Silver woke early next morning, wrapped in a sleeping bag on the drawing room floor. A chink of sky was visible between the heavy curtains. It was the cool, clear blue of watered ink, somewhere between night and dawn, and everything was quiet except for Razor and Coral's slow, deep breathing. Silver glanced over at the dark shapes they made on the floor beside him. Razor had a fit of gallantry and insisted that Coral sleep on the cushions from the sofa, so that her silhouette was raised above his. Her arm curved to the floor, her fingers inches from Razor's. Silver wondered whether they had fallen asleep holding hands. The idea made him feel strangely lonely. He looked up at the shadowy ceiling, the cobwebbed chandelier. Less than twenty-four hours ago, he had been standing in the sunlight at the entrance to the marquee, waiting to show in wedding guests. It seemed a lifetime away. What was going to happen now? He lay on the floor and he thought of the Core Shard, of the daunting, complex mission Locke had left him. The grief that had possessed him since Locke's death felt different now. The accusations he had heard from Kali-Ca at the wedding seemed to have nested in his brain like diseased things, infecting his memories of the wizard he had idolized. Could Locke have let such things happen? Had he been like Menniker, content to watch neglect and abuse as long as it did not affect him? Could he have turned his back on a sister who was being imprisoned and hidden? Silver thought of Vigil's Hollow, of graves Locke had never mentioned there; he thought of mysterious objects left without explanation in Locke's will, and resentment swelled in the darkness. Why hadn't Locke told him? Why hadn't he explained? Had Locke actually cared about Silver at all?
Or had Silver been nothing more than a tool to be polished and honed, but not trusted, never confided in? Silver could not stand lying there with nothing but bitter thoughts for company. Desperate for something to do, for distraction, he slipped out of his sleeping bag and crept out of the room. On the landing he whispered "Lumos" and started to climb the stairs. On the second landing was the bedroom in which he and Razor had slept last time they had been here; he glanced into it. The wardrobe doors stood open, and the bedclothes had been ripped back. Silver remembered the overturned Kraken leg downstairs. Somebody had searched the house since the Order had left. Infinite? Or perhaps Farrel, who had pilfered plenty from this house both before and after Elias died? Silver's gaze wondered to the portrait that sometimes contained Silvanus Acorn, Elias great-great-grandfather, but it was empty, showing nothing but a stretch of muddy backdrop. Silvanus was evidently spending the night in the headmaster's study at Soleanna. Silver continued up the stairs until he reached the topmost landing, where there were only two doors. The one facing him bore a nameplate reading "Elias". Silver had never entered his godfather's bedroom before. He pushed open the door, holding his hand high to cast light as widely as possible. The room was spacious and must once have been handsome. There was a large bed, a wardrobe and a chandielier that was covered in cobwebs.
A fine film of dust covered the pictures on the walls and the bed's headboard. As Silver moved deeper into the room, he heard a scurrying of disturbed Mickeys. The teenage Elias had plastered the walls with so many posters and pictures that little of the walls' silvery-grey silk was visible. Silver could only assume that Elias' parents had been unable to remove the Permanent Sticking Charm that kept them on the wall, because he was sure they would not have appreciated their eldest son's taste in decoration. Elias seemed to have gone out of his way to annoy his parents. There were several large Shinobi banners, faded green and silver, just to underline his difference from all the rest of the Raiju family. There were many pictures of Muggle vehicles, and also (Silver had to admire Elias's nerve) several posters of bikini-clad Muggle girls; Silver could tell that they were Muggles because they remained quite stationary within their pictures, faded smiles and glazed eyes frozen on the paper. This was in contrast to the only Wizarding photograph on the walls, which was a picture of four Soleanna students standing arm in arm, laughing at the camera. With a leap of pleasure, Silver recognized his father, long untidy black quills. Beside him was Elias, carelessly handsome, his slightly arrogant face so much younger and happier than Silver had ever seen it alive.
