The return trip into Soleanna seemed to go by quick, Silver barely remembered most of it. His head was still pounding from the conversation he heard. Why did nobody tell him. Locke, Big, Rob, Max, all of them kept this from him. When Coral and Razor watched Silver nervously all through dinner. When dinner finished Silver was the first to leave the hall, he didn't want to run into Mighty and Ray as they would no doubt ask him if he made it to Spiral Hill and he wasn't in the mood. He got up to his dormitory and looked through his bedside cabinet. Then he found it, the photo album Big had given him two years ago. He drew the hangings around his bed so no one could see and began looking through the album. He found the wedding photo. There was his father waving up at him, beaming, the untidy quills Silver had inherited standing up in all directions. There was his mother, alight with happiness, arm in arm with his dad. And there ... that must be him. Their best man... Silver had never given him a thought before. If he hadn't known it was the same person, he would never have guessed it was Elias in this old photograph.
His face wasn't sunken and overgrown but handsome, full of laughter. Had he already been working for Finitevus when this picture had been taken? Was he already planning the deaths of the two people next to him? Did he realize he was facing twelve years on Prison Island, twelve years that would make him unrecognizable? But the Prelates don't affect him, Silver thought, staring into the handsome, laughing face. He doesn't have to hear anyone screaming if they get too close. Silver slammed the album shut, reached over and stuffed it back into his cabinet, took off his robe and glasses and got into bed, making sure the hangings were hiding him from view. The door to the dormitory opened "Silver?" he heard Razor ask. Silver didn't respond, he pretended to be asleep so Razor left. A hatred such as he had never known before was coursing through Silver like poison. He could see Elias laughing at him through the darkness, as though somebody had pasted the picture from the album over his eyes. He watched, as though somebody was playing him a piece of film, Elias Acorn blasting Mordred the Snake into a thousand pieces. He could hear (Though having no idea what Elias voice might sound like) a low, excited mutter. "It has happened, My Lord. They have made me their Secret-Keeper" and then came another voice, laughing shrilly, the same laugh that Silver heard inside his head whenever the Prelates drew near.
Silver didn't get much sleep, by the time he did wake up the dormitory was deserted. He went down into the Common Room where Razor and Coral were waiting "Silver… You look terrible" "I'm fine. Where is everyone?" "Already left for the holidays. It's nearly lunch". Silver slumped down in a chair next to the fire. His two friends stared at him anxiously. Finally Coral took a breath "Silver, listen, you must be really upset about what we heard yesterday. But the thing is, you mustn't go doing anything stupid" "Like what?" "Like going after Elias" Razor answered. Silver could tell they had rehearsed this. He didn't say anything which just worried Coral more "You won't, will you?" "Elias is not worth dying for" Razor said. Silver was getting angry, they didn't understand "D'you know what I see and hear every time a Prelate gets too near me? I can hear my mum screaming and pleading with Finitevus. And if you'd heard your mum screaming like that, just about to be killed, you wouldn't forget it in a hurry. And if you found out someone who was supposed to be a friend of hers betrayed her and sent Finitevus after her". The two looked stricken "There's nothing you can do. The Prelates will catch Elias and send him back to Prison Island. And serves him right" "You heard Max. The Prelates don't affect him. It's not a punishment for him". Razor stared at him for a moment "What're you saying? You want to kill him?" "Don't be silly, Razor. Silver doesn't want to kill anyone" Coral said in a shaky voice.
Silver didn't say anything, he didn't know what he wanted but the idea of doing nothing was not something he could stand. He clenched his fist "Rutan knew. That's what he was talking about in Potions. He said he'd want revenge if it was him" "So, what, you're gonna take Rutan's advice over ours. He just wants to see you get in trouble". Coral was close to tears "Silver, please be sensible. Elias did a terrible, terrible thing, but d-don't Put yourself in danger, it's what Elias wants. You'd be playing right into Elias' hands if you went looking for him. Your mum and dad wouldn't want you to get hurt, would they? They'd never want you to get revenge" "I'll never know what they wanted". Razor took a breath and tried to change the subject "Look, it's the holidays! It's nearly Christmas! Let's… Let's go down and see Big. We haven't visited him for ages" "No, we can't. Silver's not supposed to leave the castle". Silver however got to his feet "Yeah, let's go and see Big and I can ask him how come he never mentioned Elias when he told me all about my parents". This was obviously not what Razor had in mind "We could play chess" "No, let's go visit Big".
