Swotting Up Read online

  I looked at the door, and then glanced down at my hips. ‘I can see Finn fitting through,’ I said. ‘But not me.’

  Wendy let out a peal of laughter. ‘You and those lovely hips will glide straight through, Wanda. Don’t worry about it. Just walk.’

  ≈

  Wendy was right – the door might have looked narrow, but I managed to walk through without so much as sucking in my stomach or turning to the side. When we arrived at the other side, the first thing that hit me was the warmth. It was like stepping into a balmy July evening. Which was odd, considering that the setting was a woodland one, and there was frost on the ground.

  ‘Where are the sparkles?’ I asked Finn.

  ‘Maybe she’ll redecorate halfway through the meeting,’ he whispered back. ‘She does that sometimes. For now, you’ll have to be satisfied with her pretty dress.’

  I glanced over at the woman seated ahead of us. She was, indeed, wearing a pretty dress, and it just so happened to be identical to Wendy’s. Everything about her was almost identical to Wendy, in fact – although I could feel, just by looking at her, that the Queen had far more power.

  She was at a round table, beneath a pergola draped with Virginia creeper. Leaves crunched under our feet as we walked to the table. There was no one else in sight, but I could feel at least a dozen pairs of eyes upon us.

  She stood up, beaming. ‘You came, Wanda Wayfair. I am honoured to finally meet you.’

  Now that I’d reached the merry old age of twenty-two, I was much better at taking compliments. But to have the sióga queen tell me she was honoured to meet me, well … that was just a little bit mystifying. ‘Nice to meet you too,’ I replied.

  ‘If you don’t mind me asking, why did you finally come?’

  I took a seat, smiling at her. ‘Something tells me you already know the reason.’

  ‘Ah. The stolen book. Well, we shall get to that in a moment. First, tell me what you think of the setting? Are you comfortable, or would you like me to change the scenery?’

  ‘Honestly, it’s a little weird being warm when there are leaves underfoot and frost on the ground.’

  She smiled, waved a hand, and the setting changed completely. Suddenly we were inside, in what looked almost exactly like the Longest Library – except that the unlit fire near the fantasy section was blazing, and we were now seated in armchairs in front of that fire.

  ‘Yes, this is a far more fitting location. Now, my little birds have kept me well informed of the murder of the library assistant and the theft of a nameless book. Tell me, what do you know about this book?’

  Finn crossed his legs, letting out a frustrated exhale. ‘Next to nothing. We have no idea who stole it, or why. We have no idea why it’s so dangerous. Adeline Albright seems to think you were the one who announced it to be all scary and whatnot.’

  She nodded, her hair falling in front of her eyes. ‘That’s true. I did tell the witches it was extremely dangerous. That would have been back before the last war, in the Year of the Worm. Right around the time I was telling the then Minister that he was extremely unwise to have stolen it from me.’

  Finn and I looked at one another, probably just to be sure that we were both equally shocked. ‘It was your book?’ said Finn.

  ‘Not quite, but it was in my care. And with me is the best place that such a book could ever be. After all, I am the only person to have fought the Whisperer and lived to tell the tale.’

  In the back of my mind, I heard it again – that tick-tick-tick I’d heard when I was looking at Adeline’s scan of the book. ‘The Whisperer?’

  She stared at me, her eyes haunted. ‘The Whisperer is evil, Wanda. He is the one who whispers to the vulnerable. He is the one who tells them it is okay to kill. He is the one who is in the hearts and minds of all that is bad in the world. Other books may whisper, but only because they have learned from him. They know how to manipulate, how to coax, because he has taught them. Things are good right now, with your mother as Minister. But if the Whisperer comes back, your enclaves won’t just return to how bad they were under Justine Plimpton’s rule – they’ll be far, far worse.’

  Worse than when Justine was in charge? That was a world I did not want to live in. ‘And the book …’ I took in a deep breath. ‘You know its name too, don’t you?’