To Elias' right stood Mordred, out of his black armour with both hands and watery-eyed, flushed with pleasure at his inclusion in this coolest of gangs, with the much-admired rebels that Shadow and Elias had been. On Shadow's left was Knuckles, even then a little shabby looking, but he had the same air of delighted surprise at finding himself liked and included or was it simply because Silver knew how it had been, that he saw these things in the picture? He tried to take it from the wall; it was his now, after all, Elias had left him everything, but it would not budge. Elias had taken no chances in preventing his parents from redecorating his room. Silver looked around at the floor. The sky outside was growing brighter. A shaft of light revealed bits of paper, books, and small objects scattered over the carpet. Evidently Elias's bedroom had been searched too, although its contents seemed to have been judged mostly, if not entirely, worthless. A few of the books had been shaken roughly enough to part company with their covers, and sundry pages littered the floor. Silver bent down, picked up a few of the pieces of paper, and examined them. He recognized one as part of an old edition of A History of Magic, by Siwa-Ra, and another as belonging to a motorcycle maintenance manual. The third was handwritten and crumpled. He smoothed it out.
Dear King,
Thank you, thank you, for Silver's birthday present! It was his favorite by far. One year old and already zooming along on a toy board, he looked so pleased with himself, I'm enclosing a picture so you can see. You know it only rises about two feet off the ground, but he nearly killed the Chao and he smashed a horrible vase Cynthia sent me for Christmas (No complaints there). Of course, Shadow thought it was so funny, says he's going to be a great Sky Chase player, but we've had to pack away all the ornaments and make sure we don't take our eyes off him when he gets going. We had a very quiet birthday tea, just us and old Siwa, who has always been sweet to us and who dotes on Silver. We were so sorry you couldn't come, but the Order's got to come first, and Silver's not old enough to know it's his birthday anyway! Shadow is getting a bit frustrated shut up here, he tries not to show it but I can tell. Also, Locke's still got his Chaos Emerald, so no chance of little excursions. If you could visit, it would cheer him up so much. He perked up a little when Mordred was here last weekend. He's always so good with Silver. Made him laugh a lot. But I thought he seemed down, but that was probably the news about the Demi's family; I cried all evening when I heard. Siwa drops in most days, she's a fascinating old thing with the most amazing stories about Locke, I'm not sure he'd be pleased if he knew! I don't know how much to believe, I think her mind's going, personally! I tell you everything when you next come over.
Lots of Love,
Tikal
Silver's extremities seemed to have gone numb. He stood quite still, holding the miraculous paper in his nerveless fingers while inside him a kind of quiet eruption sent joy and grief thundering in equal measure through his veins. Lurching to the bed, he sat down. He read the letter again but could not take in any more meaning than he had done the first time and was reduced to staring at the handwriting itself. She had made her "g" the same way he did. He searched through the letter for every one of them, and each felt like a friendly little wave glimpsed from behind a veil. The letter was an incredible treasure, proof that she had lived, really lived, that her warm hand had once moved across this parchment, tracing ink into these letters, these words, words about him, Silver, her son. Impatiently brushing away the wetness in his eyes, he reread the letter, this time concentrating on the meaning. It was like listening to a half-remembered voice. They had had a Chao, perhaps it had perished, like his parents, at Vigil's Hollow or else fled when there was nobody left to feed it. Elias had bought him his first Extreme Gear. His parents had known Siwa-Ra; had Locke introduced them? Locke's still got his Chaos Emerald. There was something funny there. Silver paused, pondering his mother's words. Why had Locke taken Shadow's Emerald? Silver distinctly remembered his headmaster telling him years before that he need an Emerald to become invisible. Perhaps some less gifted Order member had needed its assistance, and Locke had acted as carrier? Silver passed on. Mordred, the traitor, was good with him, was he? And he had seemed down, had he? Was he aware that he was seeing Shadow and Tikal alive for the last time? And finally, Siwa again, who told incredible stories about Locke.