They made it to the hut freezing and knocked but no answer. They heard a strange noise inside "Big!" Silver said knocking again. The door opened revealing Big crying "You've heard" he flung his arms around Silver. With someone the size of Big this was no laughing matter. Silver thought his bones were about to break. Razor and Coral rescued him by guiding Big back into the cabin. Bug slumped down into one of the chairs still sobbing "Big, what is it?" Coral asked. Big couldn't speak so simply handed Silver a letter which he read outside.
Dear Mr. Big,
Further to our inquiry into the attack by a Black Hawk on a student in your class, we have accepted the assurances of Professor Locke that you bear no responsibility for the regrettable incident
"Well that's okay, Big" Razor said happily as he clapped him on the shoulder. Big however continued to sob and invited Silver to read on.
However, we must register our concern about the Black Hawk in question. We have decided to uphold the official complaint of Mr Clutch the Possum, and this matter will therefore be taken to the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. The hearing will take place on April 20th, and we ask you to present yourself and your hippogriff at the Committee's offices in Knothole on that date. In the meantime, the Black Hawk should be kept tethered and isolated. Yours in fellowship
There was then the list of school governors. Razor still looked optimistic "But you told us Volt was well behaved. Rutan's the one that provoked him. He'll get off" "Yeh don' know them gargoyles at the Committee fer the Disposal o' Dangerous Creatures! They've got it in fer interestin' creatures". There was a sudden sound and finally noticed Volt resting in the corner of the room eating on something that oozed with blood. Big choked "I couldn' leave him tied up out there in the snow! All on his own! At Christmas". Silver, Razor and Coral looked at one another. They had never seen eye to eye with Big about what he called "Interesting creatures" or what other people called "Terrifying monsters". On the other hand, there didn't seem to be any particular harm in Volt. In fact, by Big's usual standards, he was positively cute. Coral patted Big's arm "You'll have to put up a good strong defence, Big" "Won't make a difference. Them Disposal devils, they're all in Clutch's pocket! Scared o' him! And if I lose the case, Volt… be put down" he let out a great wail. Silver had completely forgotten why he had wanted to come here "What about Locke, Big?" "He's done more'n enough fer me already. Got enough on his plate what with keepin' them Prelates outta the castle, an' Elias Acorn lurkin' around". Coral and Razor glanced at Silver fearfully but Silver didn't care about that right now "Listen, Big, you can't give up. Coral's right. You just need a good defence. You can call us as witnesses". Coral nodded "And I can look up historic cases involving Black Hawks. There's got to be something there".
Big let out another wail, "I'll make a cup of tea" Razor said quickly. Eventually Big managed to calm down "Yer right. I can' afford to go ter pieces. Gotta pull meself together". He petted Froggy who was resting on his knee "I've not bin meself lately. Worried abou' Volt, an' no one likin' me classes" "We do like them" Coral lied at once. Razor nodded "Yeah, they're great. Er… How are the Koco?" "Dead. Overfed them" "Oh" Razor's lip twitched. Big gave a sudden shudder "An' them Prelates make me feel ruddy terrible an' all. Gotta walk past 'em ev'ry time I want a drink in the Piston Pit. 'S like bein' back on Prison Island". The trio went silent, Big had never talked about his experience on Prison Island before. Coral aid timidly "Is it really bad there, Big" "Yeh've no idea. Never bin anywhere like it. Thought I was goin' mad. Kep' goin' over horrible stuff in me mind... the day I got expelled from Soleanna... day me dad died... day I had ter let Dulcy go...". His eyes filled with tears "Yeh can' really remember who yeh are after a while. An' yeh can' really see the point o' livin' at all. I used ter hope I'd jus' die in me sleep. When they let me out, it was like bein' born again, ev'rythin' I came floodin' back, it was the bes' feelin' in the world. Mind, the Prelates weren't keen on lettin' me go" "But you were innocent" Coral said in surprise. Big scoffed "Think that matters to them? They don' care. Long as they've got a couple o' hundred humans stuck there with 'em, so they can leech all the happiness out of 'em, they don' give a damn who's guilty an' who's not. I'd let Volt go but I'm scared. I don' wanna ever go back ter Prison Island".
