The Whisperer Read online

  Griff smiled. He really admired her pluck, especially as he’d heard about the cruel Stalkers and their sinister, threatening ways. ‘So what happened?’ he asked.

  ‘I was lucky,’ she shrugged, opening a canister that let out a pleasant, delicious fragrance. She brought the tin to her nose and inhaled before she continued, closing her eyes just for a second as she enjoyed the aroma. ‘Master Tyren got to them before I was carted off to the city orphanage. I think I would rather die than live there.’

  ‘Why, Tess? You’d have had a place to sleep, friends, regular food.’

  ‘That’s just a polite way of describing what is, essentially, prison. There would be rules. Grown-up rules. And probably loads of chores. Anyway, none of that matters because I can’t live without my creatures. They’re my friends. They’re my family. We protect each other, always have. Do you want some phelan tea?’

  He nodded, though he had no idea what it was. ‘How many creature friends do you have?’

  ‘Dozens,’ she said, busying herself with the task of brewing tea. ‘The water in this pot is already boiled,’ she explained, ‘so your timing was perfect. I carry my own leaves—I dry them myself,’ she continued, digging a wooden spoon into her tin.

  ‘So Master Tyren saved you, is that right?’

  She spooned dried leaves into a pot.

  ‘Yes, he offered me a chance to travel with all of you.’

  ‘And what do you do in return?’

  Her face creased into a frown. ‘Well, I’m not happy about it but it was the best solution. I have to show off my creatures. Master Tyren said most people have never seen a veercat or a centaur before.’

  ‘He’s right. What else have you brought?’

  Tess poured hot water over the leaves. ‘I’ll just let that draw for a minute. Um, well there’s Rix. Davren, my young centaur, of course. Then there’s Elph the sagar and Helys, my tiny califa. She won’t grow much bigger. I might be able to persuade Gaston to make an appearance but he is contrary,’ she said, twisting the pot and sniffing its vapours. ‘Ah, lovely, almost ready.’

  ‘Who is Gaston?’

  She laughed. ‘He’s a gryphon. But he’s always cranky and the horses would revolt if they got even the vaguest hint that he was around.’

  ‘I’ve heard of the others, but what’s a gryphon?’

  ‘Your namesake! Gaston is half beast, half bird. Body of a lion and the head and claws of an eagle. And he’s black and terrifying. He lives in the mountains in the northwest but visited me in the forest now and then.’

  Griff’s eyes had got rounder and wider as she’d explained. Now his jaw dropped. ‘Visited you?’ Griff exclaimed, taking the mug of tea she offered him. ‘Why?’

  ‘I told you. We’re friends.’

  ‘How?’

  Tess fell silent.

  Griff sipped the hot tea, blowing on it first. The silence lengthened, and Griff felt it might feel awkward for Tess so he filled it with chatter. ‘I taste flowers, perhaps some bark. There’s a grassy flavour, too.’

  She looked up, surprised, and seemed to warm still further to him. ‘Well done. Most people can’t taste the bark or the grasses.’

  ‘It’s delicious,’ he said, telling the truth. He had never tasted finer tea.

  She smiled. They fell silent again.

  ‘Tess. I know,’ Griff finally said.

  ‘What do you know?’ she mumbled, frowning.

  ‘I know that you can talk to the creatures. That you can summon them and that they trust you completely although they don’t trust any other humans.’

  She glared at him. Her suspicions were back and on full alert. ‘Well, I suppose Master Tyren would tell—’

  Griff continued as though she hadn’t spoken. ‘I know how you battled to save your sister’s life. And that when she took her last breath all the creatures who love you came to pay their respects as you buried her. I know where she is buried; I can see the clearing and how at midday the sunlight filters through the leaves and lights her grave as though our god, Lo, himself is smiling upon her. I know that you wish you could be there right now with some flowers.’

  Tess sucked in an angry breath. ‘How do you know any of this?’ she demanded. ‘No-one was there but me. I dug the grave, I wrapped her in cloth and I buried her myself. Master Tyren knows nothing of my life in the forest.’

  ‘I know. I’m sorry. I—’

  They were interrupted by a knock on the door. Tess moved her tea aside and pushed past Griff angrily to open it. ‘Yes?’