But there were any number of things that would seem incredible about Locke; that he had once received bottom marks in a Transfiguration test, for instance, or had taken up inappropriate charming like his brother. Silver scanned the floor and then saw on the floor the picture Tikal had referenced in the letter. A hedgehog was zooming in and out of the picture on a tiny board, roaring with laughter, and a pair of legs that must have belonged to Shadow was chasing after him. In the background Tikal was laughing. Silver tucked the photograph away "Silver? Silver! Silver!" "I'm here! What's happened?". There was a clatter of footsteps outside the door, and Coral burst inside "We woke up and didn't know where you were!". She turned and shouted over her shoulder, "Razor! I've found him!". Razor's annoyed voice echoed distantly from several floors below "Good! Tell him from me he's a dick!". Coral had a sigh of relief "Silver, don't just disappear, please, we were terrified! Why did you come up here anyway?". She gazed around the ransacked room "What have you been doing?" "Look what I've just found". He held out his mother's letter. Coral took it and read it while Silver watched her. When she reached the end of the page she looked up at him "Oh, Silver…" "And there's this too". He handed her the photograph, and Coral smiled at the baby zooming in and out of sight on the toy board. She then looked around did you make this mess just to find this?" "No, someone else has been here" "Yeah, all the rooms seem to have been searched". Silver crossed his arms "Probably Infinite trying to get information on the Order" "But you'd think he'd already have all he needed, I mean, he was in the Order, wasn't he?" "Well then, what about information on Locke. You know this Siwa my mum mentions, you know who she is?". Coral nodded "Author of a History of Magic. So your parents knew her? She was an incredible magical historian" "And she's still alive and she lives in Vigil's Hollow, Razor's Auntie Kali-Ca was talking about her at the wedding. She knew Locke's family too. Be pretty interesting to talk to, wouldn't she?".
There was a little too much understanding in the smile Coral gave him for Silver's liking. He took back the letter and the photograph and tucked them inside the pouch around his neck, so as not to have to look at her and give himself away "I understand why you'd love to talk to her about your mum and dad, and Locke too. But that wouldn't really help us in our search for the Core Shards, would it?". Silver did not answer, and she rushed on "Silver, I know you really want to go to Vigil's Hollow, but I'm scared, I'm scared at how easily those Nocturnus found us yesterday. It just makes me feel more than ever that we ought to avoid the place where your parents are buried, I'm sure they'd be expecting you to visit it" "It's not just that. Kali said stuff about Locke at the wedding. I want to know the truth". He told Coral everything that Muriel had told him. When he had finished, Coral said "Of course, I can see why that's upset you, Silver" "I'm not upset. I'd just like to know whether or not it's true or-" "Silver, do you really think you'll get the truth from a malicious old woman like Kali-Ca, or from Breezie? How can you believe them? You knew Locke!". Silver looked away "I thought I did" "But you know how much truth there was in everything Breezie wrote about you! Harvey is right, how can you let these people tarnish your memories of Locke?". He looked away, trying not to betray the resentment he felt. There it was again. Choose what to believe. He wanted the truth. Why was everybody so determined that he should not get it "Let's get some breakfast" Coral suggested. Silver agreed, but grudgingly, and followed her out onto the landing and past the second door that led off it. There were deep scratch marks in the paintwork below a small sign that he had not noticed in the dark. He paused at the top of the stairs to read it. It was a pompous little sign, neatly lettered by hand, the sort of thing that Hamlin might have stuck on his bedroom door:
Do Not Enter Without the Express Permission of
Maw the Thylacine
Excitement trickled through Silver, but he was not immediately sure why. He read the sign again. Coral was already a flight of stairs below him "Coral, come back up here" "What's the matter?" "I think I found M.T.T". There was a gasp, and then Coral ran back up the stairs "In your mum's letter? But I didn't see…". Silver shook his head, pointing at Maw's sign. She read it, then clutched Silver's arm so tightly that he winced "Elias's brother?" "He was a Nocturnus. Elias told me about him, he joined up when he was really young and then got cold feet and tried to leave so they killed him. Sounds like someone who might want to steal a Core Shard, doesn't it?". She released Silver, leaned over the banister, and screamed "Razor! RAZOR! Get up here, quick!". Razor appeared, panting, a minute later, his dagger ready in his hand "What's up?". He frowned at the sign on Maw's door, to which Coral was silently pointing "What? That was Elias's brother, wasn't it? Maw…You don't reckon…" "Let's find out" Silver said. He pushed the door. It was locked. Coral played her flute "Alohomora". There was a click, and the door swung open. They moved over the threshold together, gazing around. Maw's bedroom was slightly smaller than Elias's, though it had the same sense of former grandeur. Whereas Elias had sought to advertise his difference from the rest of the family, Maw had striven to emphasize the opposite. The Raiju colours were everywhere, draping the bed, the walls, and the windows. The Acorn family crest was painstakingly painted over the bed, along with its motto "Always Pure". Beneath this was a collection of yellow newspaper cuttings, all stuck together to make a ragged collage. Coral crossed the room to examine them "They're all about Finitevus. Maw seems to have been a fan for a few years before he joined the Nocturnus". A little puff of dust rose from the bedcovers as she sat down to read the clippings. Silver, meanwhile, had noticed another photograph; a Soleanna Sky Chase team was smiling and waving out of the frame.
