ing Antlor was nothing like the brutish creatures of the wolf-pack or bear-clan. Twenty feet tall and towering above everyone, he moved with poised majesty. Lit up by the flicker of torches, he seemed like a thing of dreams, a spirit of the forest come alive. He had two powerful legs in gold-brown fur, hoofed at the bottom, and above them a human torso, lithe but muscular, with strong arms and a pair of impossibly broad shoulders. His face though was every inch a stag, the fur like spun gold at his neck and forehead. Above his ears were not one but three full sets of perfect white antlers, at least eight feet across. Somehow the torchlight seemed to brighten and dull again with every breath of the creature’s chest. Ned found him more terrifying than any of the Darklings he’d come across. They had been simmering rage, angry dogs of war, but the Stag King was a different kind of beast, alert animal intelligence, completely aware of everything around him and all the more frightening because of it.
As he led them to his throne, Benissimo turned to both Ned and Mr Fox. “King Antlor is a proud creature and noble, but do not forget his animal side. No sudden movements.”
“He’s terrifying! I’m not surprised the weirs all ran!” whispered Ned.
“They weren’t running from him.”
“Then who?” asked Ned, confused.
Benissimo looked away, his moustache and goatee clearly twitching with nerves. “If I tell you, do you promise to remain calm?”
Something went off in Ned’s head. It sounded like the ding of an alarm bell, only louder and broken.
“Bene, what have you done? What were they all so frightened of?”
But before Benissimo could answer, King Antlor spoke, the torches in the chamber flickering with his every word. “What lies beneath.”
Ned looked up to see that the Stag King had taken his seat on a throne of woven branches, and was looking right at him.
“Please, come closer,” King Antlor said, still looking at Ned.
As Ned and his small party approached the throne, more stag-men came out of the shadows till soon they were completely surrounded on every side.
Benissimo got down on one knee and bowed his head, and Mr Fox and Ned clumsily followed suit.
What exactly lay “beneath” and why had Ned been stupid enough to follow Benissimo without knowing more?
“We had almost given up on you,” continued the Stag King, and even though he barely raised his voice, it carried across the entirety of his stone courtroom.
“The boy has been hard to find,” answered the Ringmaster.
King Antlor breathed heavily through his nostrils, eyeing Ned intently. “Nothing good comes easily. Welcome, Engineer.”
Ned could barely speak. It wasn’t fear exactly – more like awe. As powerful and frightening as the Stag King and his herd were, he could almost smell the magic in their fur and he couldn’t help but marvel at it.
“Thank you, your, erm, Your Highness.”
Antlor nodded regally. “Word of your exploits has found its way to my cave more than once. We are all grateful to you, son of Armstrong.”
He then turned his attention to Mr Fox, his great dark eyes poring over him as though reading the page of a book. “You are human?”
“Mr Fox, of the BBB, Your Highness. And yes, I am a human.”
Antlor sniffed at the air sharply. “You smell of … nothing, no past, no magic – how sad for you. I was human once; I do not recall liking it very much.”
Before Mr Fox could work out how to respond, Benissimo addressed the courtroom solemnly. “I see it is true, Your Majesty – the forest is no longer your home.”
There was braying and the scraping of hooves from the rest of the herd and their king looked positively pained.
“We fought them for months, Ringmaster, but the world has gone mad and the grass we once walked on grown sickly and black. Now only what lies beneath keeps the dark ones at bay.”
Ned could feel his bones shake. What kind of creature was so bad, so positively frightening, that not even Demons and Darklings dare come near it?
“This is our sanctuary and our prison. The forest holds more metal than bark or bone, and the bears and wolves – our one-time allies – now hound us at every turn.”
“If my informant is right, Your Highness, the old one will have the answer to our woes.”
The old one! thought Ned, remembering what the Demon at Mavis’s had said. His skin prickled with something between excitement and fear.
“Pray your Demon speaks the truth! We will need more than arms and hooves to win this war.”
King Antlor rose from his throne. Towering over them now, he took the horn he’d blown earlier from his waist, before stooping down and passing it to Mr Fox. “Use this when you need us, josser – we will hear it and we will come.”
Ned wasn’t sure why he’d singled out Mr Fox, but when he looked at the BBB’s most prestigious operative he saw that the unflappable Mr Fox was in fact beginning to flap. The poor man’s face had turned a very slight shade of green.
“Err, thank you. That is, erm, very kind.”
The great stag sniffed at the air again and closed his eyes. “Fear not, human. Where the Ringmaster takes you now, fear will do you no good. If the old one wishes to end you, he need only breathe it and you will end.”