  ‘Ah, young Tess. Hello again. Are you settling in alright?’ It was Tyren. He stared at the veercat with greed. Griff could see that the man was almost smelling the potential money to be made from showing this curious animal and its companions to an eager public. ‘I see young Griff is keeping you company. That’s good. You two should get on famously.’

  Tess threw a still-angry but perhaps more confused glance in Griff’s direction. ‘Thank you, Master Tyren,’ she said as politely as her bad mood would allow.

  ‘Now, as I understand it the creatures are unloaded, Tess, but we can’t permit them to be seen roaming the enclosure. I was—’

  ‘They wouldn’t want to,’ she said before he could finish. ‘It’s far too open.’

  Tyren nodded patiently, his fat face wobbling as he worked hard to maintain the kind smile. ‘Yes, indeed, much too open. So I thought we could keep them in a tented—’

  She ignored the showmaster. ‘I was thinking we could let them go in that copse not far from here. It offers a feeling of woodland. Those few trees will mean everything to my creatures, more like their home.’

  ‘But they could escape!’ Tyren argued as gently as possible although Griff noted his smile had frozen and had turned wintry.

  ‘They won’t be happy in a tent!’ Tess argued.

  ‘My dear. I have put myself out on a limb for you. I cannot risk that these creatures get lost, roam without supervision, or that you decide to leave the Travelling Show. I have given my word, paid a lot of money to the authorities to give you your freedom. You belong to me now. You understood that from the beginning. It was the bargain we made, child. Don’t tell me I have to claim back my gold and return you to the Stalkers?’

  Tess scowled and opened her mouth to give a retort that Griff was so sure would not be polite that he stepped in front of her and cut off whatever tirade was about to come out.

  ‘Er, no, Master Tyren, you don’t,’ Griff chipped in. ‘Tess was just telling me over some tea that she’ll have to spend a few days getting used to us and our ways. And I said that this is her first day after all,’ he shrugged. ‘She’s bound to feel like a stranger at first. We’ll have a think and find a solution for her creatures, sir. Leave it with me.’

  ‘Be sure you do, Griff,’ Tyren said, nodding firmly at him. ‘Tess, your creatures are our prize drawcard, now that Ilbo is gone. Don’t let me down.’

  Much to Griff’s relief Tess said nothing as the showmaster turned away.

  He swung around once the wagon’s door had closed again. ‘It won’t help you to have him as an enemy.’

  ‘He’s only helping me because it suits his purposes.’

  ‘It was no different for my brothers and myself. We just had to learn to fit in and make friends. I’ll be your friend, Tess. This wagon will feel like a home soon, I promise. Look, Rix is already exploring,’ he said and pointed.

  Tess found a sad smile when she saw that the veercat was indeed sniffing around the corners of the wagon. ‘You’re being very decent to me, Griff. I’m sure I don’t deserve it.’

  ‘Listen, Tess, I know what it’s like to feel like an outsider. In fact I feel very alone a lot of the time. You can trust me. I’ll help you with your creatures.’

  He could tell that she’d spent most of her life not trusting anyone and could hear her thoughts colliding with each other. She wanted to be his friend.

  ‘Come on,’ Griff said kindly. ‘I’m starving and that bell you
can hear means the food tent is still serving. Leave Rix locked in here. I’ve got an idea for the other creatures. We’ll talk about it over a meal.’

  To his further relief, Tess agreed, following him to the smell of where roasted meat was being served.

  They lined up quietly to get their meals, which were being dished out onto clay plates by Madam Tyren and her team of helpers.

  ‘That’s Tyren’s wife,’ Griff whispered. ‘She’s alright but don’t trust her completely. Her loyalties are to Tyren and the show. She likes his wealth. Ah, here come my brothers,’ he said, grinning crookedly, ‘now I’m for it.’

  The burly boys arrived, winking and grinning at their younger brother. ‘Who’s your girlfriend, Griff?’ one asked.

  Gesturing at the handsome youth, Griff replied. ‘Tess this is Phineas, the eldest, and Matthias,’ he said, pointing to the second brother. They both nodded at her, smiling widely.

  Tess immediately noticed how different they were to her new friend. Unlike Griff, who was dark and swarthy with longish, soft wavy hair, they had short, scruffy golden hair and pale skin. They both regarded her through light-blue eyes, filled with what seemed to be permanent amusement. ‘Ah, the Twisted Twins. I’ve heard about you two. But you look identical. How can you be twins and not the same age?’

