The Last Dragon Chronicles: Fire World: Fire World (42 page)

lights kept low. Somehow, the chatter of animal noises respectfully managed to bypass this room. Only the gentle creaking of the boat accompanied the Aunt on

whatever journey her soul had now taken. It was, as Harlan Merriman would comment, a most bizarre situation. Hardly the ideal circumstances in which to stage a family reunion. Yet everyone present, young Penny included, was powerfully drawn to that grey, austere face. Even in death, the Aunt Su:perior exerted an unprecedented level of control.

Almost as an afterthought, the greetings began. First, the relief of a battle-scarred husband reunited with his adoring wife (now   returned  to   her  normal   size following the demise of the Aunt’s powers). Then the slightly lost-for-words delight of an eight-year-old child meeting the father she never knew she had, and the pride of that father for the son who stood at the helm of the greatest revolution in

Co:pern:ican history – an
 
ark
, transformedfrom a structure made of stone. Much

wonder was expressed about the boat and its cargo, and the flood water, which still continued to rise. Then there was the

grateful presentation to the Merriman family of Mathew Lefarr, the brave and noticeably handsome young man who had risked his life to bring Harlan and Bernard back from the Dead Lands. Plus Bernard himself. Half-crippled. Exhausted. Not a little traumatised. But there. Forever at Harlan’s side.

Only one person failed to find any realjoy in the gathering. Rosa swept in lateand was mortified to see the pale-facedcorpse of their worst adversary back onthe   boat.   Turning   to   David   sheimmediately railed, “Why is she here,

wetting my ark? If she’s dead, dump her in

the ocean and be done.”

“That’s not a good idea,” said Harlan.

Rosa turned and glared at David’s father. And perhaps there was some hint of lingering angst about the way Mr Henry had passed away which made her say, with more rancour than necessary, “This is my home. I don’t want that manky old witch on show,
 
thank you
.”

“I completely understand that,” Harlan said, raising a hand to keep Penny and Eliza at bay, “but we need to watch her, Rosa. She may not be dead.”

“What?” said Eliza, covering her throat.

Penny stood on tiptoes and looked again at the body. “She looks sort of dead to me.”

Rosa clearly agreed. She stared at

Harlan Merriman as if he had just jetted infrom  another  universe  and  had  no

understanding of the bi:ology of this world. Muttering something only she could hear, she bent down and picked up a small stake of wood and ran forward to drive it through the Aunt’s sodden heart. She would have succeeded if David hadn’t caught her and wrestled her, kicking and punching, off the ground.

“Let go of me,” she argued.

“No,” he said, holding on tight (very tight). Penny looked on open-mouthed. A smile lit the face of Mathew Lefarr. “Just

listen to what Dad has to say, will you?”

Harlan pulled the dragon claw out of his robe and recounted all that had happened on their boat.

Rosa dismissed his concerns in an

instant. “It hardly matters what she wrote, does it? Look at the evidence.” She

pointed in the vague direction of the casket to illustrate the fact that the Aunt

had clearly failed.

But Harlan would not give up. “The claw is extremely powerful. We found it in the Dead Lands, hidden in a stone dais, guarded by a secret key. I believe it’s a relic from a dragon called Gawain, during the era of a man called Agawin—”

“Agawin?” To everyone’s surprise it was Eliza who’d interrupted Harlan’s flow.

“You know this name?” asked Mathew.

Eliza said, “Aunt Gwyneth spoke of him once.”

“We know of Agawin, too,” said David. “From Mr Henry, the old curator.”

He looked at Rosa, who kept silent, for

once.

“Anyway,” Harlan continued. “The claw is not to be taken lightly. I tried to call upon its influence myself and it brought… ” he glanced at Penny and chose his words carefully, “… great unhappiness upon us.” His eyes sought David’s in a clear appeal for a confidential meeting.

Penny pushed her thumb against her upper lip and looked for the longest time at the coffin. “It is magick,” she said, wide-eyed, to David. “She used the claw to make Mum small.”