  ‘I do. And I will tell the two of you, and only the two of you. It is called, quite simply, the Whisperer’s Return. You must not repeat it to anyone, even Adeline Albright. Because it is only by saying the name that the book may be opened.’ She gave us a wicked smile. ‘And as we all know, Albrights cannot help themselves when it comes to books. They have to read every single one they come across. And don’t get me started on their record-keeping and chronicling. If one of them can open it, then open it they shall.’

  She certainly had the measure of the Albrights. ‘And you trust Finn and me not to open it? Why?’

  She grinned. ‘Finn might be a cocky so-and-so, but he’s also the owner of an unusually spot-on moral compass. And as for you …’ She tilted her head, regarding me. ‘Well, you’re the latest Wayfarer. You might have some trouble in fighting the Whisperer, it’s true. But you would never be stupid enough to invite him into your life.’ She sat back, and a glass filled with amber liquid appeared in her hands. In a moment, I found myself holding a glass of the same. I took a sniff. It smelled sweet, warm, and heady.

  ‘You think whoever stole the book knows the name, don’t you?’ I said, taking a sip of the drink. ‘You think he – or she – has already opened it.’

  ‘I do. I think it has been opened, and that the rituals within have already begun.’

  ‘Rituals? Adeline said something about instructions, didn’t she Wanda?’ said Finn, slurping his drink in one go and gasping.

  ‘She didn’t elaborate, though,’ I said.

  ‘Well, she couldn’t,’ said the Queen. ‘She really doesn’t know anything other than rumours. But yes, call them rituals or instructions or whatever you like. Either way, the book contains steps that must be completed in order to bring about the return.’ She nodded her head, and our glasses refilled. ‘The first step involves gathering together certain ingredients and objects. There are some OAPs needed. A wand that was once owned by the Whisperer himself is integral to the rituals – it was later used by a wizard known as Seamus, among others. Some Infernal Candles – quite a lot of those. Various herbs and such. Simply collecting those items, in order, will give the reader of the book the power to carry out the second step.’

  She tipped back her head and drained her glass again. ‘The next two steps are sacrifices, really. First, whoever has the book is asked to kill twelve witches, in order to prove their worth, and gain more power. Their death is brought about by draining them of their magic and their lives.’ She gritted her teeth. ‘And that brings us on to the third step. A sacrifice of eighteen is needed this time. It can be anyone, as long as they are empowered witches and they are killed in pairs. The Infernal Candles will be lit, nine in all, and for every two witches killed, one flame will turn black.’ She looked at me. ‘From the very moment the book is opened, the Whisperer has already begun to take over the person who has opened the book. But it’s not until every step is carried out that the takeover is complete. When the final flame turns black, the fourth step begins. The timepiece will start to count down. It takes three minutes in all. And once those three minutes are over, there is no going back. The person who carried out the rituals is gone. Their body is now inhabited, one hundred percent, by the Whisperer. And the greatest evil ever known is free to walk the earth once again.’

  ‘But … you can fight him,’ said Finn. ‘You said you fought him before.’

  ‘More than once, in fact. The first time, he had already killed a Wayfarer before I arrived. I managed to stop the ritual before he took complete hold. The second time was more difficult. That was when the witches stole the book from me. I had to kill him in the form he had taken. A man known as Percival Plimpton – the very minister who had stolen the book. No one believed that he was the Whisperer. Just that he was an awful, awful man who made the world a terrible place in which to live.’ She shivered. ‘It was the most difficult battle of my life. With the full transformation having taken place, his power was on par with mine. I killed Percival, but the book … the book remained in the hands of the witches. Once that book exists, the Whisperer lives on inside it, and he is always looking for someone stupid enough to help him return. They should have given it back to me, the idiots.’ Her eyes filled with tears, and she shook her head. ‘They really should have given it back to me, because this time I cannot help you fight him. This time, I cannot leave my realm.’

  7. Tricky Púca

  As Finn and I stared at her, she held up a hand. ‘Do not ask me how, or why. It is not important for you to know why I am stuck here, and soon I will once again be free. But not in time for this. Not in time to stop the Whisperer.’ She looked at Finn. ‘And now, my darling Captain Plimpton, there are one or two things I need to say to Wanda alone. Maybe you could go and help my father with the dinner.’ She waved her hand, and a door suddenly appeared beside us, opening to reveal a homely kitchen, with a greying man within.

