me.”
The lieutenant saluted Dame Primus, then spun on his heel and took a step towards the door.
“Hang on!” said Suzy. “I’m coming too!”
Crosshaw turned in surprise. “I beg your pardon!”
“I’m volunteering,” said Suzy. “I want to go along with Arthur.”
“We don’t take volunteers,” said Crosshaw. “Never know who we might get.”
“But I think I might have served before—I’m probably in some kind of Reserve.”
“We’re not calling up reservists either,” Crosshaw sniffed. “Particularly Piper’s children who’ve had everything they ever knew washed out from between their ears.”
“I’ve got a piece of paper somewhere,” said Suzy as she rummaged through her pockets.
“I can’t help you, miss,” Crosshaw dismissed her withfinality. “Come along, Recruit Penhaligon. Hold yourself a bit straighter. What’s that on your leg?”
“Crab-armor,” said Arthur. Unlike the rest of his clothes, the crab-armor had remained, his new blue breeches forming under it. “For a broken leg.”
“As prescribed by me,” said Dr. Scamandros. “Dr. Scamandros, at your service. Major Scamandros, Army Sorcerer, retired. I did my draft service about three thousand years ago, before going on to advanced study in the Upper House.”
“Very good, sir,” said Crosshaw, with another snappy salute. “If it’s a prescribed medical necessity, it can remain.”
“Lord Arthur is a mortal,” added Scamandros. He got out a small notepad and hastily scrawled something on it with a peacock-feather quill that dripped silver ink. “He needs the crab-armor and the ring on his finger for medical reasons. He should be given special consideration.”
Crosshaw took the proffered note, folded it, and tucked it under his cuff.
“I’m still coming along,” said Suzy.
“No room for you in our elevator,” snapped Crosshaw. “I suppose there’s nothing to stop you from petitioning Sir Thursday to re-enlist, if you actually are a reservist. Not something I’d do. But there’s nothing to stop you. Come along, Recruit Penhaligon. By the left, quick march!”
Crosshaw led off with his left foot, boot heels crashing on the marble floor as he marched towards the door. Arthur followed, doing his best to imitate the lieutenant’s marching style and keep in step.
He suddenly felt incredibly alone, abandoned by everyone and extremely uncertain about what the future held.
Was he really going to disappear into the Army for a hundred years?
Chapter Six
“ A re the clothes satisfactory, Miss Leaf?” Sneezer asked Leaf as she came out from getting changed behind the central bookshelf in the middle of the library.
“I guess so,” she answered. She looked down at the band T-shirt that featured a group she’d never heard of. From the tie-dyed swirl of mythological creatures, she guessed it was from about 1970. She had jeans on below that, but they were not exactly denim, though they looked like it, and the patch on the back pocket was a very sharply focused and impressive hologram featuring an animal that she was sure did not exist on Earth.
“If you would like to do so, we can try to take a look at your destination before you go through,” said Sneezer. He walked over to a row of bookshelves and pulled on the hanging rope at the end. A bell rang somewhere above Leaf’s head and the entire wall of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves rolled back and then slid away to show a seven-sided room of dark walnut paneling. In the center of the room, seven tall grandfather clocks were arranged in a circle, facing one another.
“What’s that noise?” asked Leaf. She could feel as much as hear a weird low humming noise, but there was no ticking sound coming from the clocks.
“The pendulums of the clocks,” said Sneezer. “The heartbeat of Time. These are the Seven Dials, miss.”
“I would like to have a look first,” said Leaf. “Can you show me where the Skinless Boy is?”
“We can but try,”
The lieutenant saluted Dame Primus, then spun on his heel and took a step towards the door.
“Hang on!” said Suzy. “I’m coming too!”
Crosshaw turned in surprise. “I beg your pardon!”
“I’m volunteering,” said Suzy. “I want to go along with Arthur.”
“We don’t take volunteers,” said Crosshaw. “Never know who we might get.”
“But I think I might have served before—I’m probably in some kind of Reserve.”
“We’re not calling up reservists either,” Crosshaw sniffed. “Particularly Piper’s children who’ve had everything they ever knew washed out from between their ears.”
“I’ve got a piece of paper somewhere,” said Suzy as she rummaged through her pockets.
“I can’t help you, miss,” Crosshaw dismissed her withfinality. “Come along, Recruit Penhaligon. Hold yourself a bit straighter. What’s that on your leg?”
“Crab-armor,” said Arthur. Unlike the rest of his clothes, the crab-armor had remained, his new blue breeches forming under it. “For a broken leg.”
“As prescribed by me,” said Dr. Scamandros. “Dr. Scamandros, at your service. Major Scamandros, Army Sorcerer, retired. I did my draft service about three thousand years ago, before going on to advanced study in the Upper House.”
“Very good, sir,” said Crosshaw, with another snappy salute. “If it’s a prescribed medical necessity, it can remain.”
“Lord Arthur is a mortal,” added Scamandros. He got out a small notepad and hastily scrawled something on it with a peacock-feather quill that dripped silver ink. “He needs the crab-armor and the ring on his finger for medical reasons. He should be given special consideration.”
Crosshaw took the proffered note, folded it, and tucked it under his cuff.
“I’m still coming along,” said Suzy.
“No room for you in our elevator,” snapped Crosshaw. “I suppose there’s nothing to stop you from petitioning Sir Thursday to re-enlist, if you actually are a reservist. Not something I’d do. But there’s nothing to stop you. Come along, Recruit Penhaligon. By the left, quick march!”
Crosshaw led off with his left foot, boot heels crashing on the marble floor as he marched towards the door. Arthur followed, doing his best to imitate the lieutenant’s marching style and keep in step.
He suddenly felt incredibly alone, abandoned by everyone and extremely uncertain about what the future held.
Was he really going to disappear into the Army for a hundred years?
Chapter Six
“ A re the clothes satisfactory, Miss Leaf?” Sneezer asked Leaf as she came out from getting changed behind the central bookshelf in the middle of the library.
“I guess so,” she answered. She looked down at the band T-shirt that featured a group she’d never heard of. From the tie-dyed swirl of mythological creatures, she guessed it was from about 1970. She had jeans on below that, but they were not exactly denim, though they looked like it, and the patch on the back pocket was a very sharply focused and impressive hologram featuring an animal that she was sure did not exist on Earth.
“If you would like to do so, we can try to take a look at your destination before you go through,” said Sneezer. He walked over to a row of bookshelves and pulled on the hanging rope at the end. A bell rang somewhere above Leaf’s head and the entire wall of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves rolled back and then slid away to show a seven-sided room of dark walnut paneling. In the center of the room, seven tall grandfather clocks were arranged in a circle, facing one another.
“What’s that noise?” asked Leaf. She could feel as much as hear a weird low humming noise, but there was no ticking sound coming from the clocks.
“The pendulums of the clocks,” said Sneezer. “The heartbeat of Time. These are the Seven Dials, miss.”
“I would like to have a look first,” said Leaf. “Can you show me where the Skinless Boy is?”
“We can but try,”
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