CHAPTER FIVE
When Connie awoke, she was wrapped up in bed, dressed in dry pyjamas. Groggy, she rolled over, her hair sprawled in a tangled mess on her pillow. Then the memories of the cover storm came flooding back. She bolted upright, flinging the covers aside. Skylark! He'd been in such a bad way. And Col…
"Peace, Connie!"
Connie stopped, her toes touching her bedroom floor, as Gard's voice filled her thoughts.
"Gard, what's happened? Where's…"
"Calm yourself," Gard said. "We will explain the situation in due course. We are waiting downstairs. Take your time, we are not going anywhere."
"Okay." Connie took a slow, deep breath. "I'll see you in a minute."
Gathering her thoughts, Connie changed out of her pyjamas, and brushed her tousled hair. Outside her window the sky was dark. It was late—how long had she been asleep for?
Once she felt she was presentable, she headed for the staircase. As she descended into the kitchen, she found it brimming with guests. Along with her aunt and Mack, Dr. Brock, Horace, Gard, Rat, Jessica, and another person she had not seen in a while were seated at the table.
"Mrs. Clamworthy!" Connie exclaimed. She hurried to her side and clasped her hand. "I'm so glad you're out of hospital."
"Me too, dear," Mrs. Clamworthy said. Connie noted that her eyes were somewhat redder than usual. "I only wish I had happier circumstances to return to."
Connie's eyes misted. It had been bad enough that Mrs. Clamworthy had been worrying about Col. To come home and find things like this…
"Connie, you must describe what happened out there," Dr. Brock said, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "What was the creature? What did it do to Col?"
"Dr. Brock, let the poor girl breathe for a moment," Horace said, sitting beside Jessica. "She's been through a very traumatic experience." He nodded kindly. "Connie, whenever you are ready."
Connie nodded, wiping at her eyes. She couldn't let her feelings get in the way. The others had to know what was going on, else they'd never stand a chance of fixing it.
"Col's been, well…a lot's being going on with him, lately." She coughed to clear her throat. "I think the stress has been affecting his companion bond to Skylark." She stopped, realising that she had yet to ask about the pegasus's health.
"Skylark is alright," Dr. Brock said, anticipating her question. "He is going to be staying at the Masterson's for the time being. He is understandably quite shaken up. But we will discuss him later. Please, continue."
Connie sighed.
"As I was saying," she went on, "after Col and Skylark's accident during the exams, Skylark said he'd been feeling less connected to Col, so he asked me to investigate. He took me to the sword behind the Devil's Tooth, which he believed to be the cause."
"And?"
Connie shrugged.
"I didn't notice anything strange," she said. "But Col found out about our trip and got very upset." She paused, forcing herself to choke back her emotions. "He stopped talking to me after that. And then with his result…I guess everything just added up."
"But what's that got to do with that black pegasus?" Rat blurted. "Where did it come from? How did it know Col was there?"
"It didn't look like any pegasus I've ever seen, either" Jessica added. "It had gnarled horns like a dragon, and it gave me the creeps just looking at it."
"Like it wasn't natural," Connie said quietly. "It made me sick when I tried to form a link to him."
"Interesting," Gard said, nodding. "Has that not happened before?"
Connie shook her head.
"He said some weird things, too. He calls himself Stormbolt. He said he was looking for a new knight to wield his power."
"I suppose Col fit that description," Dr. Brock sighed. "So overcome with his personal circumstances, he sought an escape. That may have been what attracted the creature in the first place."
"Are you accusing my son of summoning evil beasts?" Mack growled, grinding his teeth.
"Of course not," Dr. Brock said. "I understand you're upset, Mack, but I am not accusing anyone of anything. I merely want to understand what happened, so we might have some clue as to how to resolve it."
Mack went quiet. Evelyn held his arm.
"Has anyone ever heard of a black demon pegasus?" Gard asked. "It is the first I know of it. While many creatures have done dark deeds, most have come from bitterness at human development. There are very few of our kind indeed who would commit crimes without a desire for revenge. And it is most shocking that a pegasus, of all noble creatures, did this."
