The monstrous beings on the drawbridge pressed forward, carrying Princess Pretty and Barbara with them. Squirrels shrieked and scattered. Sly, his fur standing on end, leaped aside just in time to avoid being trampled.
The monsters had begun to chitter, roar and howl. Their feet clattered on the boards of the drawbridge as they swarmed past the queen.
They were no longer phantoms. The Key had made them real, and more ghastly creations of the Blue Queen’s imagination had begun pouring through the castle doors into the light – wasp-like beasts with vast, glittering eyes, hideous figures with human bodies and crocodile heads, shambling jelly-like creatures, as pale as if they had just crawled from under a stone…
The little dog that was Mimi struggled against her chain and whined piteously as the monsters passed. Leo couldn’t move. He couldn’t speak. The horror was too great. The knowledge of what he had done to unleash this terror on his friends, on Rondo, froze him to the bone.
The monster horde surged towards the witches and wizards, the witnesses, the quest team, driving them from the hill top, down towards the plain. Screams filled the air as the witnesses fled, many stumbling and falling. The strongest among them tried to help the weakest escape by holding the monsters back with whatever weapons they had, but the sheer weight of enemy numbers combined with the steepness of the slope made the task hopeless. Even Tye, her jewelled knife flashing, a trail of fallen beasts behind her, could do little more than save herself from being overwhelmed. The witches and wizards were shouting and gesturing as they ran, but they were as panic stricken as everyone else, and their half-completed defence spells trembled and fell to ruin beneath the pursuing monsters’ feet.
The crowd had almost reached the bottom of the hill when the queen suddenly laughed uproariously. ‘Look, George!’ she shrieked, pointing. ‘The brave citizens of Rondo have come to save their heroes! Oh, how delicious ! My army will feed well this day! ‘
And Leo’s stomach turned over as he saw that the plain was no longer bare. Figures of every shape and size were crowding over the queen’s border and running towards the hill.
Many were people and creatures Leo knew or had seen before. Many more were strangers. Some were carrying rusty swords, a few had bows and arrows, and Peg from the camping shop, towering over the rest of the group from town, was wielding an enormous axe, but most were armed with sticks, pitchforks, hammers, knives and even pans snatched up from their kitchens.
Leo’s eyes stung as he saw face after familiar face in the crowd. There was Scribble the reporter, carrying a notebook and writing as he ran. There was Suki, her skirts kilted up, her coal-black hair tied back with a red bandanna, striding along clutching a hatchet. There was Crabclaw the coast witch, dipping and weaving on her broom, the Crystal King leading a horde of guards and a flock of princesses, Bun’s wife Patty looking fierce despite her white baker’s cap and apron, and Master Sadd the Hobnob gravedigger, who was brandishing his spade. Even Bodelia Parker, the owner of the Hobnob antique shop, was present, with her big black handbag in one hand and a furled umbrella in the other.
The tigers of Flitter Wood bounded on the eastern flank of the raggle-taggle army. The Ogre of Cruelcliff, plainly never one to miss a fight, whatever the cause, swaggered on the western flank, swinging a great polished club.
Crows wheeled above the crowd, cawing wildly. The crows had spread the word of the disaster. But they didn’t know about the Key. They didn’t know about the monster army. They didn’t know they had called the citizens of Rondo to a battle they could not win.
The fleeing witnesses reached the bottom of the hill and collided with the crowd of newcomers, who had only now seen the strength of the pursuing horde. Above the confusion of screams and growls, Leo could hear Peg bellowing, the Crystal Queen shrieking to Princess Pretty, the people of Hobnob crying out to Simon and Mayor Clogg, the ogre bawling curses, and Jim vainly trying to order Grandma to keep running as he turned to defend her.
Tye and Hal were fighting shoulder to shoulder, beating slavering beasts back. Beside them, Conker was lashing out with fists and boots at a wasp beast, and Freda was a brown streak above him, stabbing at the creature’s glittering eyes. Bertha, her blunt teeth bared, was charging recklessly at jelly-like monsters and tossing them aside. Wurzle, Zillah and Pandora had leaped onto the petrified dragon’s back and were hurling bolts of fire at the enemy, calling to the other witches and wizards to join them. The snarling tigers were bringing down crocodile-headed fighters one by one.
But as fast as the queen’s monsters were felled, more streamed from the castle, sped down the hill, and took their places. The Rondo forces, brave and determined as they were, could not possibly stand against so many.
Leo looked with loathing at the Blue Queen. She was clapping her hands, her face alive with gloating malice. With a wave of her hand she could use the power of the Key to blast her enemies to ash. She could turn them all to stone, like the dragon. She could change the course of the river and sweep them away.
But she wasn’t going to do any of those things, because they would be too quick, too sudden. She wanted to see her victims fight, and sorrow, and die. She was keeping them alive for the same reason she had kept Leo alive – so she could revel in their struggle, defeat and despair.
