The Thirteen Treasures Part 12

'Are you starting to catch on yet?'

Tanya gave a dry swallow.

'I think so. You're saying that we're . . . people like us, we've . . .'

'Somewhere along the line, someone in your family and mine was switched. Someone was a changeling. It could be from either side: your mother's or father's. The second sight comes from having fairy blood. Like a gene, it won't occur in all of the changeling's descendants. In fact, it's quite the opposite. It's rare. It's like having blue eyes, for example. They wouldn't be pa.s.sed down to every member of a family, just some of them. It's like that with the second sight.'

'Fairy blood,' Tanya repeated, stunned. 'Fairy blood.' Instinctively she knew it to be true, along with everything else Red had told her. Fairy blood ran through her veins.

'So . . . now you know what you are,' said Red. She glanced at a watch on her wrist, and gathered up her bag once more. 'The sun will be rising soon. I need to leave.'

Tanya watched her, trying to digest the sickening truth that she had just been fed. It swam inside her uneasily, like oil on water. For so long now, she had yearned for someone to believe her; for someone to understand. For longer she had craved information. Knowledge, she knew, was power. And this girl this strange, unbalanced girl whose obsession with the loss of her brother had driven her to these acts of desperation had given her both. And Tanya knew that she could not afford to let her leave.

'Wait,' said Tanya. 'I . . .' She trailed off.

Red stopped moving. 'Something you want to say to me?'

'I believe you,' Tanya said quietly. 'Everything you've told me. I believe it.'

'What makes you think I care?'

'Because the fact that I believe you means that you don't have to run not yet,' said Tanya, an idea forming in her mind.

Something ignited behind Red's eyes: a small spark of interest. And a flicker of something else; something like hope.

'Go on,' she said quietly.

'You need to lie low. People are looking for you . . . the police. It's been all over the news. I'm the only one who knows that you're here. And if I keep quiet, then n.o.body else will find out. I can help you.'

'Why would you want to help me?' Red asked, suspicion all over her face.

Tanya looked at the changeling. 'Because I know you don't mean him any harm. And because you have something that I want.'

Red stared at her incredulously. 'What could you possibly want from me?'

'Information,' said Tanya. 'You know things . . . things about fairies. I want you to share them with me. If you do then I won't tell anyone that I've seen you. I'll keep you a secret. And I can bring you food and water you won't have to risk being seen in the house. With a bit of planning, you might even be able to sneak a shower.'

At the mere mention of a shower Red's eyes took on a hungry look.

'A hot shower,' she whispered. 'Sounds like heaven.' She lowered her head towards her armpit and sniffed suspiciously. 'And is long overdue.' Her eyes snapped back to Tanya. 'If I agree then there's something else. If you want information then it'll cost you. I'll need you to do something for me.'

'Like what?'

From her pocket Red pulled out a small piece of paper. 'I need what's on this list. As many items as you can get. When you bring food and the items, leave them behind the pa.s.sage opening where you got in. Don't come into the tunnels. If I hear anyone down here then I'll a.s.sume you've ratted me out and I'll leave. Once you've got me the items I'll give you information. And then I'm out of here.'

'All right,' said Tanya, warily. 'But in return, you keep out of the house until I say so. Stay down here, out of sight until I say it's all clear for you to come up. I'll put food in the pa.s.sage but you can come up when I've got the stuff on the list.'

Red nodded curtly and held out the list. Tanya took it from her filthy, clammy hand.

'I'll take you back,' said Red. 'It's a fair way through the tunnels and it's not the same way we left the house either.'

'How did you find out about the secret pa.s.sages in this house?' Tanya asked. 'By accident?'

'No. Someone told me about them, someone I trust. I have a number of contacts people doing the same thing as me. We swap information about hideouts such as these. There are quite a few, dotted all over the country. Houses, churches, inns. Some of them, like this house, are connected to others a short distance away.'

'I heard that there's a tunnel linking the house to a pub in Tickey End and one leading to the church,' said Tanya. 'Is that true?'

'Yes. I got in through the one at the church. The entrance is through a grave.'

'A grave?'

'It's a fake. n.o.body was ever buried there. It was constructed solely as an entrance to the tunnels.'

Tanya stood up. 'Are all the tunnels one-way? Either in or out of the house?'

'No. Just one. The others go both ways. The only reason the one behind the bookcase doesn't is because of a fault. It was meant to allow access to the house from the tunnels too.'

'So where's the way back in?' Tanya asked, clasping her arms about herself for warmth.

'The quickest way from here leads to a room up on the first floor: a guest room that was never intended for use. Because of that, the door has no lock. The way in is through a tiny crawl s.p.a.ce in a section of the wooden wall panelling. We'll go that way.'

