the Upper House. If the Army has retreated to the Middle—”
Dusk interrupted him. “Not ‘retreated’, please,” he said. “We have merely taken up an alternate position, in preparation for further offensive action.”
“If the Army and Dame Primus are in the Middle House, we must go there,” said the Will. “But we cannot do so from this elevator.”
“Indeed,” said Dusk. “I am surprised you arrived in it. Dr Scamandros judged that shaft to be too compromised by Nothing or we would have used it ourselves.”
“Trust you to call a rotten elevator,” said Suzy to the Will. It clacked its beak at her and flew to Giac’s shoulder. He stiffened in alarm and looked away, as if he could ignore the presence of the sorcerous bird.
Marshal Dusk took a silver pocket watch out of his sleeve and flipped it open.
“Come! We have less than an hour. We must march to the next tile at once. It moves to the Citadel, and our last working elevator is at the Citadel.”
“So the tiles are moving?” asked Suzy. “They haven’t broken down?”
“Some still move,” replied Dusk. “We must hope the one we need will take us. If it doesn’t…”
“If it doesn’t…” prompted Suzy when Marshal Dusk did not finish.
“We will be consumed by Nothing,” concluded the Denizen.
C HAPTER TEN
L eaf was a step away from the Front Door, with her eyes averted, when the Reaper pushed her hard in the middle of her back. She stumbled forward, her arms outstretched to stop herself – and encountered no resistance. Instead she went straight through the Door and fell screaming into darkness.
She was still screaming when the Reaper caught up with her, his scythe casting a bright greenish light around him. Only then did Leaf realise that she wasn’t actually falling, that her senses had betrayed her. She was more floating than anything else.But if she looked away from the Reaper, or shut her eyes, the sensation of falling returned.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“Inside the Front Door,” said the Reaper. “Where we should not linger. Climb upon my back, but do not essay any nonsense.”
“Why should I trust you?” said Leaf. She was already thinking about trying to strangle the Reaper or something like that, with the vague idea that if she could stall her eventual arrival wherever the Reaper wanted to take her, it would be a victory of sorts.
“You had best obey. There are now many Nithlings within the Door,” said the Reaper. “And I will need both hands to wield my scythe.”
Leaf looked around. All she could see were the Reaper and herself within a globe of greenish light. All else was darkness.
“I have little patience for those who choose to die,” said the Reaper. “Climb on my back. Now!”
Leaf looked around again. This time, she did see the hint of a shadow breaking the green light, a split-second warning before the sudden appearance of grasping legs that belonged to something that hadthe abdomen and legs of a spider, and the torso and head of a human. Before those spurred, hairy limbs could grasp her, Leaf dived for the Reaper’s feet, even as the Denizen swung his scythe and the Nithling was parted in two. The different sections still scrabbled after Leaf, till the Reaper kicked them away and they spiralled off into the dark.
Leaf needed no more instruction. She climbed up the Reaper’s back, like a monkey up a tree, and embraced his neck with shaking arms.
“Hold tighter,” said the Reaper. Once he was satisfied she had obeyed, he jumped, extending his scythe ahead of him. Its green light shone around them as they moved through this strange darkness that was neither water nor air.
Like deep-sea creatures drawn to a glowing lure, the Nithlings came to the green light. The first one was a thing that was mostly a giant bird with a vicious beak and metallic feathers, though instead of talons it had vastly oversize human hands, each with eight fingers and no thumbs. It speared its beak at
Dusk interrupted him. “Not ‘retreated’, please,” he said. “We have merely taken up an alternate position, in preparation for further offensive action.”
“If the Army and Dame Primus are in the Middle House, we must go there,” said the Will. “But we cannot do so from this elevator.”
“Indeed,” said Dusk. “I am surprised you arrived in it. Dr Scamandros judged that shaft to be too compromised by Nothing or we would have used it ourselves.”
“Trust you to call a rotten elevator,” said Suzy to the Will. It clacked its beak at her and flew to Giac’s shoulder. He stiffened in alarm and looked away, as if he could ignore the presence of the sorcerous bird.
Marshal Dusk took a silver pocket watch out of his sleeve and flipped it open.
“Come! We have less than an hour. We must march to the next tile at once. It moves to the Citadel, and our last working elevator is at the Citadel.”
“So the tiles are moving?” asked Suzy. “They haven’t broken down?”
“Some still move,” replied Dusk. “We must hope the one we need will take us. If it doesn’t…”
“If it doesn’t…” prompted Suzy when Marshal Dusk did not finish.
“We will be consumed by Nothing,” concluded the Denizen.
C HAPTER TEN
L eaf was a step away from the Front Door, with her eyes averted, when the Reaper pushed her hard in the middle of her back. She stumbled forward, her arms outstretched to stop herself – and encountered no resistance. Instead she went straight through the Door and fell screaming into darkness.
She was still screaming when the Reaper caught up with her, his scythe casting a bright greenish light around him. Only then did Leaf realise that she wasn’t actually falling, that her senses had betrayed her. She was more floating than anything else.But if she looked away from the Reaper, or shut her eyes, the sensation of falling returned.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“Inside the Front Door,” said the Reaper. “Where we should not linger. Climb upon my back, but do not essay any nonsense.”
“Why should I trust you?” said Leaf. She was already thinking about trying to strangle the Reaper or something like that, with the vague idea that if she could stall her eventual arrival wherever the Reaper wanted to take her, it would be a victory of sorts.
“You had best obey. There are now many Nithlings within the Door,” said the Reaper. “And I will need both hands to wield my scythe.”
Leaf looked around. All she could see were the Reaper and herself within a globe of greenish light. All else was darkness.
“I have little patience for those who choose to die,” said the Reaper. “Climb on my back. Now!”
Leaf looked around again. This time, she did see the hint of a shadow breaking the green light, a split-second warning before the sudden appearance of grasping legs that belonged to something that hadthe abdomen and legs of a spider, and the torso and head of a human. Before those spurred, hairy limbs could grasp her, Leaf dived for the Reaper’s feet, even as the Denizen swung his scythe and the Nithling was parted in two. The different sections still scrabbled after Leaf, till the Reaper kicked them away and they spiralled off into the dark.
Leaf needed no more instruction. She climbed up the Reaper’s back, like a monkey up a tree, and embraced his neck with shaking arms.
“Hold tighter,” said the Reaper. Once he was satisfied she had obeyed, he jumped, extending his scythe ahead of him. Its green light shone around them as they moved through this strange darkness that was neither water nor air.
Like deep-sea creatures drawn to a glowing lure, the Nithlings came to the green light. The first one was a thing that was mostly a giant bird with a vicious beak and metallic feathers, though instead of talons it had vastly oversize human hands, each with eight fingers and no thumbs. It speared its beak at
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