Alfie landed on his backside right outside Number Ten. Red Robe appeared beside him at the exact same moment with his hand still on his shoulder. The policeman standing guard at the door opened and closed his mouth like a goldfish, then snapped out of it and scrambled to grab his radio.
“CODE ONE! INTRUDERS INSIDE EXCLUSION ZONE!”
Two other officers were already running in their direction from the black iron gates that blocked off one end of Downing Street.
“DON’T MOVE! ARMED POLICE!” they screamed, raising machine guns.
Red Robe pulled Alfie to his feet.
“I don’t know how you just did that,” said Alfie, “but I wish you’d landed us further away!”
Red Robe took his hand and gripped it tight. “Don’t let go. This might make you a little dizzy."
Gunfire erupted, but in the same split-second they disappeared again. Alfie gasped as they reappeared slap bang in in the middle of the busy road on the other side of the iron gates. An open-topped bus was bearing down on them, the driver leaning on the horn, and waving in panic behind the windscreen as the brakes screamed. Alfie screwed his eyes shut and braced for impact. But the next thing he knew he had landed with Red Robe on a quiet rooftop overlooking the road they had been standing in a moment before.
“Sorry about that,” said his saviour as he pulled Alfie away from the edge and, gliding ahead of him like a ghost, led him through a maze of air ducts, gutters and flagpoles. Across the rooftops of Whitehall, Big Ben chimed the hour. “I can only blink-shift to a place I can see.”
“Blink-shift?” asked Alfie, wary.
The leering, bug-eyed mask Red Robe was wearing was kind of freaking him out. Now that Alfie was up close, he could see it was carved out of some kind of wood and painted in faded silver and gold.
“Yeah, blink-shift. I made it up. Easier than saying ‘teleportation spell’. But it’s more like stepping stones than one giant leap,” Red Robe replied. They’d reached a fire escape on the other side of the building. “You’ll be all right from here, won’t you?”
Alfie grabbed Red Robe’s arm before he could disappear again. “Wait. Why have you been watching me? Why did you help me?”
Red Robe stroked the chin of his carved, monstrous mask. “Look, I’m supposed to be somewhere else…”
“Come on, it’s not like it’ll take you long to get there, is it?”
Red Robe laughed. “Fair enough. Well, the reason I helped you is easy. Anything for a friend, Alfie-bet!”
He removed the grinning mask to reveal a face that was very familiar to Alfie. “TONY?!” Alfie whipped off his own armour and gaped at his friend in shock.
“But, how did you—? When did you—? You’re so tall!”
“Yeah, I have a little help with that.”
Tony pulled back his embroidered red cloak to reveal that he was in fact hovering two feet in the air on a curious-looking ornate green disc with a hole in the middle. On its outer edge was carved a dense pattern of Chinese characters.
“You have a hoverboard. Cool,” Alfie said.
“Ha, you’re funny, Alfie. It’s the chuán guó xi. The Heirloom Seal of the Realm. Been in my family for centuries.”
They sat down together on top of an air-conditioning unit, listening to the sirens of the police cars that were flooding the streets below. Alfie looked at his friend, amazed.
“So you didn’t know I was a blue blood too, huh?” Tony said.
“Are you kidding? I thought your dad was a banker.”
“He is. But a hundred years ago his great-great-grandfather was Emperor of China. After they ditched the monarchy our family changed its name and moved away. But our family’s powers must have stuck around.” Tony shrugged. “I’ve been blink-shifting since I was three years old. We got through so many nannies.”
Alfie smiled, amazed. “You knew all along that I was a superhero, but you didn’t say anything?”
“It’s kind of complicated.”
“Yeah, tell me about it. Tony, there’s something else you should know. Richard – he’s not who he seems to be, he’s…” Alfie’s voice faltered.
“The Black Dragon, I know. Bummer or what?” Tony surprised Alfie with a fierce hug. “I’m sorry I can’t tell you everything. But it’s classified.”
“Classified?” Alfie smiled, half laughing, half-annoyed. “I am the king, you know.”
“I made a promise to someone super important that I wouldn’t tell you anything. Sorry, Alfa-betty spaghetti.” Tony pulled his staring-eye mask back on, gathered his red cloak around him and drifted to the edge of the roof. “But don’t worry, I’ll never be far away.”
“Hey, what do I call you now? You know, the other you?” Alfie asked.
“They call me Qilin. Like ‘Kill-in’ but with a Q. See you around, Mr Shiny-White-Armour-Man-on-a-Ghost-Horse.”
“Yeah, that’s easier.”
Qilin gazed to the horizon, and with a pop, disappeared into thin air. Alfie thought he saw him rematerialize on a distant rooftop for a moment and wave back, before vanishing again.
LC’s voice crackled in Alfie’s ears – his radio and helmet-cam were coming back online.
“Majesty! Thank goodness! How did you escape?”
“I had a little help, actually.”
“Help? From whom?”
“A new friend. Well, old friend really, I’ll fill you in later. Has Yeoman Seabrook fetched Ellie yet?”
“He encountered some heavy traffic on the way to Wimbledon, Majesty. But he’ll be with her soon.”
“Alfie, if it’s all about to kick off,” Hayley interrupted. “You should really get back here.”
Alfie knew he should be putting the country first right now, but it felt like his family was falling apart again, just like it did when his parents split up. He had to cling on to what was left.
“No. I’m going to get Ellie myself. I won’t be long.”
Alfie summoned Wyvern and rocketed off the rooftop.