He moved closer and saw the snakes emblazoned on their chests, Raijus. Maw was instantly recognizable as the boy sitting in the middle of the front row "He played Seeker" "What?" Coral said vaguely; she was still immersed in Finitevus' press clippings. "He's sitting in the middle of the front row, that's where the Seeker…Never mind" Silver said, realizing that nobody was listening. Razor was on his hands and knees, searching under the wardrobe. Silver looked around the room for likely hiding places and approached the desk. Yet again, somebody had searched before them. The drawers' contents had been turned over recently, the dust disturbed, but there was nothing of value there, old quills, out-of-date textbooks that bore evidence of being roughly handled, a recently smashed ink bottle, its sticky residue covering the contents of the drawer. "There's an easier way". She played her flute "Accio Locket!". Nothing happened. Razor, who had been searching the folds of the faded curtains, looked disappointed "Is that it, then? It's not here?" "Oh, it could still be here, but under counter-enchantments. Charms to prevent it being summoned magically, you know" "Like Finitevus put on the stone basin in the cave" Silver said, remembering how he had been unable to Summon the fake locket. Razor shrugged "How are we supposed to find it then?" "We search manually" "That's a good idea" said Razor, who had ink all over his hands. They combed every inch of the room for more than an hour, but were forced, finally, to conclude that the locket was not there. The sun had risen now; its light dazzled them even through the grimy landing windows "It could be somewhere else in the house, though" Coral said in a rallying tone as they walked back downstairs.
As Silver and Razor had become more discouraged, she seemed to have become more determined "Whether he'd managed to destroy it or not, he'd want to keep it hidden from Finitevus, wouldn't he? Remember all those awful things we had to get rid of when we were here last time? That clock that shot bolts at everyone and those old robes that tried to strangle Razor; Maw might have put them there to protect the locket's hiding place, even though we didn't realize it at…At…". Silver and Razor looked at her. She was standing with one foot in midair, with the dumbstruck look of one who had just been Obliviated; her eyes had even drifted out of focus "At the time" she finished in a whisper. Razor looked worried "Something wrong?" "There was a locket". Silver and Razor said together "What?" "In the cabinet in the drawing room. Nobody could open it. And we…". Silver felt as though a brick had slid down through his chest into his stomach. He remembered. He had even handled the thing as they passed it around, each trying in turn to prise it open. It had been tossed into a sack of rubbish. Silver then remembered "Ghana nicked loads of things back from us". It was the only chance, the only slender hope left to them, and he was going to cling to it until forced to let go "He had a whole stash of stuff in his cupboard in the kitchen. C'mon". He ran down the stairs taking two steps at a time, the other two thundering along in his wake. They made so much noise that they woke the portrait of Elias's mother as they passed through the hall "Filth! Mudbloods! Scum!" she screamed after them as they dashed down into the basement kitchen and slammed the door behind them. Silver ran the length of the room, skidded to a halt at the door of Ghana's cupboard, and wrenched it open. There was the nest of dirty old blankets in which the Marmolim had once slept, but they were no longer glittering with the trinkets Ghana had salvaged. The only thing there was an old copy of Nature's Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy. Refusing to believe his eyes, Silver snatched up the blankets and shook them.