"Noblest of creatures…" Connie muttered. Her eyes lit up, an old memory rekindled. "Wait, I think I might have some more information."
She sprang from her seat and jogged upstairs. In her room, she scattered the desk clutter. How typical; it was right there the other day, and now that she needed it…Aha! Clutching the wrinkled page as if it were made of stardust, Connie shot back to the kitchen.
"What's this?" Horace asked.
"It's a story I found in the universal's reading room," Connie explained. "It's about a companion to pegasi who was exiled for trying to kill a fellow companion. He returned some years later with a black pegasus, leading an army of wild pegasi to proclaim himself ruler of all mythical creatures."
"That is news to me," Gard said. "When did this take place?"
"Ah, um, before the founding of the Society," Connie said, skipping through her writing. "About one hundred years earlier, here, in England."
Gard stroked his gravelled chin.
"Perhaps my memory is failing me. I would have thought that I would recall such a significant event."
Mack stood up and slammed his hand on the table.
"While we're sitting here gossiping about ancient history," he snarled, "Col is out there being manipulated by some bastard pegasus! How about we move onto things we can do?!"
"Mack, please," Evelyn took his arm again and pushed him back down. "We mustn't rush into this before we have all the information we can get."
"And Col will hardly be in a position to want to return to us," Mrs. Clamworthy spoke up. "This, Stormbolt, was it? He is no doubt offering Col what he sees as his relief from all the pain he has suffered lately. We must find a way to break down that pegasus' illusion first, and then set Col free."
Mack bowed his head. Connie had never seen him looked so defeated.
"It's my fault," he said, his shoulders sagging. "I was never there for him when he needed me. And when he was here, I just took it for granted. Always heaping the pressure on him…"
"Mack, this is not the time for allocating blame," Dr. Brock said. "We must do what we can." He turned to Connie. "Is there anything else about this story?"
"I'm not sure, but I can find out," Connie said.
"Good idea," Horace nodded. "Come with me to London tomorrow and we shall visit the Society library."
"In the meantime," Gard said, "Connie, you will have to visit Skylark regularly to keep up your bond. For the moment, you will have to confine yourself to only him. Whatever magic has affected his connection to Col is a dangerous one. Although you can link with all creatures, if your bond to Skylark weakens too much, it will consume him, and he will never be able to forge a link with a companion again."
"Right," Connie sighed. As usual, things were never straight-forward. "What about Argand?"
"She will understand," Dr. Brock said. "No doubt she will be unhappy, considering you've only rekindled the bond the Leviathan severed, but though your connection will weaken it will not risk killing her, as it does Skylark. I am seeing her tomorrow, so I will explain. Try not to spend too much time with Sentinel, either. If you do, you will have to compensate with Skylark. He is in a very vulnerable position right now."
He rose from his seat.
"I shall inform Captain Graves of the situation. Until then, my thoughts are with you, Lavinia, Mack. We will do everything in our power to see Col home again." Mrs. Clamworthy and Mack nodded.
The rest of the gathering made to depart. Jessica gave Connie a parting hug.
"Don't worry," she said. "You just go to the library tomorrow and get to the bottom of this."
"You'll get Col back for us," Rat said, in a voice Connie had never heard before. His eyes were downcast. "You…You'll do it, right?"
"Absolutely," Connie said, gripping his hand. "Whatever it takes, I'll bring him home."
The Society library was quiet, since it was the Christmas holidays. Horace waited in the common room below while Connie walked to the Universal's side. The snake wrapped around the banister hissed, eyeing her with suspicion, until she presented the ribboned key. With that formality out of the way, she hurried to the top floor. There had to be a way to save Col; she just knew it.
Inside the room, she headed for the first row of books and ran her finger across the spines. At last, she came to the book with the pegasus legend. She dumped it onto the table, coughing on the dust, then leafed through the yellowed pages. Soon she'd found it. The chapter was entitled 'The Pegasus Prince', and was, word-for-word, the same account Connie had noted. She flicked to the next page, wondering if she had missed something, but there the book moved onto another topic. This was all the information she was going to get.