Red moved off towards the opening in the cavern that led to the tunnel. As they approached, she stopped abruptly and spun round to face Tanya.

'There's something I forgot to mention. Something that might change your mind.'

'What?' Tanya asked.

'The fact that you're helping me,' said Red. 'The fairies aren't going to like it. They aren't going to like it at all.'

'How are they going to find out?'

'Surely you're not that naive?' Red hissed. She gestured wildly to the darkness surrounding them. 'They're probably here, now. Watching.'

'I can protect myself,' said Tanya. 'I'm not afraid.'

Red eyed her with an expression that was half admiring and half scornful. Wordlessly, she spun round so her back was to Tanya, pulled her thick, tangled hair aside, then reached behind and yanked the neck of her dress down so the top of her back was exposed.

Even in the poor light, the shape of the girl's spine jutting through her flesh was clear to see. On her skin, at the top centre of her back, Tanya could make out an ugly, burn-like mark that was about the size of a fist. It was not just any mark. The silvery scar tissue was in an oddly familiar shape; a set of wings. Fairy wings. They had been branded into the skin.

At Tanya's horrified gasp, Red pulled her dress back into place and turned back round to face her. 'This is what happened when I made the mistake of underestimating them,' she said bitterly. 'I consider myself lucky to have escaped with only this scar.'

'H-how . . . did you get that?' Tanya asked, all attempts at bravery gone.

'I hope for your sake you never have to find out,' Red said grimly. 'If you're not afraid of them, then you should be.'

13.

VOIDING FABIAN THE FOLLOWING day was to prove more difficult than Tanya antic.i.p.ated. Since her discovery of Red and the knowledge of the truth behind her ability, Tanya now had her own agenda, and it was one that did not involve Fabian or his plans to go gallivanting in the woods. When she finally came out of her room shortly after midday, stiff and exhausted, the first thing on her mind was to find out who the changeling in her family might have been and for that she had no idea where to start. She wondered who had been switched: someone from her mother's side of the family, or her father's, and whether they had lived many years ago . . . or whether it was someone alive now, someone she knew. This possibility disturbed her deeply.

Her second concern was the list of items that Red had asked her to get. This, she knew, was going to be problematic, for she only had a few pounds left over from what she'd spent in Tickey End. Unless she figured out a way of getting some more money then she would have to risk filching most of the items from around the house and this would take time and planning. Until the list was complete, there was little Tanya could do except supply Red with food and water through the pa.s.sage behind the bookcase.

Her grandmother was nowhere to be seen when she went downstairs, although a note had been left on the fridge bearing the message that her mother had telephoned earlier that morning. Tanya screwed it up and chucked it into the bin. She was still sore about being left at the manor in the first place. If her mother was trying to ease her conscience for dumping her out in the countryside then Tanya had no intentions of making it easy for her.

She filled a bowl with cornflakes and sat down at the kitchen table. Florence had not been at all happy when Tanya had refused to come down for breakfast. She had spent several minutes banging on the bedroom door before finally giving up and stomping back downstairs.

Halfway through her breakfast, Tanya got up and switched on the radio on the windowsill, listening for the news. There was a brief mention of the stolen child and a further description of Red. When the bulletin ended, Tanya was tense. The thought of Red in the tunnels below the house left her ill at ease and, not for the first time, she wondered if keeping quiet was a mistake she'd come to regret. A torrent of conflicting thoughts fought inside her. Red was unstable, desperate. Desperate people did desperate things. Dangerous things. There was nothing to say she would keep her word and stay out of the house. Yet she was also the only person Tanya knew of that shared her ability, and this was a bond she could not ignore. They had both suffered at the hands of the fairies, but now it was evident that so far, what Tanya had experienced was torment. Red, it seemed, had endured something like torture.

She turned the radio off in the middle of a weather forecast that was predicting summer storms and was staring dismally into her soggy breakfast when Fabian slouched into the kitchen. Wordlessly he picked up the cereal box still on the side where Tanya had left it, delved his hand inside, then withdrew it and shoved a fistful of cornflakes into his mouth.

'You are disgusting,' snapped Tanya. 'How about a bowl, some milk and a spoon?'

'Tastes better this way,' Fabian mumbled, between munches. As he turned to leave, Tanya saw an angry bruise on his temple glaring out against the paleness of his skin.

'How did you get that?' she asked immediately. 'What happened to your face?'

'Nothing.' Fabian's tone was sullen, his blue eyes lowered. 'I fell.'

'You fell?'

'Yes. I fell, all right?'

Tanya narrowed her eyes, but said nothing more.

'Oh, and thanks for mending my T-s.h.i.+rt,' he said suddenly, and Tanya sensed his eagerness to change the subject. 'The st.i.tches are immaculate. I thought you said you were terrible at sewing?'