Leo felt the grip on his arm loosen slightly and jerked his head around to glare at Spoiler. Spoiler met his eyes uncertainly then quickly looked away.
‘You see what she is!’ Leo shouted at him. ‘You see what she’s doing!’
‘Don’t blame me,’ Spoiler said. ‘I’m not doing it, am I?’
‘But it’s happening because you’re letting it happen!’ Leo raged. ‘You’ve given her the power to do what she likes with Rondo, just so you can be rich and safe yourself ! What kind of life is that? She doesn’t care about you! She doesn’t care about anyone but herself! She’s just using you, and if she could get rid of you, she would. You know that!’
Without taking her eyes from the battle, the queen laughed. ‘Don’t waste your breath, Leo,’ she jeered. ‘George knows what you’re playing at. He knows you’re only trying to turn him against me to save yourself.’
‘Not himself.’ Spoiler moved uneasily, staring down at the battlefield. ‘Or not just himself. His friends. And Rondo. He’s fighting to save them, with the only weapon he has left.’
The queen stared at him. ‘Are you ill, George?’ she snapped.
‘I feel – strange,’ said Spoiler, and wet his lips.
The queen snorted with contempt and turned her back on him, the skirts of her midnight blue gown swirling like deep, shining water.
One wore the colour of the sand, and the other wore the colour of the sea…
An astounding thought flashed into Leo’s mind. His skin prickled. Heat rushed into his face.
Obviously the Blue Queen was the sister who always wore the colour of the sea. She had worn blue as a girl, and she wore blue still – it was her trademark. So the Tideseer had been the sister who always wore the colour of the golden sand.
And the Tideseer’s name was ‘Saffron’.
Leo pushed down his rising excitement. Deliberately he closed his eyes to the sight of the battle, and the monsters still streaming from the castle. He closed his ears to the screams and howls rising from the plain. He knew he had to think through the idea that had come to him. He had to think it through logically and carefully, because he would only have one chance to use it. He could not afford a mistake.
In Rondo, true names were kept secret from everyone but family and the most trusted of friends, because knowing someone’s true name gave you power over that person. This applied particularly to sorcerers, and others who lived by magic. Yet the Tideseer had given her name as part of her message to him.
She could have had only one reason for that. Her name was a clue.
I wonder what the Tideseer would have told us, if we’d asked the question she’s been waiting for?
What if the question the Tideseer had been waiting for, the question only she could answer, the question by which she could at last betray her murdering sister was: ‘What is the Blue Queen’s name?’
Saffron says the answer is India… India…
But the Blue Queen’s name isn’t ‘India’, Mimi, Leo thought, his heart beating fast. You didn’t hear that last word properly. I know that because Saffron –
Think it through. Make sure. You’ll only have one chance.
Once she realises what you’re doing…
The sounds of the battle rose. Leo shut them out. He kept his eyes closed. He made himself breathe slowly and evenly. He checked his reasoning, step by step.
Saffron was a yellow spice made of flower stamens, but it was the name of a colour, too – a rich, warm yellow.
The Artist had named Saffron after the colour of the yellow clothes she always wore. Wasn’t it very likely that Saffron’s sister had been named in the same way? Wasn’t it possible – probable – that the queen’s true, secret name was a word that in some way meant ‘blue’? And if so, what could it be but…
Telling himself to consider every alternative, Leo gritted his teeth and racked his brains. Azure, he thought. Navy. Peacock. Aquamarine. Royal blue. Baby blue. Midnight blue. Cyan. Bluebell. Forget-me-not. Hyacinth, Skye…
None of these sounded remotely like ‘India’. But the word he had thought of first certainly did – the word that meant deep, purplish blue, the word he had learned a long time ago, when his father told him the seven colours of the rainbow.
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet…
Leo opened his eyes.
‘Indigo!’ he said loudly.
The Blue Queen jolted as if she had been stung. The ogre’s mirror fell from her hand. She spun round, her eyes bulging, her mouth gaping. The castle doors swung shut with a crash.
‘Indigo!’ Leo said again, putting behind the name all the strength he could muster. ‘Stop this! Call your fighters back! Let the people go!’
The queen shuddered all over. Her face writhed as she fought for control. Spoiler stared at her in bewilderment. On the battlefield, the monsters froze where they stood. The Rondo fighters faltered, and looked up. The little dog chained to the drawbridge whined frantically.
Leo’s eyes were locked with the queen’s. Her pale green glare was cold with hatred. He could feel her recovering from her shock, summoning her strength, pitting her will against his.
And her will was terrible. It was like iron. Sweat broke out on Leo’s forehead. He could feel himself starting to tremble.
‘Do what I say, Indigo!’ It was difficult to speak. He’d had to force the words out, and with a stab of fear he heard that his voice had lost much of its power. It sounded fearful and weak – the voice of a pleading child.
