Chapter
Fourteen
None of us said much as we traversed the woods on our way back to open land and empty skies. It might have been the presence of the spiders, which herded us through the trees as if we were errant sheep who had to be shown the way, or it might have been their father’s revelations that kept us silent. We were all chewing over what we had learned and what it could mean for our future.
Despite my preoccupation, I couldn’t avoid the blast of relief when we finally stepped out of the woods and gazed upon Hammerwich. Enjoying the moment, I breathed in the fresh cold air then turned back to thank the spiders for their help but all six of them had already gone, their duty complete.
I scanned the trees for a long moment and shrugged. They were in the right place; the woods were clearly protected and the spider family as safe as they ever could be. Those trees had stood for many hundreds of years and hopefully would remain for hundreds more.
Hugo pulled out a water bottle and took several long swallows. Hester tilted her head up to the sun and Otis rubbed at the greenish skin on his bare arms with a faint frown. Itappeared that nobody wanted to be the first to speak. I nibbled on my bottom lip and watched a lazy pigeon flap past us.
But we had to talk about it sooner or later. I cleared my throat. ‘It might mean nothing,’ I said. ‘Even if what he said is true and somebody possessed the means to rid the world of fiends – and actually did so – they couldn’t be eradicated forever. Blood magic still exists therefore fiends still exist.’
Hugo screwed the lid back onto his water bottle and looked at me. Usually, his blue eyes reminded me of smooth velvet but now their colour put me in mind of a gathering storm. ‘Fiends havealwaysexisted in some form or other. We can trace their history back to the turn of the first millennium. There are fiends embroidered onto the Bayeux Tapestry and that’s been in existence since the eleventh century. They are described in the Domesday Book.’
He was referring to the survey of swathes of the country that had been completed at the behest of William the Conqueror in 1086. ‘And there are records in a temperature-controlled vault in the Royal Elvish Institute that reference all known fiends throughout the centuries. You’ve seen them, Daisy.’
He was right: I’d managed to gain access to that information not long after Athair had first revealed himself to be my father. ‘Records can be altered,’ I said, playing devil’s advocate. ‘Especially historical ones. A lot of those records have been kept hidden from the general public. The less people know about them, the easier they are to change.’
Hugo shook his head. ‘But even when those historical records are hidden from public view, there are still too many of them to give credence to such a radical event. It never happened, Daisy. There has never been a purging of every fiend. Whatever rumours the spider heard, nobody has ever rid the world of them all.’
He paused. ‘But just because it didn’t happen then, doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen now,’ he added softly. ‘It doesn’t mean those rumours were false, it simply means that the final event has never taken place.’
‘Yet,’ Otis whispered.
A broad grin spread across Hester’s face. ‘Yet!’ she shouted.
I was a long way from sharing her excitement. ‘Do you think it might have something to do with the map you found at Culcreuch Castle? Could it be related to Lincolnshire? Could that be the reason why Athair doesn’t want us to go there?’
‘It’s certainly possible.’ Hugo gazed at me. ‘But we don’t have any concrete information. All we have is vague guesswork and ancient rumours.’
I nodded and bit my lip. ‘What the spider said about coppicing the wood and the magna pesti-something? What did that mean?’
‘Themagna pestilienciais one of the names for the Black Death,’ Hugo explained.
I stiffened. Athair had told me he’d been alive during that time. ‘Mid-fourteenth century,’ I said. ‘Right?’
He nodded. ‘And coppicing woodland is an ancient woodland management technique that dates back to the Stone Age.’
‘Three million years ago?’ Otis asked in disbelief.
‘Yep. Give or take.’ Hugo pointed behind us. ‘But although these woods are ancient, they’re not wild. They’ve not been here since the dawn of time. The people of Hammerwich are probably responsible for coppicing them in more recent times. If we can find out roughly when the coppicing started here, we’ll get a more accurate idea of when the spider might have heard that rumour.’ He eyed us. ‘It’s not much. Like Lincolnshire, it’s not much more than another shot in the dark.’
He wasn’t wrong, but desperate times called for desperate measures. ‘We have to take what we can get.’
He grinned suddenly. ‘That we do.’
We meandered backto the little park and perched on the bench where we’d chatted to Amy the day before. It was pleasing to see that we were no longer the only visitors: the small children’s area, complete with swings, slide and a climbing frame, was occupied by two or three families enjoying the midday sun. There were also a few cars and pedestrians on the streets. Hammerwich was still a quiet place but at least today it wasn’t entirely devoid of life.
Hugo looked around, double-checking that nobody was near enough to overhear our conversation, then took out his phone. He put it onto speaker and placed it on the bench as he called the team of Primes back at Pemberville Castle.
Becky answered on the second ring: she’d clearly been waiting for our call. ‘Hey! How are you guys?’ Her bubbly voice was like a balm. ‘Have you had any joy locating that extra missing gold?’
To be honest, I’d forgotten the reason we’d come to Hammerwich. Athair’s wild goose chase seemed even less important now than it had before.
‘We’re still investigating,’ Hugo replied, in a tone that suggested the same lack of interest.
Becky got the message instantly. ‘Fair enough,’ she said cheerfully. ‘Hang on. I’m putting you on speaker. The others are here. Mark is ready to give you an update on our Lincolnshire progress.’