  ‘They’re not twins,’ Griff explained. ‘Phineas was born at the beginning of Leaf-fall and Matthias the end of the following Thaw. So there’s not quite a year between them. I’m three years younger than Matthias.’

  She frowned, still confused.

  Phineas explained. ‘Master Tyren decided that the Twisted Twins sounded better than the Twisted Brothers, so he just passes us off as twins.’

  Understanding flitted across her face. ‘I see, well you could easily be twins,’ Tess admitted. ‘And what is your part in the show? I heard you were a balancing act.’

  ‘More than that, I hope,’ Matthias said. ‘Balance is a big part of it but there’s strength, control, suppleness. We’re contortionists. Come along to our rehearsal this evening and you’ll see how much more.’

  ‘I will,’ she said.

  ‘Tess is a new act. She owns beautiful, rare creatures,’ Griff said, proud that he had such an exotic new friend to introduce. ‘She’s got a young centaur!’

  ‘No!’ the boys said together, intrigued.

  She nodded. ‘It’s true. He’s very shy of people. I don’t know how he’ll ever forgive me. I couldn’t bear to hear him wailing today. That’s why I fled to the wagon.’

  ‘I heard him,’ Griff said, then turned to her. ‘We’ll go see him straight after we’ve eaten,’ he reassured. ‘No, you can’t push in, Mat, or trouble will befall me. You’ll have to queue.’

  ‘I’m famished,’ his brother groaned.

  ‘I don’t eat much. You can have my helping,’ Tess said, clearly liking the tall, affable brothers immediately.

  Mat beamed a smile at her. ‘I’ll look forward to that, Miss Tess, and to a special viewing of your beasts,’ and he hurried off to join his brother at the back of the queue.

  ‘They’re nice,’ she said, looking at Griff sideways. ‘You don’t look at all like them. The opposite, in fact.’

  ‘I know. Apparently I look more like my mother. She had dark hair, dark eyes.’

  ‘You’re quite young to leave your mother and father, aren’t you?’

  He shrugged. ‘I’m older than you, I’m thirteen summers. Anyway, my mother died when I was born.’ He looked away from Tess and she saw sadness ghost across his expression although he tried to hide it, perhaps not wanting any pity. ‘And it was Dad who raised us.’

  She took a small crust of bread and balanced it on the side of her plate next to a small helping of stew. ‘So if he’s still alive, why are you here?’

  Griff pointed to a bench at a table and she followed to sit down and eat. ‘Money became tight but Dad didn’t want my brothers going off to fight in Janko’s army. He worried that the general might just take them if he needed new recruits.’

  ‘So you all joined the Travelling Show,’ she completed.

  He nodded as he chewed on his hunk of bread. She changed topics. ‘What’s your idea for the creatures—you said you had one?’

  ‘Well, rather than letting them roam free, perhaps you could tie them up on—’

  ‘Tie them up? Are you mad?’

  ‘Let me finish,’ Griff said patiently. ‘Tie them on long ropes so they have lots of room but Tyren is satisfied that you are preventing the animals from roaming wild. He has to protect the money he’s already paid for you, Tess. Just make it look as though they’re fully secured and once you’ve earned everyone’s trust, it will be easy to convince Tyren to allow more freedom for the creatures. Let everyone get to know you, become one of the family, so to speak.’

  ‘And are you one of the family, Griff?’

  ‘Well, I like to think so.’

  ‘Is that why you sit apart from everyone else during mealtime? And why you were given the job of looking after the newcomer? You seem to be a bit of a loner yourself.’

  ‘I just don’t like a lot of noise,’ Griff said, unhappily, and she noticed he shook his head now and then as though trying to rid it of water.

  ‘Well, I’m the same,’ she admitted, watching a gaggle of women arrive at the food tent. ‘In fact—’ She stopped, surprised when Griff stood up, groaning.

  He looked around at the group of chortling women. ‘Are you finished?’

  Tess was confused. ‘Er, not quite.’

  ‘Grab your bread. You can finish it while we walk.’

  Tess frowned but did as he asked and soon found herself being hurried along.

  ‘What’s wrong, Griff?’

  ‘I get there early usually. It gets a bit noisy for me otherwise.’

