Lady Friday(62)

It carefully laid the Denizen down on the coloured stones, which shifted under him like beans in a beanbag. As the creature moved and the light shone through its wing, Arthur saw lines and lines of type moving within the membrane between the bones.

‘You are Part Five!’ he exclaimed, relief making his voice squeak, so he sounded a bit like the Beast himself. ‘Of the Will, I mean.’

‘Of course I am, dear boy,’ said the Beast.

‘I’m Arthur. That is, the Rightful Heir to—’ ‘I know, I know. I wondered when you would finally get here.’

‘Oh,’ said Arthur. ‘You knew I was here?’

‘One Who Survived the Darkness talks to me a little,’ the Will replied. ‘Very tough Denizen, she is. Most of them can’t go back to the Eyrie. Some deep psychological thing once the mask and leather comes off.’

Arthur looked at the unconscious Denizen.

‘What happens to them, then?’

‘They wander down through the hidden ways and take up other employment,’ said the Will. ‘A lot of them become Paper Pushers on the canal. Now, if you wouldn’t mind removing my chain? I believe there is a lot of work to be done, and while too much work is to be discouraged, I believe a fair amount should be essayed each and every day.’

‘Okay,’ said Arthur. He walked over to the Will, which was quite difficult since the pebbles kept slipping under his feet. ‘What’s with all these little stones?’

The Will looked down at the stones.

‘A hobby. I’ve made one for every week of my confinement here. They do add up, don’t they? I suppose I should not have kept at it, but it is generally very dull down here in the Inner Darkness. Friday used to come and talk to me too, once upon a time, but I believe she has developed other interests in more recent times.’

‘You could say that,’ said Arthur. He reached up and touched the chain to see what it was made of and whether there was any chance of breaking or releasing it without using the Fourth Key. But as his fingers touched the metal, the links simply fell apart, though the crown-collar remained around the Will’s neck.

‘Excellent! The touch of the Rightful Heir is true,’ said the Will. ‘I’m so glad you’re not an imposter. I really didn’t want to eat you.’

‘I appreciate that,’ said Arthur. He was beginning to like Part Five of the Will. It appeared to be much more relaxed than the other parts and more normal … considering it was a giant bat-dragon monster.

‘Now tell me your doubtless fiendishly cunning plan,’ said the Will. It flexed its wings, nearly buffeting Arthur into the pebbles. ‘Pardon me. A little stretch before I resize. It has been most troublesome not being able to shrink all this time.’

‘My plan … ’ said Arthur. ‘My plan … ’

His mouth stayed open as the Beast shrank before his eyes, going from a forty-foot-long monster to a strange-looking critter the size of a handbag poodle in a matter of seconds.

‘Too small?’ asked the Will. It jumped to Arthur’s shoulder and let out a squawk like a parrot, which sounded very odd from a russet bat’s mouth. Its draconic tail hung down Arthur’s back and made him ticklish. ‘Mind if I ride? Flying is all very well, but not for extended periods. Now tell me the plan.’

‘The plan is …’ Arthur began. ‘Not much of a plan. Lady Friday has supposedly abdicated—’

‘She hasn’t,’ said the Will. ‘Not officially. For it to be official, she’d have to tell me, and she hasn’t.’

‘Has she left the Key in her Scriptorium for either me, the Piper, or Saturday to claim?’

‘She hasn’t done that either,’ said the Will. ‘The Key’s not even in the House. It’s out in the Secondary Realms somewhere. I can feel it.’

‘Um, well, the Piper and Saturday’s Noon have gone up to the Scriptorium to get the Key,’ said Arthur. ‘Hopefully they’ve killed each other. I was planning to go up and see what was what, with a force of Gilded Youths, but …’

‘But what?’ asked the Will. ‘Sounds like a good plan to me. Simple. You don’t want too much complexity in a plan. Nice and straightforward. Let’s get going.’

‘If the Key’s not even there, why bother?’ said Arthur. But he started clambering back to the ladder.

‘Might find out something useful,’ said the Will. ‘I’ve got a feeling we should take a look anyway. Friday’s obviously gone off the deep end. No knowing what she’s done. How’s the rest of me doing, by the way?’