Crown Phoenix: Night Watchman Express Page 34

Chapter 7

  The Luxurious Prison

  eil lifted a spoonful of crab soup to his mouth and let the utensil splash back into his bowl. It wasn’t that the food was any less delicious than usual; in fact, having Tache back in the house seemed to have improved Odjo’s skills. The crabs had been caught by Neil and Riki, who had returned to the sea the following day. They still hadn’t ventured anywhere near the forbidden side of Lampala.

  He sighed. The huge house, with all its luxuries, had become a kind of a prison, since Weko had decided that Neil should continue to stay with them. … And whenever he approached the subjects of leaving. Or helping his friends, or the politics of the island, Weko firmly ended the conversation with a determined, “We shall not talk about that now.”

  Riki’s father had been all smiles, though, when he saw his daughter actually feeding her parrot without being nagged or scolded, picking up the books and toys in her room and eating with good manners. Oh yes, Mr. Big Man Weko, Neil thought, you like my influence over your daughter, don’t you? But you don’t like it when need help for my quest. No, you do not enjoy that one bit.

  Quest! Neil gave a mental snort. What was he, a knight? Hardly. Would a knight like Lochinvar or Gawain or one of those chaps put up with being a nursemaid to a skinny, loud, demanding brat such as Riki? The answer was an emphatic No. And would they suffer nightmares like his recent dreams, about Simon and Miriam and Mana, all caught in dreadful traps with no escape? Absolutely not.

  He had to do something. During the last few days, Neil had made up his mind several times just to walk away from the house and leave, convinced that he had fully paid back his debt to Chichilia and Weko by taming their daughter a bit.

  However, any attempt to go to the beach or the bamboo glades alone had been subtly thwarted by a nervous Chichilia. She ran after him with sandwiches, or a hat, or something. Or Riki invariably popped up in his path and demanded that he take her fishing or hunting. Obviously, they were all afraid that he would try to escape.

  “What’s the matter with you?” Riki interrupted his thoughts.

  “Yes,” Chichilia asked more gently. “You seem out of sorts today, Mr. Neil.” Weko and the brothers were not at the table, as it was the middle of the week and they had returned to Mixiamani.

  He straightened in his chair and opened his mouth, making up his mind to pour out his grievances, when a thought struck him. Perhaps, if he pretended that he was growing accustomed to living with them, that he in fact had never been happier, they would relax their guard and he could find a way to get back to his friends, or to find Mana. He picked up his spoon. “Oh, I was wondering about Tache. How is she coming along in her recovery?”

  “Why do you ask about her?” Riki’s black eyes narrowed.

  Neil ate another mouthful before he replied. “I was simply concerned, that’s all.”

  “Most thoughtful,” Chichilia said, wiping one corner of her mouth delicately. “In truth, Mr. Neil, her recovery is very slow. It seems that each time she regresses, these spells last longer and longer.”

  “What’s the matter with her anyway?” Riki asked. “You never tell me anything about her.”

  “It’s not a matter for young girls.” Chichilia picked up a coffee cup and taking a tiny sip of the dark brew. Riki sighed deeply and threw down her fork. Neil applauded her inwardly. The grownups that he had met -teachers, parents, and such - were evasive when it came to certain subjects. However, no one he had met in his previous life would be able to come close to Riki’s parents for avoiding a question.

  Neil forced a smile onto his face and asked, “Is there anything I can do to help?”

  “That we can do to help, don’t you mean, Neil?” Riki said, stretching her eyes at him and moving her head back and forth on her shoulders. She looked a bit like a snake getting ready to strike.

  “Right, Riki, that we can do,” Neil repeated.

  “My dear Riki! How thoughtful! And how nice of you as well, Mr. Neil!” Chichilia smiled and shook her head. “Still, no, it’s better if you stay away from Tache. You might overexcite her and prolong her recovery.”

  “Overexcite her!” Riki hooted, puffing up with anger. “I bet I wouldn’t! I could wind bandages, and wipe her forehead, and spoon gruel for her …” Her voice faded away and she stared into space. Obviously she was

  imagining herself as a devoted nurse.

  “You’d get bored with that in five minutes,” Neil said.

  Riki looked at him and cackled loudly. “You know, you’re right.”

  Chichilia’s smiled widened. “You really are a miracle worker, Mr. Neil. And you are happy here?”

  “Oh, yes, very happy,” Neil said, nodding. He hoped he didn’t seem too eager.

  “Mm. Well, what are you both going to do today?”

  “Swim! Play! Explore! Fish!” Riki cried, hopping in her seat with each word.

  “Feed the parrot,” Neil said. “Clean the fishpond. Practice the flute.” Riki’s face fell, and he couldn’t help laughing. “And maybe we’ll go fishing,” he added grandly.

  Chichilia arose and draped one arm around his shoulders. Giving him a kiss on the cheek, she said, “I truly hope you will stay here with us forever.”

  “Oh, um, ah,” Neil blustered, resisting the urge to wipe his face with one arm. No bloody fear of that, he added silently.

