Castle of Shadows by Ellen Renner

suspicions about the Prime Minister? Your worlds did not coincide. You had forgotten his existence and he yours. It was safer for you to remain ignorant. If only you had never found that letter!’ He sighed. ‘But once you had found it… Yes. You are right. I should have told you then. But…you are sointemperate, Charlie. I feared what you might do.’
    ‘Well, she’s gone and done something worse,’ Tobias said. ‘And you can both stop blaming yourselves. The only person to blame for this mess is Windlass. Our job is to figure out what to do next, and that’s easy. Give Nell the letter. See if the Resistance can find your mum before he does.’
    ‘Tobias is right,’ said Mr Moleglass.
    ‘No,’ Charlie said. The butler’s mouth dropped open. Tobias frowned. ‘I’m not giving Nell the letter,’ she said. ‘I’m not giving anyone the letter.’
    ‘Then Windlass wins!’ shouted Tobias.
    ‘No.’ She shook her head. ‘ I’m going to talk to the Resistance. I want Nell to arrange a meeting as soon as possible.’
    Mr Moleglass’s eyes widened in horror, but Tobias’s look of surprise melted into a broad grin. ‘Well done, Charlie,’ he said softly.
    ‘Absolutely not!’ Mr Moleglass snapped. ‘You cannot leave the Castle. It is too dangerous!’
    He meant for the best, but he was wrong. She walked over to the chess table and picked up a white pawn. It was carved of bone and felt cool and heavy in her hand. She had known and loved these pieces for as long as she could remember.
    ‘This is what I’ve been, all these years,’ she said, holding it out. ‘But remember what you always tell me, Mr Moleglass: never despise a pawn. If it succeeds incrossing the board safely, it becomes a queen – the most powerful piece in the game.’ She replaced the chess piece on its square and turned to the butler. ‘I won’t be a pawn any more. I’m going to find my mother.’
    He stared at her, then turned to Tobias.
    ‘She’s right,’ said the gardener’s boy. ‘Sorry, Mr M, but it’s checkmate.’
    Moleglass walked to his armchair and collapsed into it. He put his face in his hands. After a moment, he looked up, his eyes full of foreboding. ‘Very well,’ he sighed. ‘At least, include me in your plans. It’s true that I have no turn for adventure, but perhaps I can be useful in other ways.’
    ‘I’ll go find Nell in a minute,’ said Tobias. ‘Maria’ll fetch her for me. We’ll set up a meeting with the Resistance. All that’s easy enough. The hard part’s gonna be getting Charlie out of the Castle. It’ll have to be at night, and blamed if I can think of a safe way to do it. I don’t fancy trying to get her past the Guard and the hounds. It’s too chancy.’
    Moleglass frowned in thought. ‘I think I know of a way. No one has done it before, but I cannot think why it would not work. If you are brave enough, Charlie. It will, for you, require much courage indeed!’

Eleven
    ‘I can’t! It’s no good.’
    ‘Then you stay here, Charlie, and Tobias takes the letter to the Resistance.’ Mr Moleglass shrugged. ‘As you have been at pains to make clear, it is your decision.’
    She glared at him. ‘No!’ she said at last. ‘I-I’ll do it.’ She felt sick. Mr Moleglass’s plan was brilliant. It was also her worst nightmare.
    It was the middle of the night, and they were standing in the freight room, examining a small wooden carriage sitting on a narrow railway track. The track disappeared into a hole in the wall. The freight room occupied the whole of the Castle’s south cellar. It was an enormous room lined with towering shelves. The floor was cluttered with barrels, crates, and wheeled carts. But the most important object in the room was the steam engine which powered the pneumatic railway used to ship supplies from the City. The railway tunnel cut through the Castle hill and bored under part of the City itself. It had been installed in the 1830s by her grandfather, in the great