“She did what?” said Harlan, looking

concerned. He felt for Eliza’s hand.

“Long story,” she whispered. “I’m OK

now.”

“Let’s just finish her off and be sure,”

growled Rosa. Although physically calm by now, she was still a whirlwind of vengeance. “What are you looking at?” she suddenly snapped at Mathew, though it was clear to everyone else in the room what his mesmerised gaze of admiration meant. And she, for all her puffed-up stances, had taken more than one extended glance at him.

Mathew turned to Harlan and set his face straight. “I agree with Penny – and Rosa. She looks gone, Harlan. Not even an Aunt Su:perior cheats death.”

“I would like to say something.” A new voice   rose   above   the   rest.   Eliza approached the casket and took Aunt Gwyneth’s hand. “Everyone, this is my mother.”

“
 
What?
” said Rosa.

Penny looked at the adults around her. “So, I’ve got a grandma
 
as well
 
now?” Adead one, granted. And evil to boot. But agrandma all the same (who might yetreturn to life, apparently). She squinted atthe   face,   looking  for   some   familyresemblance. (There was none.)

Eliza continued, “Whatever else she is,and whatever she’s done, she brought meinto this world and I owe her some smallrespect for that. It’s my wish that she lieshere in peace, as David has arranged.”

Harlan Merriman was horrified. “No.

Eliza, that’s not possible. You… you can’tbe part of
 
her
.”

At this point, Bernard Brothertonstepped in. In a few hushed, well-chosenwords he advised Harlan not to let doubts

or prejudices come rising to the surface.

Harlan should rejoice. Let him not forgetwhat his heroics at Alavon had achieved.

Even if there was a question mark about Eliza’s heritage, the fact remained that hehad been returned to the woman he loved

– and to his children. Let a light shine on his fortune now. It was time for the

Merrimans to be as one. Turning to therest of the room he announced, “I agreewith Eliza, but for slightly differentreasons. The death of an Aunt—”

“Even a ‘manky’ one,” said Mathew, smiling at Rosa. (She turned her face away.)

“—needs to be properly reported and catalogued. It’s traditional to show them lying in state after death, which satisfies the needs of both sides, does it not?”

“It doesn’t satisfy mine,” said Rosa.

Bernard finished what he had to say,regardless. “Their role on Co:pern:ica issure to be re-evaluated because of thisincident.   I   recommend   we   seek

professional advice. A counsellor would know how best to deal with it.”

“What about Strømberg?” Harlan said. “Do you have :coms on the boat, David?”

“I don’t know,” he said. Since the change, everything was different. “But he’s bound to see the ark and come

looking. The firebirds could find him. What do you think, Rosa?”

She   sighed   heavily.   One   dark, temperamental kicker boot tapped a disgruntled rhythm on the floor. “I need to talk to you about Aurielle and Azkiar.”

“Who?” said Penny (ears the size of… ).

“Shut up,” Rosa tutted, “I’m talking to

David.”

“You— !”

“Penny, be quiet,” her mother said.

“Not here,” Rosa said to him, flicking her head to suggest they meet on a higher deck.

Where are they?
 
he commingled, which only made her frown.

She responded with a little guile of her own. “
Rrrh!
” she went. ‘Right now, I don’t know.’

Is something wrong
?

She rolled her eyes in exasperation.

“
Rr-rrrh!
” she replied. ‘We can’t find the

tapestry.’

At this point, Mathew knocked on Aunt Gwyneth’s coffin (to gain attention, not entry) and said, “Erm, is this a private conversation or can anyone with feathers

join in?”

“It’s private,” said Rosa, very moody, very definite. If she had possessed feathers, they would have been very ruffled just then. Once again she looked at Mathew and said, rather cryptically, “
 
You
 
need to shave.”

“What?” he said, a little taken aback. Why pick on him? Not Harlan or Bernard?

