Law of the Wolf Tower: The Claidi Journals Book 1, Tanith Lee [pocket ebook reader .TXT] 📗

low like servants, maids and slaves. They guard places in the House, too, the Debating Hall, for example, and the upper storeys where the royalty sleep. But they are mostly in their own guard tower, which is one of the highest towers of the House, even taller than the ones I spoke of with hundreds of steps.

The Guards wear blackest black, crossed with belts of silver, and slashed with epaulets of gold. They have high boots shiny as black mirror, with spikes sticking from the heel and the toe. They have knives in fancy scabbards, rifles decorated with silver, and embroidered pouches to carry shot. Medals cover them like armour.

Now they had on their copper helmets too, which have vizors, and more spikes pointing up from the top.

They looked like deadly beetles.

We cowered back among a fringe of rhododendrons, but one of the Guards turned and bellowed at us in a sort of hating voice:

‘Get inside, you damned rubbish!’

Daisy caught her breath, and I heard another maid start to cry. But everyone was scared already. And we bolted on for the House up the terraces and steps.

The Guards were dragging black cannon on black gun-carriages.

I saw a maid – Flamingo, I think – accidentally get in their way, and one of the Guards thrust her aside, so viciously, she sprawled.

In order to protect us properly, they were quite prepared to do us harm. In fact they seemed eager to hurt us, perhaps a sort of practice.

I ducked under a buckled, black-clad arm. Pattoo was dragging. I caught at her and hauled her with me.

And there was the House, sugary and cute in sunlight.

The balloon seemed to have vanished.

Had we all dreamed it?

No, for the Guards were angling every cannon one way. I could smell gun-powder.

I’d heard of events like this, but never seen – smelled – one.

Just then, over a crest of poplar trees, the balloon drifted back again into sight, like a charming toy.

The Guards roared. They appeared to have forgotten us.

It seemed crazy to be out in the open, but somehow we stood and gaped up at the silvery bubble I’d mistaken for the moon.

And in the crystal windows of the House, there was face upon face, (like piled vegetables) pink, tawny, black, all the royal ones, glaring up into the sky, having pushed such unimportant beings as maids out of the way.

I grabbed Pattoo again. ‘Look.’

‘I don’t want to,’ she said, and she hid her eyes. Daisy was too scared to look away.

And I – I couldn’t either.

Then there was a sizzling sound, and the cannons blasted, one, two, three, four of them. The noise – there were clouds of stinking smoke and bits of fire splashed all around.

(Tinder has almost an almond smell, I absurdly thought, like marzipan for a cake …)

The balloon turned over, a wonderful fruit disturbed up on the tree of the sky.

Even like that, it looked effective. But then there was another burst of flame, up where the balloon was. And it reeled sideways. And then it began to fall. It looked so soft, as if there was nothing to it – the stuff you blow off a dandelion.

But when it dropped behind the trees, there came a terrific thud. The ground shook. Smoke bloomed up there like a new plant.

It was only then the House Guards gave a raucous cheer. They were yelling, as if in a game, ‘A hit!’ And ‘Well done, Jovis.’ And ‘Think we killed him?’

HIM

When we got into the House, everyone was going mad. People were running along the corridors, colliding when two or more were coming from different directions. They were running up and down the stairs too, and sometimes tripping and falling. The row was almost as bad as the cannon.

Pattoo, Daisy and I ran up the stairs towards the apartments of our evil mistress.

When we reached the double doors, they were open, and inside everyone also rushed about. JL sat in the middle of it all, screaming and pulling her own hair and thumping her fists on the sofa, and kicking her feet, off which her green silk shoes had flown.

She seemed worse than usual. I thought it was fear of the ‘invasion’, but surely she’d seen the balloon shot down?

Dengwi sidled up to me and hissed, ‘She says insects have got into her dress. Fleas or bees or something.’

This nearly made me laugh. I’d wished bees on Jade Leaf, hadn’t I.

I could see now the others were trying to get her dress undone, so they could sort out the situation, but LJL was in such a state they could hardly get near her. Suddenly she sprang up and ripped the dress in two bits with her own hands. She’s strong. (All those smacks and beatings she’s given have undoubtedly built up her wrists.)

There she stood in her lace-trimmed petticoat, snarling and pulling at herself.

The other maids began wiping and dusting her off. A few poor little ants were being murdered for daring to get into her gown.

I rushed forward too and began, more carefully, dusting the ants off, then carried the rescued ones and tipped them out of the window.

Outside, smoke still billowed over the Garden. Some of the Guards were marching up the Cedar Walk, and there was someone, not a Guard, having to march in the middle of them.

‘Is that – the invader?’ whispered Daisy, letting go more ants to freedom down the wall.

‘Must be.’

We tried to lean over and see more, but JL was screaming again even louder.

Daisy and I helped shake out JL’s petticoat. Jade Leaf thrust us off, managing to poke Daisy in the eye.

‘Oh you filthyword little sluts!’ squawked JL.

Outside, they’d be marching right under the window now.

I leapt away and dashed back to the window, and looked down, calling as I did so, ‘Oh, madam, the Guards have a prisoner.’

‘Of course they have, you extrafilthyword little pest. Leave that, and come here. I’m covered in these filthyword-Claidi-doesn’t-even-know things!’

Under the window, the ghastly Guards