Delivery to the Lost City Read online

  And that was when the door burst open.

  15

  THE DELIVERY COMES FIRST

  Suzy, Wilmot, the Chief, and Ina whirled round in a panic as the bedroom door swung open and crashed against the wall.

  Suzy’s first thought was that the Watch Frogs had found them, but standing in the doorway was a lanky Hydroborean youth with orange fronds, wearing a pair of ill-fitting dungarees and dripping water onto the floor. They stared at one another in surprise, before the youth raised a trembling hand to point at them.

  “Ina!” he said. “It’s them! Those are the outworlders the Watch Frogs are looking for!”

  “Amlod, what are you doing here?” Ina snapped. “You’re supposed to be at work.”

  Amlod blinked and seemed to forget his shock for a moment. “They sent us home because of the red alert,” he said. “There are dangerous criminals on the loose. Except they’re not on the loose. They’re here!” He lunged forward and grabbed Ina by the hand. “Get away from my sister!” he shouted as he tried to drag her out of the door.

  Suzy grabbed Ina’s other hand and dug her heels in, pulling back against Amlod. “But we’re not criminals!” she protested.

  “And we’re certainly not dangerous,” said Wilmot, taking hold of Suzy and joining in the tug-of-war.

  “I can’t do much to help, I’m afraid,” said the Chief, hovering above them. “But I want you both to know I’m with you in spirit.” He chuckled. “Another little ghostly joke for you.”

  Ina grimaced. “Let go of me, all of you!” she shouted. Amlod was the first to release his hold, meaning that Ina was catapulted back into Suzy and Wilmot. The three of them crashed to the ground together.

  “Thank you,” said Ina pointedly as she got to her feet. “Now, if you’ve finished trying to tear me in half, perhaps we can sit down and talk about all this.”

  “Sorry,” mumbled Suzy. “I thought he was going to fetch the Watch Frogs.”

  “I was,” said Amlod. “I still am! You’re wanted fugitives, here to take our magic.”

  Suzy threw her hands up. “Why does everyone think we’re here to steal magic?” she said. “It makes no sense.”

  “Yes, it does,” said Amlod. “Everyone knows that magic is extinct everywhere except in Hydroborea.”

  Suzy frowned at him, thinking he must be joking, but his expression was deadly earnest. “You can’t really believe that, can you?” she said.

  Ina’s eyebrows shot up. “Are you saying it’s not true?”

  “It’s not true at all,” said Suzy. “There’s loads of magic out there.”

  “That’s right,” said Wilmot. “I’m from a magical world myself, and there are hundreds of others.”

  Amlod shook his head vigorously. “There can’t be. It’s just one of the basic facts of life. The Gilded Tower is the source of all magic. The other worlds got jealous and kept trying to take it for themselves, so the city fathers hid Hydroborea where it could never be found. All the other worlds fell into chaos without our power to sustain them, so now Hydroborea soldiers on alone.”

  “Says who?” asked Suzy.

  “Says everyone,” Ina replied with a shrug. “Every teacher, every historian. It’s even in our national anthem, ‘Hydroborea, the Last Home of Magic.’” But as soon as she said this, her expression clouded.

  “If you don’t believe us, look at the Chief,” said Suzy. “He’s a ghost. Isn’t that magical enough for you?”

  “And in the unlikely event that it’s not,” said the Chief, “I’ve spent the last few years developing a rather amusing one-man musical revue which I’d be honored to perform for you. Although I will need the use of a halibut for the climax.”

  Amlod seemed overwhelmed. He gripped his fronds and kept shaking his head, although he didn’t make any more moves toward the door. Ina, meanwhile, had lapsed into a thoughtful silence.

  “What if they’re right, Amlod?” she asked.

  “Don’t be silly, Ina. How could they be?”

  She toyed with the end of one of her fronds.

  “I don’t know, but when a good journalist hears two conflicting stories, it’s her job to keep snooping until she finds out which one is true.”

  “This is when a library really comes in handy,” said Suzy. “It lets you look these things up.”

  Wilmot cleared his throat. “Until we can prove our story one way or the other, would it help if we explained why we’re actually here?”

  “I don’t know,” said Amlod. “Maybe?”

  Ina stepped past him, shut the door, and put her back against it. “Yes, Amlod, it would,” she said. “So sit down and listen.”