  “Ha ha!” Riki sang out, pointing at him and jeering as Chichilia kissed him again. She pursed up her lips and made loud smooching sounds.

  No, no bloody fear, Neil swore as he got up and made for the stairs. I’m not staying here with that little hoyden. You can bet your last penny on that.

  Later, as he and Riki sat on the beach with their fishing rods (they had already fed the parrot and cleaned the fishpond) she jabbed him with one elbow and asked, “What’s eating you? Why are you so gloomy, mopey, and depressing lately?”

  Neil dragged his eyes from the horizon and focused on her. “No reason,” he finally answered.

  “Are you angry at me?”

  “No.” He didn’t offer any other explanation, and, for once, she didn’t pester him.

  The day was hot and overcast, which suited his mood exactly. He wanted to sit and think of his next move. Riki didn’t say any more, and the silence yawned into the afternoon. It was so quiet that Neil imagined that he could hear the seaweed and the small movements of a crab as it scuttled across the rock pool in front of them.

  Two older girls walked onto the beach towards the water on the other side of the palm tree under which he had lain after being tossed up from the storm. They were both very pretty, with long hair and huge, brown eyes.

  The girls waved at Riki, who raised one hand back. They threw down bundles of rope and sat cross-legged opposite each other on the beach. The lines were frayed at the ends and tangled, and the girls began to untangle the rope and roll it up. Neil used to do the same thing, two lifetimes ago, in the fishing village with his sisters and his father.

  After a minute the girls started to chat. Neil had picked up enough of the Lampalan language to recognize that they were indulging in a long gossip; although he didn’t catch everything they said, he could tell that they were talking about a certain Kyoge, who was tall, strong, and slated for promotion among the palace guards. Neil grinned to himself as he overheard the words ‘dreamboat’ and ‘gorgeous’.

  He relapsed into a comfortable dream. In the pool, a small octopus emerged from the shadow of a rock and started to stalk a shrimp.

  Neil overheard something. He sat up and turned towards the girls sharply. “Riki,” he hissed, and he nudged her.

  “What is it?”

  “Shhh! Listen to those girls over there and tell me what they’re saying!”

  Instantly, she put her rod down and crawled over him, stepping painfully on his thigh, so that she could eavesdrop better. “They’re talking about a tunnel,” she said.

  “Shhh! Just listen, and tell me later!”

  She shrugged and
turned back to the girls. After a few minutes Neil heard the name Yeno, who apparently was a “honeypot.”

  “That’s it,” she whispered. This time she trod heavily on his hand. “Now they’re just talking about boys again.”

  “Well, what did they say about the tunnel?” Neil asked.

  “There’s a rumor going around the village, you know, where we were that first day, where we saw the baby? And the woman waved to us? And started to paint that portrait? Remember?”

  “Yes, yes. I know where you mean. What is the rumor?”

  “Oh. Well, they said that something is going on in the tunnel that we saw. You know, the one in the mountains, where –”

  “Yes, the tunnel!” Neil hissed. “What about it, Riki?”

  “I’m getting to that. The girls said it is haunted.”

  Neil sat back and nodded with satisfaction. “That’s what I thought they said.” He was hugely pleased with himself and his ability to understand the island language. Balancing his fishing pole between his knees, he took off his glasses and wiped the spray off them with the tail of his shirt.

  “And do you know why they think that?” Riki flung out an arm in a dramatic fashion, sending her line with its sharp hook and wriggling bait into the nearby picnic basket. “Oh, blast.” She reeled in the hook. “Anyway, they said that there have been sounds coming from the tunnel! And the guards are keeping people away from it! But everyone is afraid of it anyhow! So no one goes there anymore! Still, they both have had strange dreams lately.” She paused for emphasis.

  Neil nodded. “Ah.”

  Riki was disappointed with his matter-of-fact acceptance of her story. “Is that all you’re going to say?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well of all the –” she stared at him for a moment. Neil laughed as she gulped back a protest with supreme self-control.

  That night, Neil waited until he heard Chichilia go up the stairs to her own room. As quietly as he could, he unwound himself from the sheets and got out of bed. He was determined to leave the house and get to Tiriumbutora. If he could reach the mountain, he could start to investigate that tunnel. He was certain that if a rumor had started to go around about the tunnel being haunted, something was happening there. And he intended to fins out exactly what it was.

  He stripped off the long nightshirt and felt for the clothes he had hidden in the chest near his bed. Once dressed, he crossed to the door and grasped the handle. A nasty shock froze his heart and stomach when he realized that the door to his room was locked.

  Locked in! A rush of pure, unadulterated fury rushed to his head in a red wave. How dare they! He lifted one fist and was about to start to bang and shout out a long stream of abuse.

  No. Neil looked at his clenched fist. If he woke everyone in a furious frenzy, they would know that he wanted to leave on a night expedition. Weko looked intelligent, and Neil had no doubt that he was the one who had ordered the key to be turned in the lock. If he heard that his guest was trying to leave, Neil would lose the little freedom he had now.