The trip to Big's was by no means fun but it had the affect Razor and Coral had hoped. Silver may not have forgotten about Elias but he couldn't brood constantly on revenge if he wanted to help Big win his case against the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. The three of them went to the library the next day and returned to the empty common room laden with books that might help prepare a defence for Volt. The three of them sat in front of the roaring fire, slowly turning the pages of dusty volumes about famous cases of marauding beasts, speaking occasionally when they ran across something relevant "A case in 1722… but the Black Hawk was convicted… Ew, look what they did to it" "Here's one. A yeti mauled someone and they let it off… Oh, it's only because they were too scared to go near it".
Meanwhile, in the rest of the castle, the usual magnificent Christmas decorations had been put up, despite the fact that hardly any of the students remained to enjoy them. Thick streamers of holly and mistletoe were strung along the corridors, mysterious lights shone from inside every suit of armour, and the Great Hall was filled with its usual twelve Christmas trees, glittering with golden stars. A powerful and delicious smell of cooking pervaded the corridors, and by Christmas Eve, it had grown so strong that even Wacky poked his nose out of the shelter of Razor's pocket to sniff hopefully at the air. On Christmas morning, Silver was woken by Razor throwing his pillow at him "Oi! Presents!". The two of them ran out to the Common Room where their present were waiting "Another jumper. Maroon of course. Did you get one". Silver checked his present from Mari-An and indeed he received his own jumper along with some pies and sweets "What's that?" Razor said pointing to a long thin present that was addressed to Silver. He picked it up and slowly unwrapped it "No" he said in disbelief. Razor dropped the present he was halfway through opening to look at it. They both had to be hallucinating, on Silver's lap, still half covered by the wrapping was a new Extreme Gear Board, but not just any. It was a Psychic Wave, identical to the one Silver stared at every day in Avalon. Silver tore off the rest of the wrapping and could feel it vibrating. He put it down and it hovered mid-air just above the ground. Razor stared ta it like it was made of gold "Who sent it to you?" "I don't know. There's no card. Who would spend this much on me?" "Maybe it was Locke. He sent you the Chaos Emerald". Silver shook his head "No. That was my dad's. He can't buy students things like this" "That's probably why it was anonymous. So Rutan or anyone else could accuse him of favouritism. Oh, God, can you imagine what Rutan will say when he sees this" he started to laugh.
Silver still wasn't convinced, he thought for a moment that maybe Knuckles bought it but he couldn't see him affording something like this "Merry Christmas" Coral had come down cheerfully. Razor noticed she was holding Aquarius "Don't bring that in here" he snatched up Wacky who was resting on a chair. Coral didn't listen and put Aquarius onto the couch. She then noticed the board and stared at it open mouthed "Silver, who sent that?" "No idea. There wasn't a card or anything". Instead of looking excited like Silver expected, she looked worried. Razor noticed "What's wrong?" "I don't know. But it's a bit odd, isn't it? I mean, this is supposed to be quite a good board, isn't it?" "Good? It's the best board ever made" "So it must be really expensive. Who'd send Silver something that expensive and not even tell them they'd sent it". Razor shrugged "Who cares? Silver, you've got to let me try it after you" "I don't think anyone should ride that yet". Silver and Razor stared at her like she was insane "What would we do with it?". Before Coral answered Aquarius leaped onto Razor "Get her off!". He threw her off "Get that thing out of there, Coral!". Coral scowled and took Aquarius away. Silver saw Razor take Wacky out, he didn't look good, he looked incredibly skinny and pale green "He's not looking good" "It's stress. He'd be fine if that stupid thing left him alone". But Silver knew about Chao, if they stay in this state it probably means something's gone wrong with their reincarnation ability and despite Razor often complaining about how useless he was he knew he'd be very upset if Wacky died. Christmas spirit was pretty thin in the Common Room after that. Coral and Razor stopped talking to each other and Silver had given up trying to make them. He spent most of his time examining his new Psychic Wave.