  * * *

  A short while later, the explanations finished, Amlod was sitting on his bed looking stunned while Ina couldn’t keep still.

  “It’s all so incredible!” she said, almost skipping around the room. “Whole worlds connected by these railway things. And your train! And the Ivory Tower! How many books did you say it had?”

  “Frederick would have to tell you the exact number,” said Suzy. “But I think it’s a few hundred million.”

  Ina guffawed. “And anyone can just walk in and read them?” She put her hands to her head. “I’m trying to imagine it, and I just can’t.”

  “Neither can I,” muttered Amlod, although his protest sounded half-hearted. “And you say this book ate all the others?” He nodded to The Book of Power, which was cradled in Wilmot’s lap.

  “Almost all of them, yes,” said Wilmot. “It sucked up the knowledge of whole cultures, and it won’t give any of it back until we deliver it to someone who can lift the spell that’s keeping it closed.”

  “And who’s that?” said Ina.

  “Good question,” said Suzy. “No one’s ever been able to open it so the spell must be super strong. Who’s the most powerful magic user in Hydroborea?”

  Ina and Amlod looked at one another in alarm. “Frogmaggog,” said Ina.

  “Obey Frogmaggog,” intoned the book. “Or else.”

  Ina wrapped her arms around herself. “That’s him,” she said darkly.

  “His name’s come up a few times already,” said Wilmot. “But who exactly is he?”

  “You don’t know about Frogmaggog?” said Amlod. “He’s Frogmaggog! The great and terrible. Ruler of Hydroborea. Master of Magic.”

  “And he’s your most powerful magician?” said the Chief.

  “He’s our only magician,” said Ina. “Nobody else in Hydroborea is allowed to use magic on pain of death.”

  “Because Frogmaggog’s the only one who’s qualified,” said Amlod. “He’s an expert.”

  “If he’s such an expert, why doesn’t he use his powers to fix the city?” said Suzy. “There are leaks everywhere.”

  This prompted a little round of applause from Ina. “Thank you!” she said. “That’s what I keep asking.”

  “Yes, and you really need to stop asking before someone reports you,” said Amlod. “That sort of talk can get you arrested.”

  Ina folded her arms and put on a haughty expression. “If you ask me, I think Frogmaggog’s hoarding all the magic for himself,” she said. “He sits up there in his palace surrounded by luxury, while every year there’s less and less magic to maintain the rest of the city. You’ve seen how bad it is out there. Things are falling apart.”

  Amlod shuffled uncomfortably. “I suppose the flooding does keep getting worse,” he said, although he cast a wary glance in the direction of the door, as if he expected it to be kicked open by the Watch Frogs at any second.

  “Whether he’s a good ruler or not, it sounds like Frogmaggog is the only one who can unbind the book,” said Suzy. “We need to get it to him right away, before it digests all the words it’s stolen and we lose them forever. What’s the quickest way to reach him?”

  “That’s easy,” Ina replied. “Get arrested. The Watch Frogs take all their prisoners to Frogmaggog’s throne room in the tower.”

  “And af
ter all the trouble we went to avoiding them,” said the Chief. “You were right, Wilmot, m’lad. We should have waited in the square and asked them for help.”

  “At least the answer’s clear now,” said Wilmot. “We can just hand ourselves in.”

  “No!” said Ina and Amlod together.

  “That would be a really bad idea,” said Ina. “Prisoners go into the tower but they don’t come out again.”

  Suzy felt a chill that had nothing to do with her soaking uniform. “What happens to them?”

  “Nobody knows,” said Ina. “But it’s nothing good.”

  “How wonderfully ominous,” said the Chief.

  Suzy thought of the piles of empty books littering the floors of the Ivory Tower. She thought of Frederick and her friends on the Express. She thought of her parents and wondered where they were at that moment. She felt their absence more keenly than ever. “I think we have to try,” she said.

  “But it’s suicide!” said Ina.

  Suzy felt her resolve start to crumble until Wilmot drew himself up beside her and flared his nostrils.

  “A postie always does his duty, no matter what the danger,” he said. “If we can save our friends and the Impossible Places, it’ll be worth it, whatever happens.”

  Suzy nodded. “I’m with Wilmot,” she said. “The delivery comes first.”

  Wilmot puffed up with pride. “You know, I really do have the best staff in the service,” he said.

  “That’s the spirit,” said the Chief, who glowed a little brighter. “Greet certain death with a smile. It worked for me.”

