He didn’t know whether it was the Lieutenant Keeper’s spell or some residual enchantment from the First Key, but the burns from the Nothing rain healed in a matter of minutes. But he still felt the pain…
“That’s why I’m here,” said Suzy. “To help you. You might want to look the other way—this is a bit disgusting.”
“What is?” asked Arthur, as Suzy reached into her mouth with two fingers.
“This!” said Suzy, ripping out a tooth from the back of her mouth, complete with bleeding roots.
Arthur grimaced and stepped back as Suzy spat blood onto the train tracks.
“Had to smuggle it in as an extra wisdom tooth right at the back,” she explained, setting the tooth down on the ground, being careful to shield it with her umbrella. “Got everything we need in it.”
Arthur looked down at the tooth.
How could this ugly-looking molar have anything in it? he thought, but he was wise enough in the ways of the House to keep silent for a moment.
As Arthur watched, the color from the bloody roots slowly spread upwards, changing the tooth from white to a deep, even red. Then the tooth began to shimmer and change, its outline becoming blurry and indistinct. An instant later, Arthur was looking down at a fat little wooden doll about an inch high and two inches around, with a smiling face, red cheeks, and a bright red-painted coat with a black line around the stomach to mark where it could be opened. It looked like the smallest doll from a set of Russian dolls, the kind that nested one within another.
“Uh, you sure this is right?” asked Arthur.
“Open it up,” said Suzy with a sniff. “See for yourself.”
Arthur bent down and unscrewed the doll. When he lifted off the top half his thumb and forefinger were savagely forced apart, nearly spraining them, as a larger doll exploded out.
The second doll was five times the size of the tiny doll he’d just opened. Arthur sighed as Suzy raised an eyebrow.
“Come on,” she said. “There’s three more dolls inside that one, then the one with the stuff. Don’t stick your head too close, mind.”
“I’ll do it, sir,” offered Japeth.
“No, I’ll do it,” said Arthur. “And don’t call me sir!”
“Very good, your sublime serenity.”
“Don’t call me that either,” said Arthur as he gingerly unscrewed the head of the second doll, leaning well back to allow the larger one inside to bound out without doing him permanent damage.
The other dolls quickly followed, and in a few minutes Arthur was unscrewing the head of the fifth and last doll, which was almost as tall as he was, and three times as fat. This time, nothing exploded out.
Arthur warily looked inside the open doll, ready to jump back if there was some delayed reaction or ghastly contents inside. But the doll was empty, save for a canvas satchel at the bottom about the same size as Arthur’s school backpack.
“Had to put it inside lots of dolls so the Grim’s Sniffers didn’t pick it up,” explained Suzy. She stuck her umbrella upright in the spoke-hole of a leading wheel, rolled the doll onto its side, and bent in to retrieve the satchel.
Her muffled voice continued from inside. “Youprobably missed ‘em coming in the back way. Horrid things, those Sniffers. Just the snout of a dog, without the rest of the animal. A nose crawling about on hairybristle legs that I reckon the Grim took off a cricket and sized up. Fair made me want to puke.”
“One crawled over me when I arrived,” said Japeth with a shudder. “A disembodied snout with two tiny eyes and a shrunken mouth, sniffing at my skin…I didn’t know what it was, or what it was doing.”
“They sniff out magic or forbidden powers,” said Suzy. “Like wot’s in ‘ere.”
She laid the satchel down under the umbrella and opened it up. It unfolded like a picnic set, revealing two pieces of beautifully crisp, heavy white paper; a stick of crimson sealing wax; four small coiled balls of twine; a box of matches
“That’s why I’m here,” said Suzy. “To help you. You might want to look the other way—this is a bit disgusting.”
“What is?” asked Arthur, as Suzy reached into her mouth with two fingers.
“This!” said Suzy, ripping out a tooth from the back of her mouth, complete with bleeding roots.
Arthur grimaced and stepped back as Suzy spat blood onto the train tracks.
“Had to smuggle it in as an extra wisdom tooth right at the back,” she explained, setting the tooth down on the ground, being careful to shield it with her umbrella. “Got everything we need in it.”
Arthur looked down at the tooth.
How could this ugly-looking molar have anything in it? he thought, but he was wise enough in the ways of the House to keep silent for a moment.
As Arthur watched, the color from the bloody roots slowly spread upwards, changing the tooth from white to a deep, even red. Then the tooth began to shimmer and change, its outline becoming blurry and indistinct. An instant later, Arthur was looking down at a fat little wooden doll about an inch high and two inches around, with a smiling face, red cheeks, and a bright red-painted coat with a black line around the stomach to mark where it could be opened. It looked like the smallest doll from a set of Russian dolls, the kind that nested one within another.
“Uh, you sure this is right?” asked Arthur.
“Open it up,” said Suzy with a sniff. “See for yourself.”
Arthur bent down and unscrewed the doll. When he lifted off the top half his thumb and forefinger were savagely forced apart, nearly spraining them, as a larger doll exploded out.
The second doll was five times the size of the tiny doll he’d just opened. Arthur sighed as Suzy raised an eyebrow.
“Come on,” she said. “There’s three more dolls inside that one, then the one with the stuff. Don’t stick your head too close, mind.”
“I’ll do it, sir,” offered Japeth.
“No, I’ll do it,” said Arthur. “And don’t call me sir!”
“Very good, your sublime serenity.”
“Don’t call me that either,” said Arthur as he gingerly unscrewed the head of the second doll, leaning well back to allow the larger one inside to bound out without doing him permanent damage.
The other dolls quickly followed, and in a few minutes Arthur was unscrewing the head of the fifth and last doll, which was almost as tall as he was, and three times as fat. This time, nothing exploded out.
Arthur warily looked inside the open doll, ready to jump back if there was some delayed reaction or ghastly contents inside. But the doll was empty, save for a canvas satchel at the bottom about the same size as Arthur’s school backpack.
“Had to put it inside lots of dolls so the Grim’s Sniffers didn’t pick it up,” explained Suzy. She stuck her umbrella upright in the spoke-hole of a leading wheel, rolled the doll onto its side, and bent in to retrieve the satchel.
Her muffled voice continued from inside. “Youprobably missed ‘em coming in the back way. Horrid things, those Sniffers. Just the snout of a dog, without the rest of the animal. A nose crawling about on hairybristle legs that I reckon the Grim took off a cricket and sized up. Fair made me want to puke.”
“One crawled over me when I arrived,” said Japeth with a shudder. “A disembodied snout with two tiny eyes and a shrunken mouth, sniffing at my skin…I didn’t know what it was, or what it was doing.”
“They sniff out magic or forbidden powers,” said Suzy. “Like wot’s in ‘ere.”
She laid the satchel down under the umbrella and opened it up. It unfolded like a picnic set, revealing two pieces of beautifully crisp, heavy white paper; a stick of crimson sealing wax; four small coiled balls of twine; a box of matches
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