Chapter sixty-five

Eth City

 

By the time they got back from Tribyth, Julia was better physically, but she still seemed have some sort of fever. She spent a lot of time wandering around dreamily and smiling. It was all very strange.

Eventually Lily had had enough of it.

‘What’s wrong, Jules?’ she asked as they were having lunch in the University refectory.  

‘I had this dream’ explained Julia, turning her lamb chop over continuously with her fork, ‘but I’m not sure it was a dream’

‘What sort of dream?’ asked Lily, warily

‘There was a beautiful flame-haired boy…’

Lily had half-expected this.  She just didn’t know to react to it.

‘That wasn’t a dream. That was a young man called Arthur. He had some connection with Aunt Myf, but I’m not sure what’

Julia looked up at her with her big brown eyes. She smiled, but this smile was different – it seemed to mingle sadness and hope in one curled lip. Lily knew that the effect was unconscious but it was still an impressive feat. If you saw that smile on someone you loved, it would steal your breath away.

‘He was lovely…’ sighed Julia

Scrawny, ginger boy with a silly beard was what jumped straight into Lily’s mind, but what she actually said was: ‘Yes, he seemed very nice’

Julia paused for a second and looked down meaningfully at the peas that she had amassed on the edge of her plate.

‘Sometimes it’s sad to think that you meet a person and then – you may never see them again’

She looked up again and her eyes seemed bigger than their dinner plates.

No thought Lily, I don’t want to play go between.

‘Yes, very sad’ she said, noncommittally

‘Arthur is a lovely name’

Lily frowned and finished off her chips.

‘Are you not eating your meat, then?’ she asked

Julia shook her head.

‘I’ve rather lost my appetite… for some reason’

‘Can I have it?’

Julia nodded wearily. They sat in silence while Lily polished off the chop. She hoped that might be the end of the conversation. Sadly, it wasn’t.

‘How does your auntie know my Arthur?’ asked Julia

‘Your Arthur?’

Julia smiled her brave smile.

‘In my dreams he will always be mine… but in reality…’ She stopped and put her hand up to her head, ‘well…best not to dwell on it’

‘True’ mumbled Lily, her mouth full of Julia’s chips.

There was another pause. This was turning into a long lunch break.

‘But…’ said Julia, ‘…if we happened to be at your auntie’s house when Arthur was also there again…’

Lily glared at her friend.

‘I’ll see what I can do’ she growled, ‘but I’m not promising anything’

Julia’s eyes lit up and she smiled her usual, open, gloriously infectious smile again. Julia was relieved to see it.

‘You are wonderful, Moll – I promise to be your best friend forever!’

Lily considered this.

‘That’s an empty promise…’

Julia looked alarmed.

‘No it’s not - what do you mean?’

Lily narrowed her eyes and frowned.

‘I’m certain you’re going to be that anyway’

 

***

 

Later that day, straight after lectures, Lily escaped from her friends and made her way to the address that Myfanwy had given her, 17 Stanley Street. She had a battered old Eth City gazetteer and soon worked out that it was in the artisan’s quarter alongside the carpenters, shoemakers and tailors. It was a two storey, undistinguished house with a thatched roof, just like all the other buildings around it.   The front door, though, was in dark oak with a huge doorknocker. On the door knocker was a big “α”, Lily could only assume that it stood for “arthimos” Archaic Elven for “number”. The door was battered, however, and the  knocker hadn’t been polished for a long time.

She gathered up all of her courage and stepped forward on to the surrounding step to lift up the knocker and use it on the door. There was a long pause, some uncertain sounds within, and then the door creaked open.

A hard-looking old woman stared out at her.

‘No hawkers or traders; no ruffian or hooligans; no enemies of the commonweal’ she said, as if reading from a script.

Lily thought about this for a moment.

‘I’m pretty certain that I’m none of those…’

The stony-faced woman glared at her.

‘And no student pranksters’

This slowed Lily for a moment.

‘I am a student, but I’m fairly sure that this isn’t a prank’

The woman shook her head.

‘Don’t you know what you’re doing here, then?’

Lily nodded eagerly. She eased her bag off her shoulder.

‘I’m returning something’

The old woman’s face radiated scepticism.

‘What, though? What on earth can you be returning?’

Lily knew that the mysterious object was the only bargaining chip that she had.

‘I’ll show you but I’ll only give it back directly to her’

‘And who is that?’

‘Braith Thomas’

The old woman’s face was hard to read, but her eyes definitely widened slightly.

‘Show me...’ she croaked.

Lily took a few steps inside the hall. The old woman shut the door behind them. Lily pulled the strange contraption out of the bag and removed the sheet that covered it. The old woman stared at it for a while until Lily handed her the note. She read it carefully and the looked up and frowned. 

‘I’ll give it back to her’

Lily was tempted for a moment to turn tail and run away. But her mentor had told her to talk to this Braith woman and so she was determine that she would. She shook her head.

‘I need to do it....’

The woman frowned. She also looked a little taken aback. She clearly wasn’t used to this sort of behaviour. She thought for a second and then shrugged.

‘You look harmless enough. And if you’re not she’ll soon deal with you.’

Lily didn’t like the tone of the she at all. She said nothing, though, waiting to see what would happen next. She could feel the pulse throbbing in her neck.

The woman pointed to double doors at the end of the hallway. They were thick and tall, their wood darkened by age or abundant seasoning.

  ‘She’s through there’

Lily placed the object back into the bag with slow care. Then she crept towards the door.

‘No-one who has ever used necromancy can pass through these doors,’ croaked the woman.’ So, feel free to try…’

Lily stopped and stared back at her strange host.

‘What will happen if have cast a death spell?’

For the first time, the woman smiled; Lily preferred the scowling.

‘Do you like walnuts?’ the old woman asked

Lily nodded, wondering what that had to do with anything.

‘And how do you crack a walnut?’ the woman continued with relish

‘With a nutcracker?’

‘Yes – and it requires a mighty big nutcracker to crack a necromancer…’

Lily looked around for a huge nutcracker, but there was nothing, just the doors and the hallway.

‘So, if I had even cast one tiny spell…’

The woman sniffed

‘I don’t make the rules…’

Lily wondered if it were even true. This seemed like a very rum organisation.

‘I think I’ll go through now’ she said, in a flat tone.

The old woman shrugged.

‘Suit yourself’

Lily screwed up all of her courage, walked forward, and put her hand on the big brass door handle.