Chapter 36: Edgar
15 February, 2008 – 1:09 pmGodfrey, feigning a sickly smile, took to the stage amid a round of applause.
He scanned each face of the crowd, but – disappointingly - there didn’t seem to be any sign of Hillary, or for that matter his incompetent friend. Still, no matter, he would sort them out later, once the sea of drunken idiots in front of him had been dealt with.
In many ways it was a stroke of luck that Toadflax had delivered him the news of the Ivory Flute’s existence when he did. At the time the invitations had been sent out, the dinner party was originally only meant as a façade – a means to get the measure of Hillary – but events had transpired since then, forcing him to reconsider his motives. Now, with the convergence of the three elements, his overriding ambition was to get rid of these leering fools to clear the way for the more important business of breaking the curse.
He’d come to hate the village and its people even more than he thought he would, and he rubbed his hands together as he came to realise that he could eliminate most of the village in one stroke. It was a consolation that he couldn’t resist.
‘Good evening. First – if I may - let me begin by apologising for the lateness of festivities. I trust Edgar has been taking care of your needs?’
A few people raised their glasses and cheered. He glanced around for Edgar to acknowledge him, but there seemed to be no sign of him in the hall either. Strange. That wasn’t like him at all. Nevertheless, he carried on with his oratory, but couldn’t shake a niggling feeling in his mind that something had happened.
‘I’m sure you’ve all been wondering what all this is about. And you’ve no doubt been guessing the nature of what we’re all here for today. Suffice to say that it concerns a very important zoological breakthrough. I would like to invite you all to share in our latest discovery.’
He smiled and gestured towards Gideon.
‘Gideon, if you would do me the honour of pulling aside the curtains?’
The curtains parted to reveal what looked like a shuffling mound in the middle of the stage, half-lit from lights, and covered with a tarpaulin. The crowd quickly quietened down as more and more eyes turned to the strange sight in front of them. Something seemed unnerving about it. Under the cover, it moved erratically, with deliberate jerky movements. Godfrey could tell that the audience didn’t really know what to make of it. Good, he wanted to scare them silly first.
He nodded to Gideon, who began to pull the tarpaulin off.
* * * *
Tobias rushed to the window to see the Djinn drift off.
As he watched it float away on the night breeze, he couldn’t help but wonder about its homeland. Somehow in his mind, he imagined some far-off exotic land, hot and dusty with arid plains and caravans of nomadic people. He sighed suddenly remembering the Dictaphone in his pocket. He reached into his jacket to switch it off. He’d managed to record the entire exchange between Hillary and the Djinn.
Hillary, who was recuperating in the chair by the desk, looked up as if expecting a question.
‘So, that was a Djinn, eh?’ asked Tobias. ‘Somehow it wasn’t as I expected it to be. I thought it would be more, well, Hollywood?’
Hillary glared at him as if he’d spoken of something he shouldn’t.
‘How did you know what it was?’ continued Tobias.
Hillary sighed and took a deep breath.
‘During my time in the Middle East I had the honour of meeting one of each of the elemental spirits. Each one had particular characteristics. I even managed to befriend one of them – an air spirit just like our friend – who came in rather handy for revealing the whereabouts of the Fiery Brand.’
‘Are there more?’ asked Tobias, utterly fascinated.
‘Oh goodness me, yes - a multitude more in fact. You would be surprised. Unfortunately, for the last thousand or so years they’ve kept themselves away from prying humans, but in the golden age of Persia and Arabia they were formidable foes, and proud warriors.’
Tobias nodded, trying to understand.
‘And no,’ continued Hillary, with a straight face, ‘before you start, they don’t grant wishes.’
‘But, I wasn’t going to ask anything like that…’ protested Tobias, lying.
Hillary managed a smile and stood up, looking visibly drained and exhausted. The spell that had released the Djinn had taken its toll on him physically. Rest would have refreshed him, but they had precious little time for that.
‘We need to get out of this place right now. Let’s go.’
* * * *
In the Great Hall, the screams of alarm and terror from the guests quickly died down, until there was no sound at all, save for the scritch-scratch of talons made by the Cockatrice on the hardwood floor. Good, the monster was obeying their every command. Gideon replaced the blind on the monster and opened his eyes.
What greeted him, was like a surreal scene from a fairy tale – or worse – a cemetery. Row upon row of stone people, each of their faces frozen in perfect terror, stood quite still in the centre of the hall, like a sea of bizarre headstones.
What a neat trick, he thought. ‘I think you’ve surpassed yourself this time,’ he said, grinning through yellow-stained teeth.
He looked into the eyes of one of the statues, and gently nudged it, watching it rock forwards and backwards, until it eventually lost its natural balance and fell over, shattering into shards on the floor of the great hall.
‘Oops. Silly me.’
Gideon sneered, and tethered the Cockatrice to a stout Victorian radiator, and stood there observing Godfrey who looked concerned.
‘Something wrong?’ he asked.
Godfrey rubbed his chin. ‘Where is Hillary and his friend?’ he wondered.
Gideon shrugged. ‘Maybe they’ve gone.’
‘Pah. Highly unlikely. What about the old woman? Or Edgar, for that matter?’
‘Hiding?’
‘Again unlikely. Poking his nose into business that doesn’t concern him? More likely.’
* * * *
Edgar turned to Hillary.
‘Well, I’ll see you then.’
‘What? You’re not coming with us? You’re going to stay here?’ said Hillary.
Edgar nodded. ‘Yes, I must. This is my home. I have to find the real Godfrey.’
Hillary looked him in the eye for a moment, and then held out his hand. By Edgar’s expression he knew that he was deadly serious, and nothing he said would change his mind.
‘Trust no-one,’ he said, slowly, and deliberately, with eyes that were piercing and serious. ‘And be careful. I wish you the best of luck.’
He shook his hand firmly, and turned to leave.
Edgar made his way back down the corridor towards the hall, whilst Hillary and everyone else made their way hurriedly in the opposite direction, desperately looking for a way out of Winterton Hall.
* * * *
After a couple of minutes of quick walking, Edgar neared the Great Hall, but was surprised to notice the lack of sound. He had expected noises from people talking, and generally having fun, but instead, it was totally silent – eerily so in fact. Eventually, as he walked under the archway and into the airy hall, everything became apparent.
His mouth fell open as he gawped at the sight in front of him.
‘What the?’
Shaking his head, he numbly filed past the faces he knew; Gordon Willowbrook, the landlord of the Bearded Dragon; Mrs Choufleux from the patisserie; Bryan Tufford, the farmer. The names went on. There were other faces he recognised too - they were all there - but in the little time that had passed between when he’d been mingling with the guests and now, they’d all been - impossibly - turned to stone. He shook his head in disbelief, wincing at their contorted faces and their expressions of pain and shock.
‘And where exactly have you been?’
Edgar spun around, startled at the voice. The words dripped of spite.
‘Nowhere sir,’ he said, realising that it was his master, Godfrey. ‘Why?’
He tried to look calm, but failed as he felt tiny beads of sweat form on his forehead.
‘Because,’ said Godfrey through gritted teeth, pushing Edgar firmly back towards the hearth of the fire. ‘I don’t trust you.’
Which each word, he pushed Edgar further and further back. The last push, made him almost fall over.
Edgar – feeling a rising tide of newly found adrenaline - pushed back, which surprised Godfrey greatly.
‘Well, I don’t trust you either,’ he said, baring his teeth.