Cursing, Connie made to close the book, when her eyes fell to the page numbers. Bemused, she turned back, and then snapped her fingers. The last page was numbered 372, but the next was 375. Two pages were missing. Connie bent the book covers as far as they would go, and carefully examining the binding. Yes, there was a fine scored edge between page 372 and 375. The pages in between had been torn out.
Not that that helps, Connie thought, whacking the book shut. The dull thud echoed around the room as she got up to replace it. For sake of thoroughness she pried apart the neighbouring books, hoping that perhaps the pages had been stuffed there, but she didn't uncovered anything.
She sighed, sitting back on her haunches and rubbing her eyes. The much-needed information lurked within these walls, but it would take an eternity to search through every text. She was going to have to find another way.
Disappointed, she dusted her hands and headed down the staircase. As she stepped through to the common room, Horace looked up from the newspaper he'd bee reading.
"Any luck?" he asked. Connie shook her head.
"Sorry, no. The story's exactly the same as what I had written down," she said. "There were a couple pages torn out after it, but I couldn't find them."
"Such a shame," Horace shook his head. "Whatever was on that page must have been important."
"Everyone's going to be so disappointed," Connie sighed, her head dropping as they began the walk to the library exit.
Horace put a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't feel you are to blame, Connie," he reassured. "The fact we even know about this story is a great step forward. Gard is also contacting the older creatures to ask if they know about the pegasi revolt. You've done much more than we could have hoped."
"But I should've watched Col better," Connie clenched her fists. "I knew he was under a lot of stress, I should've been able to help him."
"It is not worth the energy to dwell on 'should have'," Horace countered. "I understand that as Universal, we sometimes heap our expectations onto you, and you yourself feel you must be responsible for everything that happens to our creatures, especially the ones close to you, such as Skylark. But you are not alone. We all want to see Col back to his old self, and no-one more than Mack and Lavinia. So don't be afraid to share your feelings with them. It is better to brave uncertainty together than alone."
Connie nodded.
"Thanks, Horace," she smiled.
They continued walking in the brittle air, and soon arrived at the train station. Connie slipped her ticket out of her purse, waving to Horace.
"Take care, Horace. Give my regards to Sarwen."
"I shall." Horace shook her hand. "Have a safe journey." He left Connie and disappeared into the busy hub of the station.
Connie rubbed her hands, the winter cold gnawing at her fingers. Her train wasn't due for another ten minutes, so she watched the patrons around her. A young girl tugged at her mother's sleeve, pointing to the chocolates on display in the station refreshment shop. Further up the platform, a business man was on his mobile phone, and next to him a tall man carried an umbrella, which was balanced on his shoulder like a sheathed sword.
A blade of black…
Connie's eyes widened. Of course, the iron sword at the Devil's Tooth! What with all the commotion, she'd forgotten all about it. Though it had seemed normal enough at first glance, there had to be something amiss if had made Skylark so frightened. Investigating it might lead to a dead end, but it was her only clue left.
She needed to chase all options.
"I'm sorry you had to wait so long, Connie," Dr. Brock puffed, as they made their way up the moorland toward the Devil's Tooth. "Argand took a bit of persuading until she accepted that you couldn't see her for a while."
"I can imagine," Connie sighed. Argand was getting to the size where she could almost support the Universal on her back, and Connie was looking forward to having her own steed capable of flight (her fear of heights aside, of course). Still, her personal desires were nothing in comparison to the life of a mythical creature. Until Skylark was reunited with Col, the pegasus's very being was in Connie's hands, and she was not about to abuse the trust he had so faithfully placed in her.
It was foggier than usual, and so it took longer to reach the tor. Connie was practically breathless by the time they reached it. However, when they arrived, they were surprised to see the flashing blue light of a police car on the horizon.
"What's going on?" Connie stepped towards the rope barrier, only to find it had been replaced with yellow tape stamped with 'Crime Scene'.