  The key, Neil thought. Now, in the copies of The Boys’ Own Paper, the hero would figure out a way of getting his hands on the key and opening the door. The most famous dodge, of course, was when the hero used a thin wire to push the key out of the lock onto the paper they had slid under the crack of the doorjamb below.

  It couldn’t really work, could it? Feeling rather a fool, Neil looked around. Naturally, he had no useful piece of wire. Still, there had to be something he could use instead.

  A straw pot reposed on one side of the room, filled with long peacock feathers. Neil went to it and seized one of the feathers. As soon as he pushed the quill through the keyhole, however, it instantly broke.

  With a spluttered curse, he got another and tried again. The end of the feather held, but it was met with unmoving resistance from the other side.

  Aha, Neil thought. The Boys’ Own Paper neglected to mention that keys, once turned in the lock, essentially are fixed in place and won’t push out until they are unlocked.

  Blast it all! Neil slumped down against the wall and let his head fall into his crossed arms. There was nothing he could do. He was stuck here, in this beautiful house that was really a prison cell for him. Simon, Miriam and Mana were doomed, and his parents and family would be prosecuted and turned out of their house. What a mess he had made of things.

  “Neil?” a small voice queried from the other side of the door.

  Neil raised his head and blinked his eyes a bit. Wiping his nose on one sleeve, he managed a husky, “Uh-huh.”

  “It’s me, Riki. Are you trying to open the door? It’s locked, stupid!”

  “Well, thank you very much!” he whispered back with much pent-up venom. “Where would I be without you to tell me what an idiot I am?!” There was a long silence, and he began to regret his words. “Riki?” he said.

  The key slowly turned in the lock and the door opened. “It’s me,” she said unnecessarily.

  “Get in here,” he said, pulling her by one arm and closing the door.

  “But what were you trying to do?” Riki asked.

  He shook his head in a disgusted way and plopped down on the bed. “Forget it,” he said wearily. “You were right, I am stupid. In fact, probably I am the most oafish, idiotic clod in the history of mankind.”

  “Oh, stow it,” Riki snapped. She put her fists on her hips and looked at him. “You were going to try to go back to that mountain, weren’t you?”

  He lifted his head. “How did you guess?”

  “Oh, come on. I’m not such a kid as all that. We overheard the girls telling that story on the beach, and it just makes sense that you would want to go and investigate. Besides, it’s what I would do myself, especially since that tunnel is forbidden.”

  “Well, obviously I can’t, because your parents have decided to lock me in like a prisoner.”

  Riki gasped, raised her eyebrows, and gestured towards the wide-open door with both arms. “Hello!” She widened her eyes.

  “Well, I can’t go now,” Neil said. “You’ll want to raise the alarm, or something.”

  “Of all the–” Words failed her. “As if I would!” she finally squeaked.

  He shook his head. “No, I didn’t mean that; it’s just that now you’ll want to come too, and when I say no, you’ll raise a fuss, and everyone will wake up, and my plan is foiled.”

  “Well, why can’t I come along?” Riki jutted her sharp chin at him.

  “I’ll be putting you in danger!” Neil said. “I can’t allow you to get hurt.” Riki opened her mouth, and he interrupted. “See, I knew it. Now you’re going to cry, or scream, or have hysterics or something. Or all three.”

  She stood with mouth open, staring at him, for a minute. She snapped her jaw shut with an audible click. “Is that how you think of me?” she demanded.

  Neil shrugged, and lay back on the bed. What the devil would he do now? He rubbed his eyes with one hand.

  Riki sat cross-legged on the floor in front of him. “You obviously can’t do anything at all by yourself,” she said in a calm voice. “You need someone to help you, and it looks like I’m all you’ve got.”

  Neil couldn’t help smiling. He reached out one arm and brushed back her hair (done in untidy braids, as usual) with one hand. “Thanks,” he replied. “But –”

  “And you really do need to help your friends, don’t you?” she interrupted.

  How had she known about that? She must have been listening when he had argued with Weko. “Well, yes.”

  “And you were feeling pretty bad about the entire situation before I opened the door, and now you feel better, don’t you?” she insisted. This looked like a nasty case of second sight. Neil nodded in agreement, and she pressed her advantage. “Let’s make plans. Now, here’s what we’ll do: we’ll sneak down and get some food, and some drinks, and some rope, and you know, some other supplies, and we’ll take off through the back door and go by that jungle path. You get th
e rope and things, and I’ll get the food. Oh, and I’d better get dressed so I’m not in pajamas. You too. Very well! Meet you downstairs in a bit!”

  She made for the bedroom door, but Neil grabbed her arm. “We can’t go now; it’s too late!” he hissed at her. “We’ve wasted too much time tonight. The sun will be rising before we even get to the tunnel! We’ll have to make plans for tomorrow night instead.”

  Riki smiled, a wide grin of pure joy. “Do you mean it?” she asked. “I can really go with you?”

  He grinned back. “Looks like you’re all I’ve got.”

  A thought struck her. “Hey, let’s draw up a list of what we need to do, and we can prepare tomorrow.”

  Feeling better than he had in days, Neil agreed.