The queen flinched and he felt a moment’s relief. Then the pressure came rushing back, hitting him with a force that rocked him back on his heels.
The breath stopped in his throat. He hadn’t thought this would be easy. He had known the queen would fight him. He had even known that he might not survive a battle of wills with her, though he’d tried not to think about that too much. But this… this was beyond anything he had imagined. He could feel his own will bending, bending until it seemed his mind must break, shatter into a thousand pieces. The strain – the pain – was agonising.
I can’t do this, Leo thought frantically. Maybe Mimi could have done it, but I can’t. I’m not ruthless enough. I’m not single-minded enough. I’ve tried, but it’s no use. I’ve gambled everything on a magic I still can’t quite believe in, and I’m not strong enough…
He saw a glitter deep in the queen’s eyes. She knew she was winning. He felt her will pressing him harder, harder. He felt his throat tighten and his mind begin to cloud. She was going in for the kill.
No, something deep inside him said. No!
He fought back. He fought doggedly, stubbornly, refusing to listen to fear and doubt, throwing his whole body and mind into the effort of simply resisting the pressure of the iron will that was trying to break him. Slowly, slowly, he felt himself gaining ground.
And when at last he felt he could speak again, he put everything he had into one, last effort. ‘Indigo, call off your troops,’ he said hoarsely. ‘Indigo, I call you by the name the Artist gave you, and order you to do as I say!’
The queen swayed as if buffeted by a gale. She fought for breath. Leo felt her grip on his mind loosen. Then with a wave of sick despair, he felt her clawing her way back. Her lips opened.
‘I… reject that name,’ she panted. ‘I am greater than that name. I have grown beyond it. I am all-powerful now. I have the Key to life and death. And I will use it to… destroy you – you and all who defy me!’
She thrust out her hand, reaching for the Key to Rondo.
But her fingers snatched at the empty air. Spoiler had stepped back, out of her reach. He was shaking his head. She stared at him, dumbfounded.
‘George!’ she said harshly. ‘I wish to use the Key!’
Spoiler looked terrified, and his heavy red face was gleaming with sweat, but he went on shaking his head. ‘No,’ he mumbled. ‘No more.’
Screaming, she sprang at him. The attack was so sudden, so violent, that Spoiler staggered. Her hands clawed at the pendant around his neck and tore it free of its chain. Spoiler gasped and tried to snatch the pendant back, but she was too fast for him. In the blink of an eye she was backing to her castle door, panting and clutching her prize to her chest like an animal fearful of losing a hard-won bone.
‘Now!’ she cried, her eyes blazing like pale fire. ‘Now, at last, the Key is mine alone ! Now, at last, it has passed forever from the control of oafish Langlanders into my hands ! Where it should be ! Where it should always have been! For who deserves absolute power more than the greatest and most beautiful one of all?’
Leo stared at her with fascinated disgust that for a moment overwhelmed his fear. She’s just the same now as when she was that vain, jealous girl who tried to kill her own sister so she would have no rival, he thought. She hasn’t changed at all.
The memory of a rumbling voice echoed in his mind. The voice of the Ancient One.
You have learned nothing since first the Artist painted you in your pride, Blue Queen. You have not grown. You have merely grown old.
Perhaps the queen saw in Leo’s face something of what he was thinking, for the mad glitter faded from her eyes, and her expression hardened. She glanced down at the battlefield. Flames caused by the fire bolts of the Seven leaped and crackled among the frozen monster troops. The Rondo fighters were still looking up, making no attempt to flee. The queen raised her eyebrows as if considering, then shook her head and turned back to Leo and Spoiler.
‘They can wait,’ she said. ‘I will begin my reign as owner of the Key by dealing with you two. Will I change you both into statues like the dragon? Or will I burn you like the willows? Let me think!’
She was toying with them, enjoying herself. Leo concentrated on keeping his face blank. He refused to give her the satisfaction of seeing his fear. No doubt she was hoping he and Spoiler would try to run, but there was no point in running. In a moment the queen would use the Key, and it would all be over. He could hear Spoiler moaning in terror, but the little dog by the drawbridge had fallen utterly silent.
‘Statues, I think,’ the queen said, tiring of her game at last. ‘You can stand at the entrance to my castle as a warning to others. Are you ready? Then let us begin!’
Clutching the pendant, she stared at Leo and Spoiler, concentrating on them, her lips curved in a smile of satisfaction, and weirdly it came into Leo’s mind that she had never looked so beautiful.
There was an instant of utter stillness. Then something very strange happened.
The pendant dropped from the queen’s fingers. Her smile grew fixed. Her eyes ceased to blink. Her body flattened, till she was no more than a flimsy cut-out picture of a woman, wavering slightly in the morning breeze.
And the next moment she was no longer standing before them, a living, breathing creature. She was merely a beautiful, exquisitely detailed painting on the castle door.