Ruler of the Realm

Eighty-seven

‘Do you believe him?’ Gatekeeper Fogarty asked as soon as they were alone.

‘I don’t know,’ Blue said. ‘I wish Flapwazzle was here.’ A thought struck her and she asked, ‘Where is he? Did he get away from Lord Hairstreak?’

Madame Cardui nodded. ‘Came back safely, then went out hunting. They do that when they’re tense. I think the business with Henry and the vampire unnerved him. He’s terribly fond of Henry.’

‘Light’s sake, isn’t Henry awake yet?’ Blue demanded.

‘Soon, deeah, I promise.’

Gatekeeper Fogarty said impatiently. ‘We can check with Henry later. In the meantime, do we believe Hairstreak?’ He looked from one face to the other.

Madame Cardui said slowly, ‘I suspect I do.’

They turned to look at her. ‘Including the bit about the time flowers?’ Fogarty asked.

‘I’m not sure about that, Alan. But I suppose what he says could be true. Pyrgus had his information from Ogyris’s daughter, who’s scarcely more than a child – not the most reliable of sources. Perhaps Merchant Ogyris was growing the flowers for his own use. Perhaps he planned to sell them to the highest bidder.’

‘Perhaps the highest bidder was Beleth,’ Blue suggested. In the present situation, almost anything seemed possible.

Fogarty blinked. ‘Henry used a time flower to kidnap Blue. We assumed he had it from Lord Hairstreak, but we know now that Henry was working for the demons. He had to have it from them, which means Ogyris was supplying Beleth.’

Madame Cardui shuddered. ‘If that’s the case, we are all lost.’

Blue said, ‘This is ridiculous. We need Henry. How can I be expected to decide something like this when he can tell us the answer? I’m going to the infirmary myself to see if his sedation has worn off. If it hasn’t, I’ll order the wizards to wake him.’

‘We’ll go with you,’ Fogarty said hurriedly.

They found Henry wandering the corridors outside the infirmary. He had a bandage on his nose and a vacant expression on his face. He smiled shyly when he saw Blue.

It took them less than a minute to discover he had no memory of anything that had happened to him after the demons inserted their implant.

Blue sighed deeply. ‘Tell my uncle he’s going to have to wait until tomorrow for his answer. I think we need to sleep on it.’