Chapter 62

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews guys. Comments are down the bottom. Another chappie yay! There won't be another for a little while since I'm flying out for my aunt's funeral. I dedicate this chapter to her. She was a lovely and creative person. I love her and will miss her.

Dafne eyed Dustfinger with a gasp.

"What happened?"

Dustfinger stared at her mutely through pained eyes. It was Orlanda who answered,

"What does it look like?" she quipped, "The idiot burnt his hands."

Orlanda shook her head at the man, appearing characteristically unsympathetic.

"Keep your hands in the water," she told Dustfinger, "I'm going to fetch some ointment."

She swept out of the room. Resa, who had been hovering impatiently nearby, immediately went over to Dustfinger. She put her hand on Dustfinger's shoulder, her expression concerned and enquiring.

Dustfinger looked at her,

"Capricorn burned all copies Resa," he said in a broken voice, "All the copies of Inkheart. I was told to make a fire and once I did he burned them."

The last words came out as a distressed hiss. Dustfinger raised his red hands out of the water, cringing. Dafne could see, as she was venturing closer, that they were trembling. Trembling from pain or anger, probably both.

"I didn't know that's what he'd do," Dustfinger cried as plunged his hands back into the water, "But I should have known. I should have known not to trust his word. I'm so stupid Resa."

There were tears in his eyes and Resa put her arm around him.

"But I wanted to home," Dustfinger said, "I wanted - but now I never shall."

He didn't sob. The tears just slide silently down a face full of deep melancholy. Resa stroked his hair, as if comforting a lost child. In a sense he was lost, he would never be able to return home.

"I'm so sorry," Dafne expressed the words Resa was unable to say.

Dustfinger nodded slightly, vaguely. Dafne knew her sympathy wasn't much of a comfort to him. She doubted anything could console a man who'd had his hope stripped away. Stripped away by Capricorn. But why? Why had he gone to the trouble to gather every single copy of Inkheart just to destroy them? He couldn't have done it simply to torment Dustfinger.

"Why did Capricorn burn all the books?" she asked Dustfinger.

Dustfinger managed a bitter laugh.

"Because he was afraid of Silvertongue reading him back into our story, lady. Unlike me, Capricorn has no desire to go home."

Dustfinger hung his head. At that moment Orlanda returned. She shooed Dafne and Resa away from him,

"I said move it Resa, I'll take care of loverboy for you," she eyed the wetness on Dustfinger's cheeks, "Mercy me, what a baby."

Dustfinger stayed silent, ignoring Orlanda's jibe. There was a contemplative look on his face as Orlanda applied the ointment to his hands. He didn't look as sorrowful as before. His expression had become more hardened. He looked almost... determined, determined about what Dafne had no idea.

But it wasn't long before someone else arrived to capture her attention.

"Good morning ladies," Basta announced himself in the doorway in a loud cheerful voice.

Dafne winced as Marietta nudged her in the ribs.

"Boyfriend," she whispered amusedly.

Dafne rolled her eyes. Well of course it was. But Basta didn't have eyes for her straight away.

"Been crying have we?" he drawled in a mock sympathetic voice as he strolled over to Dustfinger, "Been blubbering over all the stupid fairies and smelly motley folk you'll never see again?"

Dustfinger glared at Basta with intense hatred. With the scars Basta had given him, such a look was rather fearsome but it didn't deter Basta.

"God you're pathetic," he sneered, "A good thing for you that Roxanne will never get to see how truly pathetic you really are."

"Basta!" Dafne surprised herself by how sharp her voice was, "Leave him alone!"

She knew Basta hated Dustfinger but seeing him mock him at his lowest point was just plain repugnant. It made her ashamed of him. She could see Resa glaring at Basta from the other side of the room. Moments ago she had been trying to assure her that Basta was becoming a good person. This kind of behaviour flew in the face of that.

Basta now turned to her, grimacing like a child caught red-handed doing something naughty.

But then he smiled, as if he thought a smile could wipe the slate clean.

"Sure thing little mouse," he said good-humouredly, "I didn't come here to hang around Dirtyfingers anyway. I came here to see you."

"Oh did you?" Orlanda drawled, reinforcing her the authority of her presence, "I think not. You better get out of here before Mortola catches you."

Basta glanced at her over his shoulder as he made his way over to Dafne.

"I'll leave in a minute. Trust me, it'll be worth your while to let me stay."

Orlanda snorted,

"I doubt that."

Basta stopped to turn and face her fully. He brought out a small gleaming object from his pocket.

"Are you telling me this..." he held it up for everyone to see. It was a coin. A gold coin, "wouldn't be worth your while?" he lowered the coin with a grin, "I would have thought it would be considering it's probably worth a small fortune, being pirate treasure and all!"

Basta's eyes travelled around the room smugly. Every single person in the room was looking at him, looking at him in surprise and disbelief. Dafne included.

"Pirate treasure?"

Basta whirled to face her happily,

"Yes dear heart. It's a coin from a pirate's hoard, read straight out of the pages of a book. You want to hold it?"

Dafne quite forgot she was supposed to be mad at him in her curiosity. She stretched out her hand and Basta gleefully dropped the coin into it.