A dead Micky fell out and rolled dismally across the floor. Razor groaned as he threw himself into a kitchen chair; Coral closed her eyes. "It's not over yet". He got to his feet and looked up at the ceiling "Ghana!". There was a loud crack and the Marmolim that Silver had so reluctantly inherited from Elias appeared out of nowhere in front of the cold and empty fireplace. The contemptuous look he gave Silver showed that his attitude to his change of ownership had not changed. He bowed "Master, back in my Mistress's old house with the blood-traitor O'Hedge boy and the Mudblood" "I forbid you to call anyone blood traitor or Mudblood! I've got a question for you, and I order you to answer it truthfully. Understand?" "Yes, Master" said Ghana, bowing low again. Silver saw his lips moving soundlessly, undoubtedly framing the insults he was now forbidden to utter "Two years ago, there was a big gold locket in the drawing room upstairs. We threw it out. Did you steal it back?". There was a moment's silence, during which Ghana straightened up to look Silver full in the face. Then he said, "Yes" "Where is it now?" asked Silver jubilantly as Razor and Coral looked gleeful. Ghana closed his eyes as though he could not bear to see their reactions to his next word "Gone". Silver's elation flooded out of his "Gone? What do you mean, it's gone?". The Marmolim shivered "Farrel! Farrel stole it all. Miss Fiona's and Miss Lien-Da's pictures, my Mistress's gloves, the Order of Forelock, First Class, the goblets with the family crest, and…And…". Ghana was gulping for air. His hollow chest was rising and falling rapidly, then his eyes flew open and he uttered a bloodcurdling scream "And the locket, Master Maw's locket, Ghana did wrong, Ghana failed in his orders!".
Silver reacted instinctively as Ghana lunged for the poker standing in the grate, he launched himself upon the Marmolim, flattening him. Coral's scream mingled with Ghana's, but Silver bellowed louder than both of them "Ghana, I order you to stay still!". He felt the Marmolim freeze and released him. Ghana lay flat on the cold stone floor, tears gushing from his sagging eyes. "Silver, let him up!" Coral whispered. Silver scoffed "So he can beat himself up with the poker? I don't think so. Right, Ghana, I want the truth. How do you know Farrel stole the locket?" "Ghana saw him! Ghana saw him coming out of Ghana's cupboard with his hands full of Ghana's treasures. Ghana told the sneak thief to stop, but he ran" "You called the locket Master Maw's. Why? Where did it come from? What did Maw have to do with it? Ghana, sit up and tell me everything you know about that locket, and everything Maw had to do with it!". The Marmolim sat up, curled into a ball, placed his wet face between his knees, and began to rock backward and forward. When he spoke, his voice was muffled but quite distinct in the silent, echoing kitchen "Master Elias ran away, good riddance, for he was a bad boy and broke my Mistress's heart with his lawless ways. But Master Maw had proper pride; he knew what was due to the name of Acorn and the dignity of his pure blood. For years he talked of the Dark Lord, who was going to bring the wizards out of hiding to rule the
Muggles and the Muggle-borns and when he was sixteen years old, Master Maw joined the Dark Lord. So proud, so proud, so happy to serve. And one day, a year after he had joined, Master Maw came down to the kitchen to see Ghana. Master Maw always liked Ghana. And Master Maw said…He said…". The old Marmolim rocked faster than ever "He said that the Dark Lord required a Marmolim. Silver narrowed his eyes "Finitevus needed an Marmolim?". He looked around at Razor and Coral, who looked just as puzzled as he did. Ghana erratically nodded "Oh yes. And Master Maw had volunteered Ghana. It was an honour, said Master Maw, an honour for him and for Ghana, who must be sure to do whatever the Dark Lord ordered him to do and then to c-Come home". Ghana rocked still faster, his breath coming in sobs "So Ghana went to the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord did not tell Ghana what they were to do, but took Ghana with him to a cave beside the sea. And beyond the cave there was a cavern, and in the cavern was a great black lake". The fur on the back of Silver's neck stood up. Ghana's croaking voice seemed to come to him from across that dark water. He saw what had happened as clearly as though he had been present "There was a boat". Of course there had been a boat; Silver knew the boat, ghostly green and tiny, bewitched so as to carry one wizard and one victim toward the island in the centre. This, then, was how Finitevus had tested the defences surrounding the Core Shard, by borrowing a disposable creature, a Marmolim "There was a b-basin full of potion on the island. The D-Dark Lord made Ghana drink it". Ghana squawked from head to foot "Ghana drank, and as he drank, he saw terrible things. Ghana's insides burned…Ghana cried for Master Maw to save him, he cried for his Mistress, but the Dark Lord only laughed. He made Ghana drink all the potion. He dropped a locket into the empty basin. He filled it with more potion. And then the Dark Lord sailed away, leaving Ghana on the island". Silver could see it happening. He watched Finitevus' white face vanishing into darkness, those golden eyes fixed pitilessly on the thrashing Marmolim whose death would occur within minutes, whenever he succumbed to the desperate thirst that the burning potion caused its victim.