But as far as Rosa was concerned, the conversation was ended. Laying her fingers over the marks on her arm, she made a sharp whistling noise. Within moments, a white light at the doorway heralded the arrival of her unicorn, Terrafonne.

Everyone present, David excepted,stood back in awe of the perfect whitehorse.

With a snap of her fingers, Rosa badethe unicorn kneel to let her mount him.

“Talking of flying things,” she said, “I haven’t seen Angel since…
 
y’know
. You might like to tell our guests what to expect.” She turned Terrafonne through a half circle. The horse reared up and drummed his hooves on the boards. “I’ll do what I can about Strømberg. Come and find me.” And with that, she whooshed away on a trail of stars.

“Wow,” whistled Mathew, “she is some girl.”

Just for a moment, a hint of resentment might have entered David’s eyes. Harlan, keen to avoid any kind of bad feeling, directed his son to another topic. “Who’s Angel, David? What was that about?”

“
I
 
know! I’ve
 
seen
 
her,” Penny said,

bouncing. “She’s a little girl. Littler than me. She wears a white dress and a daisy chain on her wrist.”

“A little girl?” Eliza looked shocked. “Well, where is she? And who’s looking after her?”

“Angel kind of takes care of herself,” said David.

“She’s got wings,” said Penny.

“
 
Wings?
” said the travellers from

Alavon.

To   which   Penny   added,   ratherpointlessly, “She flies.” Just anothereveryday occurrence in the librarium ofmany surprises, was it not?

The ark rocked a little, left to right,which seemed to set the mood even again. A trumpeting cry in the distance prompted Bernard Brotherton to ask, “Who tends to

the animals, David?”

“The ark also looks after itself,” he said. “I’ve only been through a small part of it so far, but it seems to be providing for the animals in every way. If you treat them with respect, there’s no reason you shouldn’t move safely among them.”

“So it’s a living entity,” Harlan said in wonder.   “The   quan:tum  mech:anisms controlling it must be—”

“Harlan, stop,” said Eliza. “We don’t want any seminars. We’re agreed that Aunt Gwyneth isn’t… going anywhere. So I suggest we all get some rest. That eye needs   re-dressing,  poor   Bernard   is exhausted, and, frankly, you all need a bath. Can we get hot water, David?”

“And food?” said Bernard, who looked ready to eat an ark.

David said, “The boat responds like thelibrarium, Mum. Let it guide you to whereyou need to be.”

“Thank you,” she said, drawing Pennyto her side.

“So, are we leaving Grandma here?” said the girl.

Eliza tidied a sprig of the Aunt’s greying hair. “Until Counsellor Strømberg arrives, yes.”

“So be it,” said Harlan. He looked up at David and noticed that his son’s gaze was deeply focused on the dragon’s claw. Tapping it lightly against his palm, he walked over and pressed it into David’s hand. “Meet me here at dusk. We must

speak privately.”

“Are you going to write something?”

Penny asked, pushing her tongue between

her lips (a trademark trait of concentration in the family).

“I need to understand this first,” David said. But already it was singing to him of long-forgotten histories and dangerous futures – and a deeply tragic present. He could feel Harlan’s auma imprinted on the claw, echoing with unresolved grief. But now was not the moment to delve into that.

Placing the claw into his jacket he said, “Mum’s right. Relax and enjoy the voyage – wherever it is we’re going.”

With that, he began to make his wayfrom the room. Somewhere near the

doorway, his mother bade him stop. “Is everything all right – with Rosa?” she asked   quietly.   “You   looked   a  bit concerned back there.”

“Everything’s fine,” he told her, and felt

the claw buzz against his heart. Was it reacting to what it knew was a lie? “She’s…misplaced something. I need to help her find it.” Thankfully, Eliza didn’t pursue this, and David was grateful for that. For it would have been hard at that point, trying to explain to his mother what the
 
Tapestry of Isenfier
 
was, and why Penny Merriman was pictured on it.