'I am,' she said, puzzled. 'I didn't mend it.'

Fabian blinked, his eyes huge and owl-like behind his gla.s.ses. 'Then who did? Florence says it wasn't her, either. And it definitely wasn't Warwick.'

Out of the corner of her eye, Tanya became aware of the hearthfay's creepily long fingers wrapping themselves around the coalscuttle. The movement was followed by a simpering little sigh. She glanced at it suspiciously. It shot out of sight, and a reel of green cotton rolled a little way along the hearth before being hastily s.n.a.t.c.hed back.

Tanya turned back to Fabian and shrugged. She was wise enough to know better than to take credit for a fairy's work even if it left her with no answers.

'Anyway, we need to talk,' he said.

Tanya stared at the bruise on his temple, the hearthfay forgotten. 'About what?'

'About what we discussed last night going back into the forest.'

'Oh. That,' Tanya answered, unable to hide her lack of enthusiasm.

'We have to get organised,' said Fabian. 'We'll need to take a few things with us. Warm clothing, a map, a torch, a compa.s.s, food and water-'

'Food and water? I'm not planning on a picnic!'

'Neither am I,' said Fabian. 'It's just a precaution in case we get lost again. Now, I've already got a flask, and map and a torch, so-'

'Hang on a minute,' Tanya interrupted. 'Why do we need a torch? . . . I hope you're not suggesting what I think you are?'

The absence of an answer confirmed her suspicions.

'You're not serious? I'm not going into those woods at night!'

'Keep your voice down!'

'Well, I won't go!'

Fabian's nostrils flared in annoyance.

'Look, I'm not ecstatic about the idea myself. But in case you haven't noticed, Warwick hardly let me out of his sight yesterday it's as if he knows we're up to something. The only chance we've got is when he's not watching. And the only time he's not watching is when he's asleep.' He glared at her, but there was a desperation about him. 'I have to find out what happened. I have to know. If you want out then say so. Otherwise, don't waste my time.'

'What if we find out that your grandfather did do . . . do something to Morwenna Bloom?' Tanya said quietly. 'Have you thought about how that'll make you feel? It could change everything. You've lived with not knowing up until now. Maybe you're better off staying that way.'

She regretted her words instantly as she saw the look in Fabian's eyes. They were haunted.

'I'd probably agree with that if we hadn't seen her . . . or whatever it was that looked like her in the woods,' he whispered. 'But now . . . things have already changed. I can't just forget. And whatever happened can't be worse than I've already imagined in my head. Whatever happened can't be worse than the not knowing.'

Tanya bit her lip. And even though her mind was screaming the opposite, she heard herself say, 'I'll . . . I'll do it. I'll come with you.'

The look on Fabian's face told her heart she had done the right thing. Her head, however, remained unconvinced. 'So . . . when?' she asked.

Fabian looked solemn. 'Tonight.'

It was the first time Tanya had seen Fabian's room. He was intensely private about it, and now it was clear to see why. The best way in which it could be described was a hybrid of a science laboratory and a small museum. On the desk over by the fireplace was an enormous globe of the world, along with various papers in Fabian's scribbled handwriting. Skulls and teeth of animals covered the shelves and there were thick books on every scientific and historic subject Tanya could think of, plus many she had never even heard of.

There were detailed drawings, diagrams and observations on natural forms and the like, plus the weird magnifying device Fabian had been using on Tanya's first day at the manor. She also noted with disgust a gla.s.s of milk that was so off it was turning to cheese, and was unsure whether it was an experiment or just the result of Fabian's general untidiness.

In the corner of the room stood a life-size human skeleton, which probably would have looked eerie had it not been wearing Fabian's school tie and blazer.

'That's not real, is it?' she asked.

'It's plastic.'

'Where did you get it?' Tanya asked.

'School,' Fabian replied. 'Now, about this map-'

'You didn't steal it, did you?' said Tanya, swallowing a surge of laughter as she envisaged Fabian smuggling out a fully-clothed skeleton under the pretence of it being a real person.

Fabian's nostrils were beginning to flare in the way they always did when he was annoyed about something. 'It's for a project. Now shut up for a minute and listen.' He took the map and spread it out. After flicking a dirty sock out of the way, Tanya sat at the foot of the bed.

'This map shows the whole of Hangman's Wood and its surrounding areas,' said Fabian, pointing to the church and Tickey End. 'All the catacombs are clearly marked. This is where we entered the forest.' He tapped the clearing by the brook. 'This is the first catacomb we came to, see? The big one. This smaller one here is where we saw the girl. It's actually not that far from the first one but we were so lost that day that we must've been walking in circles, so it seemed further away. We should follow the same route as before it'll be easier with the map. I've got everything we need except for a compa.s.s, but Warwick has one so I just have to think of a way-'