  Tess hadn’t noticed. ‘So you never did tell me how you knew all that stuff about me,’ she said, running slightly to keep up with Griff, who was striding away quickly.

  ‘No, I didn’t.’

  When he said no more, she became indignant. ‘Well…are you going to explain?’ she asked.

  He began to jog. ‘Tess, bring Rix and have the others brought to the copse. Tell Chauncey that Tyren said it was alright. I’ll explain everything there.’

  ‘But where are you going?’ she yelled after him, puzzled.

  He didn’t reply, just ran ahead towards the safety of the trees.

  4

  ‘Miralda,’ Duke Janko said, before bending to touch his lips to her hand. She had to restrain herself from pulling away from his mouth or visibly flinching. ‘It’s an honour to see you again, majesty,’ he said, straightening.

  ‘Welcome back, Janko. Congratulations on all your success in the north.’

  He shrugged, as if to say it was all about duty. ‘My brother only has to ask and I am there for him.’

  Miralda cocked her head to one side, ensuring the pretend smile never left her face. ‘That’s so generous of you. You’re a good brother to him,’ she said, the honeyed words clearly pleasing the Duke but in her heart they were hollow, driven by scorn. Miralda hated him. She wondered if he knew this. ‘The city welcomes you with great excitement,’ she added.

  He smiled and with it came an expression too close to the face of the man she loved. She hated Janko all the more for echoing his brother’s looks so keenly.

  ‘I am amazed by the enthusiasm, Rodin,’ Janko said, turning to the King. It irritated Miralda that the Duke never paid his brother quite the right amount of respect once he was out of earshot of the dignitaries of the palace. He should address him as King until told otherwise. She knew it never bothered Rodin, of course.

  ‘Don’t be,’ Rodin replied, with his usual generosity. ‘They love you, brother. As they should. You have kept harm from them. Old Besler must be licking his wounds in the north.’

  The Duke chuckled, accepting the tall goblet of wine that was presented to him by a servant. ‘That fat backside of his was sent scurr
ying into the cave network that his rabble favour. They won’t surface for months now, for fear of reprisals.’

  ‘Indeed,’ Miralda said, taking a sip from her goblet. ‘I heard reprisals had already been taken.’

  The Duke stared at her and the feigned smile was dropped, replaced by an expression that spoke of secrets and cunning. He blinked slowly before he answered. ‘We must make examples of his horde. Brutality is the only language they understand.’

  ‘Have you tried any other way?’ she pushed, knowing this was irritating her King, who gave her a warning glance.

  ‘Oh, talking doesn’t work, my Queen,’ he said and she heard only a sneer in his tone, which she could tell was suggesting she keep her nose out of men’s business. She felt her blood beginning to boil at his condescension. ‘I know it sounds all very nice to talk across the parley table,’ Janko continued and Miralda turned off from his voice. She looked towards Rodin, apology in her glance, and felt rescued when she saw a familiar servant enter and the dark head of her son appearing nervously around the door directly after him.

  ‘Ah, the Crown Prince is here,’ she said, deliberately impressing Lute’s title as she cut across Janko’s words. ‘Come in, darling. The Duke has arrived and is keen to see you.’

  Lute glanced once at the Duke before he was guided fully into the room by Pilo, now behaving every inch the servant. Due to all the rush of getting cleaned up and readied for presentation, Lute had not had an opportunity to speak to his companion about what he’d overheard in the bailey. It was playing on his mind, although he was beginning to believe he must have misheard the words, or misinterpreted them, because his father and uncle looked so happy. He planned to try hard to impress the Duke for his father’s sake.

  ‘Thank you, Pilo,’ Miralda said and smiled softly.

  Lute had sensed that Pilo had been a blessing in his mother’s life, ever since he had first appeared four years ago. And since Pilo had firmly entered Lute’s life, the Prince had come out of his ‘shell’, as he’d heard his father put it. Meanwhile, his mother clearly adored Pilo for the care and effort he put into her son. They would never have more children, Lute knew this. No-one had needed to tell him. He had sensed that he had been hard won and there would be no sister or brother to share the burden of this parental love. So all the love his mother in particular had to lavish on a family was directed at Lute. But he was being groomed for a role that would require him to have the broadest of shoulders—being loved too hard would be the least of his troubles. That’s what Pilo had always counselled in his reserved manner, anyway.