Dafne studied its weight, its shape, its colour, its engravings. It was beautiful and real and yet it had come out of a book. Just like Basta had.

"So this came out of Treasure Island," she said, unable to take her eyes off it.

"That's right dear heart."

Basta plucked the coin out of her hand and held it up near his eye, winking at her,

"And it wasn't just this one little coin that came out either. It was a whole cache of treasure."

So Silvertongue turned out to be reader Capricorn hoping for, Dafne thought.

Basta grabbed her arm,

"Come on, let's give cow-face a good look at the coin too."

He pulled her over to Orlanda who had her arms folded, trying to seem uninterested. She broke that allusion by how eagerly she reached for the coin,

"Let's see it then."

Basta jerked the coin out of her reach,

"No, no, look but don't touch," he said in a taunting voice, "You can only hold it once we've made our agreement."

Orlanda surveyed him sourly,

"Agreement?"

"Yes agreement," Basta said, "I'll give you this coin - this valuable coin - if you agree to let me have access to Dafne whenever I like from now on."

Orlanda drew her hand back,

"That's a big ask for just one coin," she said.

Basta smiled,

"But it's no ordinary coin is it? It's a coin that's worth a lot of cash," he waved the coin in front of her temptingly, "Think about it. There's a small fortune in this coin and all you have to is let me see Dafne. You know it's a good deal Orlanda so what say you?"

Orlanda eyed the coin. Greed was bright in her eyes.

"Okay deal," she said, glowering at Basta's triumphant face, "Now hand it over."

"Certainly."

Basta flicked the coin into air, leaving Orlanda to dive for it. She managed to catch it, glaring at Basta for forcing her to perform such a humiliating exertion. Basta just laughed before adopting a business-like air,

"I want to you let Dafne out of the house tonight," he said, "Is that understood?"

Orlanda was now studying her new possession intently.

"Yes whatever," she said gruffly, "Now get out before Mortola comes."

Basta shrugged,

"Alright then," he said, turned to Dafne, "I'll see you at lunch dear heart," he kissed her suddenly, much to her surprise and embarrassment since they had an audience. But Basta didn't seem to care, "And at dinner," he kissed her again, "And after dinner," he went to kiss her again but stopped, laughing instead as he eyed her face, "You're cute when you blush little mouse," he kissed her again but this time on the cheek, "Goodbye dear heart."

Basta strode out the kitchen, looking every inch a man thoroughly pleased with himself. He stopped in the doorway to call out to Dustfinger,

"Isn't it great to be alive in this world Dirtyfingers!"

He laughed and dashed off.

He had left Dafne in the spotlight. All eyes were on her and she felt extremely self-conscious.

"I'll get back to work now," she mumbled to no one in particular.

Head down, she hurried back to Marietta and Giosetta who were awaiting her with unsympathetic grins.

"Well that was steamy," Marietta remarked, fanning her face with her hand, causing Dafne to go even redder.

"If I wore glasses, they'd be all fogged up," Giosetta chimed in.

"Shut up!" Dafne hissed as the pair giggled. Thankfully their attention was diverted by the sight of Dustfinger making his exit from the room. As he did, he looked over in Dafne's direction. His expression held the same contemplative steely look from before. She stared back at him, half pitying half quizzical. But he looked away and was soon out the door, out of sight.

Until lunch time that was. He was standing outside the church when the maids arrived. He looked agitated and surprised Dafne by approaching her.

"I need to speak to you," he said in a low and urgent voice.

He didn't wait for her to reply. He took her arm and pulled her gently but insistently to the side of the church.

"What is it?" she asked uncertainly, "I'm sorry about what Basta said to you."

"To hell with Basta," Dustfinger whispered rather fiercely, "To hell with the lot of them, Capricorn especially."

Dafne couldn't disagree with the last part.

"I'm going to leave," Dustfinger went on, "I'm going to leave and never lay eyes on this stinking village again. Nor Capricorn. Nor Basta."

What about Resa? Dafne thought, you're just going to abandon her here? But she chose not to interrupt. He didn't look to be finished and he had started pacing a little,

"Yes, yes, I'm going to do it," he said as if reassuring himself. Then he looked at her directly, "But I need your help."

"My help?" Dafne echoed uncomprehendingly, "Why? Can't you just leave whenever you like?"

Dustfinger sighed,

"Yes. I can," he glanced towards the back of church, "But I'm not leaving on my own. I'm taking Silvertongue and his family with me."

Dafne stared at him in astonishment, realising the significance of his glance. He had been looking in the direction of the cages where the reader and his daughter were imprisoned.

"You are?"

Dustfinger nodded impatiently,

"Yes. Consider it revenge. Capricorn took something from me so I'm taking something from him!" he suddenly looked guilty, "Besides I owe it to Silvertongue and his daughter to rescue them. I can't just leave them here. That's where you come in."

"Me?" Dafne said reluctantly, wishing he wasn't confiding in her at all let alone asking her for assistance. She had gotten herself into enough trouble lately. She didn't want to be pulled into more.

