to break up a fight between a pair of goblin prisoners.
‘What in Thalin’s name—?’ began Tabitha, but she stopped as Joseph opened his pocket. Slik winked at her from inside. ‘This snotbag? Are you joking? He’s got to be the least—’
‘He knows,’ said Joseph. ‘I thought … Well, it’s a lead, isn’t it?’
Tabitha looked for a moment as if she was about to hit him. Then finally her expression softened into an almost-smile.
‘All right, it’s a lead. Not bad. For a tavern boy.’
Joseph grinned. ‘Thanks. And thanks for keeping that troll busy.’
Slik sniggered and made smooching noises from his pocket. Joseph covered him up, his cheeks burning.
‘Let’s get out of here,’ said Tabitha quickly. She turned and called to the troll. ‘That’s enough for one day. We’ll come back later.’
The jailer cracked the goblins’ heads together and let them sink to the floor. ‘Good,’ he said. ‘Time for some more tea.’
He led them back through the barred door, locking it behind them. Together they wound their way through the wooden corridors of the Brig, until at last they reached the living room. The cake still sat on the table, untouched except for the two slices the troll had eaten earlier.
‘We’ll be off now,’ said Tabitha stiffly.
‘Thanks for all your help,’ said Joseph. ‘Enjoy your cake.’
There was a sudden squirming in his pocket, and he instantly regretted saying that. Slik struggled upright and popped his head above the edge of the pocket, tiny nose quivering as he sniffed. Joseph moved his hand to conceal the fairy.
‘I will enjoy it,’ said the troll. ‘It is good cake.’
The earthy-sweet smell of it was wafting into their nostrils now. Slik leaned past Joseph’s hand and Joseph tried to push him back down into his pocket.
‘Seed cake,’ the troll carried on. ‘Very good. Lots of honey in it.’
‘Go on,’ said Tabitha, her eyes shining with hunger. Not helpful, Tabs.
‘Butter too. Eggs. Seeds. And, most important … lots and lots of sugar.’
Slik wriggled free and darted for the cake.
The troll was lightning quick. His cudgel was out in a trice and slamming down towards the fairy. The first blow struck the table, making it shudder. The second smashed the mug, scattering bits of broken pottery and splattering cold tea everywhere. Slik was on top of the cake now, and the troll raised his cudgel a third time.
‘No, wait,’ called Joseph. ‘Not the—’
The cudgel whistled down, and the thud of its impact was muffled by sponge. The cake exploded, golden crumbs flying in every direction.
‘GAAAAAAAGH!’ yelled the troll, as if it was his own heart he’d just beaten to a pulp. Slik was airborne, licking his lips, his tiny arms wrapped around a large chunk of cake.
The troll’s gaze shifted from the fairy to Joseph and Tabitha. The ones who’d let this thief out of his cell …
‘Run,’ croaked Tabitha.
Joseph bolted out of the room, his cutlass banging against his legs as he raced towards the door that led back to the beach. Slik buzzed overhead with his cake and Tabitha pushed past, reaching up with one hand and somehow managing to snag the fairy’s legs and tug him down. She crammed him into her coat pocket and fumbled to do up the buttons, ignoring Slik’s muffled complaints.
Joseph heard the heavy footsteps of the troll coming after them. He ran faster. There was a swish of air at his back as the cudgel swung dangerously close.
Tabitha threw open the door and leaped down the steps.
The troll was taking aim again. Joseph ducked as the cudgel sailed overhead, thwacking into the wooden wall of the corridor. He sprang forward, out of the door.
The tide had come in, and the bottom of the steps was awash with seawater. Joseph skipped down into it, feeling the waves soak through his shoes instantly. He kept moving, panting, not looking back, dreading the next blow. The blow that would smash his brains out. But no blow came. He stumbled out of the surf onto the hard wet sand. Tabitha was just ahead, running up the beach, each footstep sinking deep.
Joseph chanced a look back. The troll was gone. What the … ? And then he saw the jailer standing on the steps of the Brig just above the water, holding his skirts up and frowning at the waves.
‘The dress …’ said Tabitha. She had collapsed onto the sand ahead, gasping for air. ‘He doesn’t … want to … get it wet.’
The troll ventured down a step, then thought better of it. He scowled at them. At last he swept back inside and slammed the door behind him.
Joseph could have almost cried with relief. He sank down next to Tabitha, his shoes waterlogged and full of sand, his muscles aching from running.
‘You all right?’ she asked.
‘Just about.’
They lay there in silence except for their panting and the sounds of Slik gorging himself on his bit of cake inside Tabitha’s pocket.
‘So where now?’ asked Joseph finally.
‘Bootles’,’ agreed Tabitha. ‘I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.’