  He looked up from the hob, where he seemed to be stirring a pot of soup, and said, ‘Come on in, Finn. I need someone to lay the table.’

  Finn gave me a nonplussed shrug, and walked to the kitchen. As I watched him go I wondered what parts of this experience – if any – were real.

  The Queen turned in her seat. ‘First … I know about the spell Kilian Berry has had done. Binding your life, and his wife’s life, to his.’

  ‘Will is on top of that,’ I informed her. ‘He told me he’s ending that spell tonight.’

  Her pretty face scrunched up. ‘But … the spell was performed by a Púca. One you met before, in fact – the mask-maker, Guillermo Moriarty.’

  I might have been sitting down, but I felt weak enough to faint. ‘Will told me his dad had a rogue Púca tailing him a while back,’ I said, my mouth feeling like sandpaper. ‘But he didn’t tell me a Púca had done that spell.’

  ‘Maybe he didn’t know. Either way, you can see why I sincerely doubt that it can be undone by Will Berry. Your separation from Will is unlikely to end tonight, I’m afraid, no matter how much the young Mr Berry thinks of his talents.’ She gave me a look of pity. ‘The mask-maker is on the run at the moment, and he is quite the tricky Púca to catch. But I have put the word out – if Guillermo ends the spell that binds yours and Sylvia’s life to Kilian’s, his other crimes will be forgiven and he can return to his home.’ She gave me a smile. ‘And no, I shall not tell you what his other crimes are. Suffice to say, I feel your life is more important.’

  ‘I … I don’t know what to say. Thanks, I guess. But there’s more, isn’t there? You want to tell me something else about the Whisperer.’

  ‘I do. I … Wanda, I dearly wish I could step in as I have stepped in before. This will be a difficult fight. You’ve been waiting for it for quite some time, you know. This is what the prophecy was about. The Whisperer is the great evil you were born to fight. And I hope that you succeed. Do you remember what you saw in Christine Wayfair’s scrying bowl?’

  I nodded. Many of the visions had already come true, but there was one which preyed always on my mind – one in which I was alone in a vast library, smoke heavy in the air, every surface filled with whispering, fluttering books, while I searched that room for a single, terrible tome.

  ‘I know what you saw. I saw it too,’ said the Queen. ‘You never wanted to see it, because you believed that the future is not set in stone. And in a way, you were right. What you saw … that is not what happens, Wanda. That is what would have happened, had you never seen those visions. Now, it has all changed. In that vision, you saw a world in which you got there too late. When you roamed through those books, you were walking in a world in which the Whisperer had already returned.’ She paused for a breath. ‘But in this world, you are prepared. You may not think so, but you are. And while I might not be able to help you in your final battle with the Whisperer, there are other ways I can help.’

  She placed her glass by the fireside, and I did the same.

  ‘There are some gifts in the witch enclaves, gifts I gave to other Wayfarers. One of them is the Elemental Seat. You’ve seen it before, I believe. In the lofty room at the top of the Wyrd Court, where an older – and much more inclusive – government once held their sessions. The second Wanda, in fact, was the one who led that government.’

  She paused, clearly certain that what she’d said was just a little bit momentous. It was a smug pause, partnered with a smug smile, but I can’t say I wouldn’t have done the exact same in her position.

  ‘You had an inkling there was more than one Wanda, I imagine,’ she went on. ‘But I had hoped you’d be slightly more surprised to hear that the Wyrd Court once sat at the top of the current building.’

  I met her smug smile with a smug shrug (it’s all in the shoulders). ‘There was a Tall Tale of the ghost of the original Wanda, coming to save Carline Von Brandt from being kidnapped and taken to the Wizard’s Graveyard. Happy as I was that the original Wanda had saved the day – and as a ghost, no less – I have to admit I was a little bit confused when, during my initiation ceremony, I went on to have a vision of that same woman, in a room that seemed to have been the original Wyrd Court. The Wanda in my vision was very much alive, long after Carline had been saved.’

