brain held ghost memories of being fed before.
‘How long have I been asleep?’
‘It has been nearly two days since you passed out in the tunnel,’ said Darkmount, taking the empty bowl from her hands. He passed her a glass of water. ‘I’ve been feeding you every six hours to rebuild your strength and I’ve attended to your various cuts, bruises and sprains.’
Charlie slowly flexed her arms and shoulders. They were still stiff, but obviously better than before. She felt stronger too; tired but no longer exhausted.
‘Where are we?’
‘My place of refuge.’
‘Where is –’
‘Bah! No more questions from you. At least not now. It is the middle of the night and although I woke you to feed you I did not intend for a full-blown conversation.’
‘Pfft.’ Charlie rolled her eyes. ‘It’s not like you’ve ever been one for long heart-to-heart talks.’
Darkmount let that one slide.
‘What about Sleeping Beauty over there? Is he OK?’
‘Ha! Other than his empty head that Hatchling has no worries. With the ridiculous amount of food he’s been wolfing down do not be surprised if he starts to show rapid signs of growth.’
‘Really? Will he grow big?’
‘Big? You’ve obviously never seen an adult Winged One. Your companion has a lot of filling out ahead of him. But for now, enough words.’ He held up his hand, silencing her next question. ‘I would suggest that you continue to get what sleep you can. Tomorrow we will discuss strategy and in the evening we will make our move.’
‘That quickly?’
‘Your strength appears to have recovered and I do not wish to dawdle. My god awaits and Bane deserves to face judgement followed by swift and serious penance.’
‘Yeah, well if we’re going to get your god tomorrow I’m going to want half the secret to my pendant before we go.’
‘So the deal was made, so it shall be,’ said Darkmount with a nod of his head. ‘Tomorrow, then, we shall talk of strategies, of gods and of secrets.’
‘Tomorrow,’ echoed Charlie.
8
The Pendant’s Secret
‘Charlie, wake up!’ insisted Nibbler. He pulled back one of her eyelids to peer into her bloodshot eyes.
‘Ppff, huh? Whuddya want?’ Charlie stared around with a dazed look then hastily sat up. ‘Where are we? How’d we get here?’
‘Darkmount carried you here, remember?’
It all came rushing back to her. ‘Yeah, yeah I remember,’ she yawned and knuckled her eyes. ‘You know, I don’t think I’ve had one night of decent sleep since I got to Bellania. I’ve got to do something about all these dark dreams I’ve been having.’
‘Too right you do,’ snorted Nibbler. ‘Have you ever tried sleeping in the same room as someone who fidgets as much as you?’
‘Is it that bad?’
‘Charlie.’ Nibbler’s eyes grew wide. ‘You have no idea. If it’s any consolation at least you don’t fart in your sleep.’
‘Nibbler!’
‘Well it’s true – you don’t. You kinda make up for it though by snoring like a bad-tempered volcano.’
‘I do not! Well, maybe I snore a little, but I don’t think it’s as crazy as you’re trying to make out.’ She did her best to ignore Nibbler’s wicked grin. ‘So where’s Edge Darkmount?’
‘He’s outside. This place is amazing; you’ll love it! Here, let me show you.’
As Nibbler led the way through several rooms and corridors, Charlie soon realized they were in the home of a scholar. Books and scrolls lined shelf after shelf. There were blackboards, thick with scribbled notes and mathematical symbols and maps of far-off places. Detailed diagrams of Winged Ones hung from the walls. Some were sketched details of their wings, others showed close-ups of their heads and yet more showed them in varying postures of flight and rest.
Nibbler caught sight of Charlie’s questioning look. ‘Darkmount said he started moving all his stuff here as soon as Alavis came under siege. You won’t believe it, there’s hundreds and hundreds of books on Winged Ones, histories of old empires and encyclopaedia of strange creatures that live thousands and thousands of miles away. It’s awesome! If I stayed here long enough I reckon I could catch up on the education I’m missing. And check this out … Apparently, half the books Darkmount wrote himself! But if you think the house is cool wait till you see what’s outside.’
Nibbler pushed a door open and light came spilling in.
They were still underground, but in a cave the like of which Charlie had never seen before. The cavern was so large that it dwarfed Darkmount’s house. Charlie gazed around with a sense of wonder and delight.
Fat stalagmites reared upward like