"The only way we can escape here is by car," Dustfinger said, "And Basta has the keys to the car we came here in. What I would ask you to do is steal them off him. It would be easier for you to do this than me. Basta trusts you around him. What do you say?"

He looked at her imploringly but Dafne shook her head.

"I'm sorry Dustfinger but I can't. If I or anybody stole those keys, Basta is certain to end up in trouble over it. I don't want that. The two of us are just getting over the trouble caused by Silvio's escape."

The pleading drained from Dustfinger's face, leaving only a grave expression,

"Funny you should mention that," he said in a soft but hard voice, "Since I'm the one who helped Silvio and Netta escape. I did that for you lady. Yet when I ask you to return the favour you turn me down."

Dafne grimaced to see his point.

"Look," she said, trying to sound firm instead of flustered, "I can't thank you enough for what you did for Silvio and Netta. I really mean that. But you must understand that I can't betray Basta the way you're asking me to. I can't have us getting into anymore trouble," she looked towards the front of the church then back to Dustfinger, "I have to go now. Rest assured I'm not going to repeat any of this to Basta. But only on the condition that you promise you won't go about stealing the keys yourself."

Dustfinger smiled at her sadly,

"I'm afraid I have no choice if you won't do it for me lady."

Dafne eyed him with distress.

"Then I'll tell Basta," she said, unhappy to be forced to do so.

Dustfinger shook his head,

"No you won't. If you do, I'll tell Capricorn where Silvio and Netta are. I know the address. It's the house of your old master."

Dafne stared at him in horrified silence. He wouldn't? Would he?

Dustfinger's face twitched with discomfort as he gazed upon her,

"I don't want to tell him," he went on, "But I need those keys. I need your help. Will you help me Dafne?"

His face held no menace, just sheer desperation. He was blackmailing her out of desperation. But that didn't make Dafne feel any better. He had her over a barrel. The threat was too horrible not to take seriously. She couldn't let him divulge Silvio and Netta's location to Capricorn. She remembered his intention to have Basta slit their throats if they were ever caught. She had no choice then. She had to submit to helping Dustfinger. Basta would end up in trouble but then she would be the one getting punished for it, not him. That was the way it worked. She would rather be hit with another book than have Silvio and Netta executed at Basta's hand.

She nodded shakily in agreement. Dustfinger looked relieved but guilty.

"Thank you," he murmured, "I am truly sorry that it's come to this."

Resentment boiled in Dafne's head,

"Just tell me what to do," she whispered in an almost choking voice.

"Find out where the keys are," Dustfinger said, "Take them if you can. If not, tell me and I'll steal them myself. I have to have them by tonight."

Dafne glared at him,

"Okay."

Mission accepted, she left him there without saying goodbye. She was filled with helpless anger. Why did she keep slipping into situations where she could be manipulated? And she was being manipulated by Dustfinger, him of all people, a man she thought was her friend. The man she had trusted to help Silvio and Netta escape, the very reason he now had leverage over her.

"Damn it," she cursed bitterly, not looking where she was going as she rounded the entrance to the church. She ended up bumping into someone.

"There you are little mouse," Basta said, "I was wondering where you had gotten to."

Dafne found it hard to meet his gaze or supply an answer,

"I was just, er..."

"Someone said you were out here with Dirtyfingers."

Dafne's head darted up to see the scowl on Basta's face. Her brain kicked into gear and she smiled albeit a little wildly,

"I was apologising to him for your behaviour earlier," she said, "That's all. You said some mean things."

She morphed her face into a scolding expression.

Basta sighed,

"Maybe I did. Are you mad at me?"

Dafne shook her head. The only people she was mad at were Dustfinger and herself.

"No," she put her arms around him and felt a surge of guilt. She hastily tried to distract herself from it, "Can we go inside? I'm interested to hear everything Silvertongue did this morning."

"Sure thing little mouse," Basta replied as they headed inside, arms around each other, "I'll tell you all about it..."

To be continued...

Wah! Drama! Yet again!

Dustfinger is kinda a bad guy in this chapter but he's only acting that way out the desperation. The same kind of desperation which made him agree to kidnap Meggie.

Don't judge Dafne too harshly readers. From her point of view her only choice was to accept to help him. Poor Dafferz, I put her through a lot. All she wants to do is leave the village and love Basta. Is that too much to ask? Well yeah Dafferz. For the sake of drama, it is.

On a lighter note, Basta was fun to write in this chapter. He was kinda like a little kid during show and tell with the coin "look what I got, it's shiny and cool, I'm cool because I have it, pay attention to me!"

Whereas with Orlanda I got this Gollum vibe, I could see her stroking the coin going "my precious".

On with the comments:

Fletcher: Lol, more? Here it is.

Ziliverina: Thank you for all your reviews once again! Also thank you for the free German lesson :3 I have something to tell my sister now. She's learning German. German rocks! That's why I get Basta to speak it.

Sky: Lol, I'm not sure if you'll read this until you've read all the other chapters but thanks for the reviews! Lol to Mortola as curly-wigged Bo Peep. I could totally see her waltzing into Cappy's room and him going WTF Mother!

TheKaylester: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed drunk Basta. He was fun to write.