But here, Silver's imagination could go no further, for he could not see how Ghana had escaped "Ghana needed water, he crawled to the island's edge and he drank from the black lake…". Ghana clutched his head as if he couldn't bear to remember the sight "And hands, dead hands, came out of the water and dragged Ghana under the surface" "How did you get away?" Silver asked, and he was not surprised to hear himself whispering. Ghana raised his ugly head and looked at Silver with his great, bloodshot eyes "Master Maw told Ghana to come back" "I know, but how did you escape the EXEs?". Ghana did not seem to understand "Master Maw told Ghana to come back" "I know, but-" "Well, it's obvious, isn't it, Silver? He Chaos Controlled!" Razor said. Silver shook head "But…You couldn't Chaos Control in and out of that cave, otherwise Locke-" "Marmolim magic isn't like wizard's magic, is it? I mean, they can Chaos Control in and out of Soleanna when we can't". There was silence as Silver digested this. How could Finitevus have made such a mistake? But even as he thought this, Coral spoke, and her voice was icy "Of course, Finitevus would have considered the ways of Marmolim far beneath his notice, just like all the purebloods who treat them like animals. It would never have occurred to him that they might have magic that he didn't" "The Marmolim's highest law is his Master's bidding. Ghana was told to come home, so Ghana came home" Ghana said. Silver looked back to the little Marmolim "So, what happened when you got back? What did Maw say when you told him what had happened?" "Master Maw was very worried, very worried. Master Maw told Ghana to stay hidden and not to leave the house. And then a little later Master Maw came to find Ghana in his cupboard one night, and Master Maw was strange, not as he usually was, disturbed in his mind, Ghana could tell and he asked Ghana to take him to the cave, the cave where Ghana had gone with the Dark Lord".
And so they had set off. Silver could visualize them quite clearly, the frightened old Marmolim and the thin, dark Seeker. Ghana knew how to open the concealed entrance to the underground cavern, knew how to raise the tiny boat; this time it was his beloved Maw who sailed with him to the island with its basin of poison "And he made you drink the potion?". But Ghana shook his head and wept. Coral's hands leapt to her mouth. She seemed to have understood something "M-Master Maw took from his pocket a locket like the one the Dark Lord had" said Ghana. Tears pouring down either side of his face. "And he told Ghana to take it and, when the basin was empty, to switch the lockets". Ghana's sobs came in great rasps now; Silver had to concentrate hard to understand him "And he ordered Ghana to leave…W-Without him. And he told Ghana to go home and never to tell my Mistress…W-What he had done. But to destroy the first locket. And he drank…He drank all the potion and Ghana swapped the lockets and watched…As Master Maw…Was dragged beneath the water…" "Oh, Ghana!" wailed Coral, who was crying. She dropped to her knees beside the Ghana and tried to hug him. At once he was on his feet, cringing away from her, quite obviously repulsed "The Mudblood touched Ghana, he will not allow it, what would his Mistress say?" "I told you not to call her 'Mudblood'!" snarled Silver, but Ghana was already punishing himself. He fell to the ground and banged his forehead on the floor. Coral cried harder "Stop him! Stop him! Oh, don't you see now how sick it is, the way they've got to obey?" "Ghana, Stop! STOP!" shouted Silver. The Marmolim lay on the floor, panting and shivering, green mucus glistening around his nose, a bruise already blooming on his forehead where he had struck himself, his eyes swollen and bloodshot and swimming in tears.