  ‘Ah. One of those visions,’ she said. ‘Most people put them down to the very heady potions you witches drink during your ceremonies.’

  ‘It’s true – the potion was very heady,’ I admitted. ‘And there are a gazillion stories about Wanda, some that seem like outright propaganda. Lots of the stories seem to happen hundreds of years apart. But there was just … something. I dunno.’

  ‘It’s called the Wayfarer instinct,’ she said. ‘It’s as strong in you as it was with the original. You are the third Wanda. Each of you look uncannily alike. There have been two Gretels, and only one Sylvia. But I do think I can tell you something to surprise you. The second Wanda had a lot of bravery, but very little innate power – hence the Elemental Seat. But the first Wanda … although she grew to be incredibly powerful, she didn’t receive that power until a day or two before her twenty-first birthday. Just like you. But even with her astounding power, she was quite happy to use the Elemental Sword to assist her. It’s also the same sword that one of the Gretels used. I believe it went on to be known as the Sword of Sylvia.’

  ‘I’ve heard of it,’ I said. ‘There was a Wayfarer in the Shannon coven, and she had a dream that Wanda told her where to find it. It’s sealed in some vault somewhere now.’

  ‘It is indeed said to be in a top secret location,’ the Queen confirmed. ‘But I think it would be of great benefit to you, if you can manage to get your hands on it. If not, the Elemental Seat is there for the taking. It’s sióga made, and so – despite many attempts – the witches have never been able to move it, or destroy it. Simply sitting in it will increase your power a hundredfold – and seeing as you’ve fought off some quite powerful enemies in the past, that’s nothing to sneeze at. The increased power it gives you will last for an entire day.’

  ‘Well, I don’t normally sneeze at gifts anyway,’ I said. ‘Y’know – unless I’ve got a cold and the gift is a box of tissues. But … thank you. For telling me all of this. Do you think … do you think that it will be enough, though? You said that the Whisperer killed a Wayfarer before. Did she have the power from the Elemental Seat when it happened?’

  Worry overtook her beautiful features. ‘She had not only that, but also the Elemental Sword.’

  ‘Oh,’ I said.

  ‘Yes. Oh.’ She reached forward, grasping my hands. ‘It’s true, Wanda. Even with every extra burst of magic you can get your hands on, you may not have the power to do this alone. But you have something better than power, Wanda. You have humility. And it may be that very humility which helps you defeat the Whisperer.’

  Something about those words seemed important, somehow. But I never got the chance to ask her, because the door to that mysterious kitchen opened once again and her father called, ‘Soup’s up!’

  As I stood up, smoothing down my dress, she reached out to me again, her hand going to my hair. ‘Oh dear,’ she said with a strange smile. ‘You seem to have a flower caught in your hair. However did that get there?’ She pulled it out, and placed it in my palm.

  ‘A forget-me-not?’ I looked at the flower, about to ask her what it meant – because something told me that just like her words about my humility, this flower meant something important – but she’d already walked through to the kitchen.

  8. Terrence’s Great Escape

  The rest of the evening was enough to make me think of pulling some of my own hair out along with that forget-me-not. Because, no pun intended, but the forget-me-not had made me remember something. It made me remember another forget-me-not, one I’d pulled out of Max’s hair some months before. It made me remember the words he’d said that day: ‘You and me – we are not going to forget each other.’

  Back then, Emily had been a problem, and she was being one again. Sure, a forget-me-not in late autumn could have been a strange coincidence. But something told me that the faery queen didn’t do coincidences.

  Dinner was delicious, and more of her family and friends joined us. There was so much chatter, and so many wonderful things to eat and drink, that the last thing I should have been doing was thinking about a little blue flower.

  Finally, I collared the Queen while her father was dishing up dessert.

  ‘You want to know what the flower means,’ she said. ‘I can only tell you this – just remember it. Because if the Whisperer is defeated, there will be one more battle left to fight.’ She nodded her head, said ‘Remember,’ and then left the room. I didn’t see her again for the rest of the night.