Chapter SEVENTEEN

Bad Fortune

We fly the dragon to Edinburgh a second time.

“You shouldn’t have come back.”

Freddy says the words, but I can see a flicker of happiness at the sight of the four of us. Marley, Alona, Blue and me. Alona has borrowed one of Marley’s oversized hoodies, so as to hide her obvious Dryad features. Blue is merrily sinking into the Forth River, after a long journey from Loch Ness, splashing her tail for her own amusement.

“We won’t be long, girl,” I tell the huge dragon, as she begins to disappear.

She gives me a look that conveys a lot of disbelief.

“Can I…?” Freddy takes a tentative step towards the river, staring at Blue. “I’ve never seen anything like a dragon before.”

Blue snarls at first and it terrifies me, even though it’s directed at Freddy. He hesitates but is determined. He stretches out his hand, palm open, and gives Blue her own space to respond. Her snarl softens but her eyes are fixed upon him with unwavering fierceness. Her nostrils flare and her tail suddenly twitches. Freddy stands firm. He lowers his eyes, deliberately unconfrontational.

We all watch and wait. Alona is holding her breath; Marley is glancing between Freddy and the dragon.

I feel calm. I know Blue will see what I see.

She rests her giant chin on top of Freddy’s open palm and closes her eyes. It’s a docile act, but at no point do any of us forget she is a dragon. I look at Freddy’s face and I’m shocked to see his eyes are shining.

“She likes you,” I tell him, trying to be reassuring.

“Yes,” he says, sounding slightly breathless.

I’m confused. “That’s good, Freddy. Right?”

“It’s just,” he looks sadly at me and then back to the dragon, “Hidden creatures rarely like me. Humans like me a little too much but other magical creatures… they never do. This is just… it’s nice, is all.”

He brings up his other hand to gently touch the dragon’s face. It’s strangely beautiful. A Siren boy and a water dragon, the Loch Ness ‘Monster’ herself, gently touching each other.

For a moment I forget. I forget why we’re here and I just enjoy looking at the peace of it all.

Freddy holds a lot of that peace within himself as we leave Blue and set off into town, the lights of Edinburgh a little brighter than the last time we visited. Curfew has been set to a later time of night, we are told. I look at the humans as they move around the city in eerie contentedness. I’m sure if I asked them, they would be shocked to know that their behaviour has become so influenced by one person. A Siren.

“There’s a Christmas market up now,” Freddy
tells us.

“How is your mother controlling them all?” I ask him. “Ren wanted to get close to my parents because they were on television, is that what she’s using?”

“Not to my knowledge,” Freddy replies. “I think
it’s radio.”

“Radio?” Marley and I say in unison.

“Yeah,” Freddy says, nodding. “She does one broadcast a day. Plus, the entire parliament is in her thrall. And the council.”

“I still can’t believe you forgot to mention you’re her son,” Marley mutters. “Nothing dodgy about that
at all.”

Freddy throws him a sly look. “Trip on that kerb.”

Milliseconds after he says it, Marley does. Compelled to. He shakes himself brutally and looks angry enough to strike Freddy.

“Don’t do that,” I tell Freddy softly. “He’s had enough Sirens for a lifetime.”

Freddy looks suitably chastised and leaves Marley alone for the rest of our walk into town. The city is almost as I remember it, lit with the artificial lights of
a bustling town beneath bright stars in a clear sky. It, for a brief and flickering second, almost feels like
home again.

“Where could your mum be keeping him?” I ask, turning to Freddy and speaking lowly. “Not at your house.”

“No,” he accepts. “I checked out the parliament building and the palace but there’s nothing there.
She would need somewhere with a lot of space, and she’s always had a weakness for grandeur. So, maybe the castle?”

We all gaze up, beyond the Scot Monument, to the stone castle sat upon the high hilltop overlooking the entire city, both New Town and Old.

“It’s a fortress,” Alona concedes. “It would be a smart choice.”

“We could break in,” I say. “But probably not out.”

“I just need to see he’s alive,” she says brokenly. “That’s all I want for tonight; I’ll take that much.”

I feel the same about Murrey. Except I’m determined to rescue him and any other Hidden Folk she has chained up.

“Remember, she wants you to find her,” Freddy tells me. “Don’t be rash. Don’t be impulsive.”

“Me? Rash and impulsive?” I turn to grin at him, and he can’t help smiling back. He nudges me and I dig my elbow into his ribs.

“Are they always… like this?” Alona asks Marley in a stage-whisper.

“Yes,” he says stonily. “It’s revolting.”

I spot the Christmas market on the other side of the large gothic monument before us. I head towards it, recognising the stalls as Edinburgh’s usual vendors. Above ground, human vendors, that is. Sweets, candy floss and hot dog stands with the occasional jewellery merchant – all is as it usually is.