Silver had never seen anything so pitiful "So you brought the locket home. And you tried to destroy it?" "Nothing Ghana did made any mark upon it. Ghana tried everything, everything he knew, but nothing, nothing would work. So many powerful spells upon the casing, Ghana was sure the way to destroy it was to get inside it, but it would not open. Ghana punished himself, he tried again, he punished himself, he tried again. Ghana failed to obey orders, Ghana could not destroy the locket! And his Mistress was mad with grief, because Master Maw had disappeared, and Ghana could not tell her what had happened, no, because Master Maw had f-Forbidden him to tell any of the f-f-family what happened in the c-cave". Ghana began to sob so hard that there were no more coherent words. Tears flowed down Coral's cheeks as she watched Ghana, but she did not dare touch him again. Even Razor, who was no fan of Ghana's, looked troubled. Silver sat back on his heels and shook his head, trying to clear it "I don't understand you, Ghana. Finitevus tried to kill you, Maw died to bring Finitevus down, but you were still happy to betray Elias to Finitevus? You were happy to go to Fiona, and pass information to Finitevus through them" "Silver, Ghana doesn't think like that" Coral said. She wiping her eyes on the back of her hand "He's a slave; Marmolims are used to bad, even brutal treatment; what Finitevus did to Ghana wasn't that far out of the common way. What do wizard wars mean to an Marmolims like Ghana? He's loyal to people who are kind to him, and Mrs Acorn must have been, and Maw certainly was, so he served them willingly and parroted their beliefs. I know what you're going to say".
She saw that Silver was about to protest "That Maw changed his mind but he doesn't seem to have explained that to Ghana, does he? And I think I know why. Ghana and Maw's family were all safer if they kept to the old pure-blood line. Maw was trying to protect them all" "But Elias-""Elias was horrible to Ghana, Silver, and it's no good looking like that, you know it's true. Ghana had been alone for a long time when Elias came to live here, and he was probably starving for a bit of affection. I'm sure Miss Lien-Da and Miss Fiona were perfectly lovely to Ghana when he turned up, so he did them a favour and told them everything they wanted to know. I've said all along that wizards would pay for how they treat Marmolims. Well, Finitevus did and so did Elias". Silver had no retort. As he watched Ghana sobbing on the floor, he remembered what Locke had said to him, mere hours after Elias's death, he spoke about Ghana. Silver kneeled down in front of the crying Marmolim "Ghana…when you feel up to it…please sit up". It was several minutes before Ghana hiccupped himself into silence. Then he pushed himself into a sitting position again, rubbing his knuckles into his eyes like a small child "Ghana, I am going to ask you to do something" Silver said. He glanced at Coral for assistance. He didn't want to give an order. After everything he just heard he felt sick to his stomach giving an order but if he didn't and simply asked, Ghana could betray them when he sent him out. However, the change in his tone seemed to have gained Coral's approval.
She smiled encouragingly as Silver said "Ghana, I want you, please, to go and find Farrel. We need to find out where the locket is. It's really important. We want to finish the work Master Maw started, we want to ensure that he didn't die in vain". Ghana dropped his fists and looked up at Silver "Find Farrel?" "And bring him here, to Haven. Do you think you could do that for us?". As Ghana nodded and got to his feet, Silver had a sudden inspiration. He pulled out Big's purse and took out the fake Core Shard, the substitute locket in which Maw had placed the note to Finitevus "Ghana, I'd, uh, like you to have this. This belonged to Maw and I'm sure he'd want you to have it as a token of gratitude for what you did". Ghana took one look at the locket, let out a howl of shock and misery, and threw himself back onto the ground. It took them nearly half an hour to calm down Ghana, who was so overcome to be presented with an Acorn family heirloom for his very own that he was too weak at the knees to stand properly. When finally he was able to totter a few steps they all accompanied him to his cupboard, watched him tuck up the locket safely in his dirty blankets, and assured him that they would make its protection their first priority while he was away. He then made two low bows to Silver and Razor, and even gave a funny little spasm in Coral's direction that might have been an attempt at a respectful salute, before Chaos Controlling with the usual loud crack.