At lunchtime they went down to the Great Hall, to find that the House tables had been moved against the walls again, and that a single table, set for twelve, stood in the middle of the room. Professors Locke, Echo, Infinite, Chrysan and Chuck were there, along with Rykor. There were only three other students, two extremely nervous-looking first years and a sullen-faced Raiju fifth year. Locke waved at the new arrivals "Merry Christmas. As there are so few of us, it seemed foolish to use the House tables. Sit down, sit down". He then picked up a cracker and offered the other side to Infinite "Cracker?". Infinite reluctantly took the other end of the cracker and tugged. With a sound like a gunshot and out of it came a large witch hat with a stuffed vulture on top of it. Locke at once took the hat and put it on "Dig in". As Silver helped himself to the potatoes the doors opened again revealing Pyjamas. Locke smiled "Pyjamas, what a pleasant surprise" "I have been crystal gazing, Headmaster and to my astonishment, I saw myself abandoning my solitary luncheon and coming to join you. Who am I to refuse the promptings of fate? I at once hastened from my tower, and I do beg you to forgive my lateness" "Certainly, certainly. Let me draw you a chair". Locke made a small gesture with his hand and a new chair appeared at the table. Pyjamas suddenly gasped "I dare not sit down, Headmaster. If I do we shall be thirteen. Nothing could be more unlucky! Never forget that when thirteen dine together, the first to rise will be the first to die" "We'll risk it. Now, sit down, the foo dis getting cold" Echo said impatiently. Pyjamas hesitated, then lowered herself into the empty chair, eyes shut and mouth clenched tight, as though expecting a thunderbolt to hit the table.
Echo poked a large spoon into the nearest tureen "Tripe?". Pyjamas ignored her, she was looking around the table "Where is Knuckles, Headmaster?" "I'm afraid the poor fellow is ill again. Most unfortunate that it should happen on Christmas Day" "Surely you already knew that?" Echo said. Pyjamas gave her a cold look "Certainly I knew, Echo. But one does not parade the fact that one is All- Knowing. I frequently act as though I am not possessed of the Inner Eye, so as not to make others nervous" "Well that explains a great deal". Pyjamas raised her nose "If you must know, Echo, I have seen that poor Professor Knuckles will not be with us for very long. He seems aware, himself, that his time is short. He positively fled when I offered to crystal gaze for him" "Imagine that" Echo said dryly. Locke then spoke in a pleasant but slightly raised voice which ended the two teacher's conversation "I doubt that Professor Knuckles is in any immediate danger. Infinite, you've made the potion for him again" "Yes, headmaster" "Good, it should be back in no time at all. Derek, have you tried to the trifle". The little mongoose 1st year turned red at being addressed by the headmaster and took the plate with trembling hands. Around half an hour later Silver and Razor got up to leave making Pyjamas gasp "My dear, which of you got up first" "Dunno" Razor said. Echo gave a shrug "I doubt it'll matter. Unless there's an axe murdered waiting outside the hall", Razor let out a laugh. Silver looked to Coral "Coming?" "I'll catch up. I need to talk to Professor Echo" "Trying to get more classes?" Razor joked. Silver and Razor went through the doors which was obviously devoid of an axe murderer. They went back up to the Common Room, Silver collected his new Psychic Wave and his board servicing kit.
But it turned out their was nothing to do, the board was in perfect condition. The two just sat admiring it. That was until Coral entered the Common Room followed by Echo. Echo had only ever entered the Common Room it was to make some kind of grave announcement. Coral immediately sat down in the furthest chair and hid her face behind a book. Echo approached the two boys "Coral has told me you have received a Psychic Wave, Silver". Silver and Razor looked over and saw Coral's forehead reddening from behind the book. Echo took the board and examined it "No note at all, Silver? Nothing" "No" "Well, I'm afraid I'm going to have to take this". Silver scrambled to his feet "What? Why?" "It will need to be checked for jinxes. I'm no expert but I'm sure Longclaw and Charles will strip it down" "Strip it down!?" Razor yelled. Echo glared at him "Yes, strip it down. You'll have it back once we can ensure it's safe" "But there's nothing wrong with it" "You can't know that, Silver. Not until you've flown it, at any rate, and I'm afraid that is out of the question until we are certain that it has not been tampered with. I shall keep you informed". Then shew turned and walked out of the Common Room with he Psychic Wave under her arm. Silver stared the closed door still holding the board polish. Razor rounded on Coral "What'd you go to Echo for?". Coral threw the book away, she was pink in the face but stood and faced Razor defiantly "Because I thought, and Professor Echo agrees with me, that that board was probably sent to Silver by Elias Acorn.