Apart from one caravan.

It is teal in colour and new to the Christmas market. A sign outside says, ‘Madame Lylah’s Parlour: Fortunes Told Inside’.

“Ramya,” Marley says. “A real fortune teller?”

“Hard to say,” I reply. “In the books Opal had me read, there were passages about some Witches who have clairvoyance, and a few Druids. It’s possible.”

“Let’s see. She could be Hidden and know some answers”

I nod and we head towards her little home on wheels.

“You two stand guard,” I tell Freddy and Alona.

“Don’t leave me with the Siren,” she says, eyeing Freddy.

“Alona,” I say her name gently. “Freddy is my friend. I trust him. Just the same as you are my friend and I trust you. So, you can trust each other.”

She lowers her eyes and glances away, almost embarrassed. I frown. It was not the reaction I wanted. I was trying to reassure her.

“Wait here and stay safe,” I reiterate. “We’ll check this out.”

We enter the caravan and, as soon as the curtain falls behind us, all outdoor noise vanishes. The light inside is dim, with only a few candles lit. Sitting in a chair, in the furthest corner of the small wagon, is a woman with silver hair and aquamarine eyes. She looks up sharply as we enter.

“We need answers about some friends of ours,” I tell her, wondering if we’re looking at a genuine fortune teller or a charlatan. “We need to find them.”

She considers me. Then nods towards a small side table with a magenta cloth tossed over it. There is no crystal ball, just a rose. For a moment, something about the single stem makes me forget why we’ve come. I stare at the satin petals and feel very calm.

“Sit,” she says firmly, and we do.

She takes my hand immediately and begins to examine it. “You are lost.”

I find my eyes wandering lazily to the rose, but I force them back to Madame Lylah. “No. My friends are. Murrey and—”

“You,” she repeats, “are lost. You are forgetting who you are.”

I look back to the flower. “What is that?”

She looks, too. Then back at me, with a glaze of cunning in her face. “What if I told you every petal grants you a wish?”

“Ramya,” Marley says nervously.

I look her right in the eye. “Then I wouldn’t
believe you.”

She wheezes and I notice lines around her eyes. “Clever witch.”

Her finger is still stroking the palm of my hand and I feel sleepy at the touch.

“Where are my friends?” I echo, the words a chant
I need to recite when I begin to forget why we’ve
come here.

“Can you be sure they are your friends?” she challenges. “You say you trust your friend, but they hope to betray you.”

Freddy. The words sting but I ignore them. “That’s
a lie.”

“It is not. It is currently a fleeting thought, but we will see.”

“Where is Murrey?” I push. I have to physically force myself to stop looking at the rose. “And what spell is in that flower?”

“Just a soothing charm,” she says, still hypnotically stroking my hand. “You once stole two pounds.”

I freeze. “What did you say?”

“You used it to buy a pen everyone else in the class already had. But you threw it out when the handwriting remained unchanged.”

“How… how could you know—”

“It’s all here. In your hands.”

The hands in question begin to sweat, and I have to shiver myself into remembering my mantra. “Where are my friends?”

“The Druid is not your friend.”

“The Vampire is.”

“Yes.”

“So where is he?”

“Dying.”

I let out a cry and make to snatch my hand away, but she holds on even more tightly. “No!”

“I see a cell. And the Siren. She wants to know what is keeping him alive. She cannot understand it.”

“Please.” There is a crack in my voice. “I have to find him. He’s innocent. He’s a good person. He would never hurt anyone. Please.”

She regards me, her eyes casually flitting to Marley. “You are not ready for her.”

“I am,” I say doggedly. “I am, I’m ready. I just need to know where she’s keeping him.”

Her eyes flash and she suddenly releases my hands. I jerk back and keep them close to my body.

“They are being kept beneath the throne of the last great king,” she finally says. “Through a hidden door, down a narrow path, and deep in the heart. There he will be.”

I stare at her, then look to Marley. He seems as baffled as I feel, but then I see a glimmer of understanding cross his face and I am instantly alert.

“Let’s go,” I tell him. “Now.”

We rush to leave when Lylah calls, “Boy?”

Marley turns, his expression hesitant.

“Your mother knew you ran away when you were ten,” she whispers, gazing up at him. “She forgave you when you came back. Pretended not to notice. But she thinks about it. Every night.”

I frown and look to my cousin. I’m unnerved to find all the colour gone from his face. He shoves his way out of the wagon and is gone, leaving me alone with this cryptic, somewhat frightening, woman.

“Tick tock, little witch,” she warns. “And watch yourself on the stairs.”