"Please step away from this area," a voice instructed through the fog, followed by a stout police officer in a fluorescent jacket.
Dr. Brock smiled.
"Oh, excuse us, Officer Pollock," he said. "We didn't realise this was a crime scene."
"Francis!" the officer greeted; the two were obviously old friends. "Long time to no see."
"Likewise," Dr. Brock said. "May I ask what's going on?"
Officer Pollock sighed.
"It's a sad story I'm afraid. Someone called to say the black sword here has been stolen. Not much trace of anything, just some old hoof prints, but lots of people go riding here so it's not much use. Makes me wonder, though. The excavators were certain it was cemented in, and there's no evidence that much force was used at all. For one thing, the rock is still intact below. It's all a bit of a mystery."
A cold chill spread through Connie 's bones, and she licked her lips. She'd been unable to move the sword, but according to Skylark, Col had. That meant only one person could have pulled the blade free and walked off with it.
"Anyway, thank you for telling us what's happened," Dr. Brock said. "Good evening."
He turned and began to walk away. Connie trotted beside him. When they were out of earshot, she said,
"I think I know who took the sword."
Dr. Brock's eyebrows shot up.
"You don't think Col is behind this?"
"Skylark told me he was able to move the sword," Connie explained, "but when I tried to take it myself, it wouldn't budge. I know Col's stronger than I am, but who else would have a reason to steal it? Nobody else has touched the blade since it was found."
"You're right that the novelty of theft would have worn off by now," Dr. Brock said, wading through the grass. "But this worries me. The sword obviously holds something important, but what?"
"Guess we'll have to find out," Connie sighed.
The walk back home was quiet. Connie was thoughtful, trying to piece together possibilities. Somehow the sword was the key to all of this. Skylark blamed it for affecting their bond, and now it had been stolen, that pretty much confirmed its importance. Perhaps Stormbolt was linked to it, too. But how? And how had he managed to take control of Col?
Connie was no closer to any answer as they arrived back at Shaker Row. She shrugged off her winter layers and sagged into a kitchen chair, exhausted from their long walk. Dr. Brock removed his scarf and gloves, when Evelyn appeared down the stairs.
"Any luck?" she asked, making to fill the kettle.
"I'm afraid not," Dr. Brock said. "The sword's been stolen."
Evelyn raised an eyebrow.
"Really? But how?"
"Apparently no real force was used," Dr. Brock went on.
Evelyn chewed her lip.
"You think it was Col?"
"All the evidence seems to be pointing that way," Dr. Brock sighed. "Have you heard anything from him?"
"No," Evelyn shook her head, placing the kettle on the worktop. Her voice became quiet. "But we have heard a few other things."
"Like what?" Connie asked, eager for news. It had been almost a week since Col's disappearance; she was desperate to find out what had become of him.
"I'm not sure you'll want to hear this, Connie," Evelyn said, wringing her hands. "Captain Graves came to visit while you were gone."
"What did he say?"
Evelyn sighed.
"Apparently he's been scouting the area, and he's reported that the wild pegasi are gathering near Malin's wood. He's also said that some creatures have been attacked by pegasi, even though they did nothing to provoke such aggression."
"What?!" Dr. Brock stood up, alarmed. "Is this really the case?"
Connie said nothing. It was all unfolding exactly like the ancient legend. Stormbolt was gathering the support of the wild pegasi, using them to overpower the mythical creatures that shared the neighbouring landscape. He wanted to prove that his kind were the most powerful. But this time Col was leading the charge, and it was all progressing so fast…
"We need to arrange an emergency meeting," Dr. Brock said, accepting the mug of tea Evelyn handed to him. "We have to take stock of exactly what's going on, and make arrangements to protect ourselves."
"Good idea," Evelyn said. "But Gard is still following his contacts. It'll have to be the day after tomorrow."
"Indeed," Dr. Brock said, sipping his tea. "Hopefully he will have some good news."
Connie sighed, praying the companion to dragons would be right.