  Suzy did her best to smile. She had sounded brave. But she just wished she felt it.

  * * *

  Suzy’s courage still hadn’t materialized five minutes later, as she crouched beside Wilmot, Ina, and Amlod in the shadows of a small colonnade on the edge of Plankton Plaza. There were only three Watch Frogs in sight now—Suzy guessed the others must be searching the surrounding streets and buildings. Two of them were interviewing the newspaper seller, who seemed to be reenacting the events of earlier through a series of grand gestures and melodramatic expressions. The third Watch Frog loitered beside a strange vehicle parked in the middle of the plaza.

  It was a bizarre sort of unicycle, consisting of one large wheel, taller than Suzy, housed in a protective spiral shell that reached almost to the ground. The engine jutted out in front of it, topped with a driver’s saddle and a pair of tall handlebars.

  “That thing looks like a big snail,” said Suzy.

  “It’s a Secure Cargo Unit,” Ina replied. “A Watch Frog prison transport. They’ll use it to take you to the palace. Look.” She pointed at two open-topped trailers coupled behind the vehicle. The first featured two rows of seats back to back, presumably for a squad of Watch Frogs, but the second was full of wavering tentacles topped with eyeballs—a miniature kraken. “Once those get hold of you, they don’t let go.”

  “So how exactly do you propose we go about this?” asked the Chief, who had retreated to his skull to remain inconspicuous.

  Wilmot thought for a moment. “We’ll go about it like good, honest posties,” he said. “Are you both ready?”

  “Of course,” said the Chief. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

  Suzy bit back the various answers that rushed to suggest themselves, and instead did her best to look as determined as Wilmot. “I’m ready,” she said. “Let’s get this done while there’s still time.”

  Wilmot straightened his cap and turned to Ina and Amlod. “Thanks for your help, both of you,” he said. “You should get back home. We don’t want them to catch you as well.”

  “That’s exactly what I was thinking,” said Amlod. “I still think you’re all mad, but for whatever it’s worth, good luck to you.” He took Ina’s hand and started to draw her away.

  Ina tried her best to smile, but just looked troubled. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” she said.

  “Not really,” said Suzy, stepping out to join Wilmot. “But it’s the only idea we’ve got. Now go, please!” She did her best to look brave for Ina as Amlod dragged her away up the street toward their home. “All right,” she said to Wilmot. “Let’s do this.”

  They straightened their uniforms, set their faces, and stepped out together into the red glow of the streetlights.

  “Excuse me,” Wilmot called. “I believe you’re looking for us.”

  The Watch Frogs looked round and the newspaper seller leaped into the air.

  “That’s them!” he shouted, pointing. “The outworlders!”

  As Suzy, Wilmot, and the Chief approached the middle of the plaza, the three Watch Frogs sprang high into the air, landing around them with their tridents drawn.

  “Stay where you are,” one of them croaked. “You’re under arrest.”

  “Good,” said Suzy. “We’ve got an urgent delivery for Frogmaggog, and we need you to take us to him as quickly as you can, please.”

  This clearly wasn’t the reaction the Watch Frogs had been expecting. They looked at one another in dismay for a moment until one of them turned to the driver of the Secure Cargo Unit. “Call the others.”

  The driver put his head back, inflated his throat, and let out a low bellowing roar so loud that Suzy and Wilmot were forced to cover their ears. It was the noise of the sirens they had heard earlier, Suzy realized. She hadn’t imagined it had come from the frogs themselves.

  The call died away, and within seconds, Suzy heard the tramp of many boots as the rest of the squad rushed to the plaza from all directions. They leaped into view from the surrounding streets, covering thirty feet at a single bound. Soon, the circle of Watch Frogs surrounding them was two rows deep.

  “I say, isn’t this exciting?” said the Chief, emerging from his skull. “So many new experiences.”

  “Clear the way. Let me get a look at them.” The circle parted, and a Watch Frog with a plume of seaweed on his helmet swaggered up to the trailer. “So this is what you look like,” he said, his wide mouth turning down at the edges. “What hideous creatures you are.” Suzy recognized his voice—this was the Commander who had almost caught them outside Ina’s home.

  “We’d like to see Frogmaggog, please,” said Wilmot, who sounded remarkably composed, although Suzy noticed he rubbed nervously at the blank surface of his badge. She had to screw her mouth shut to avoid telling the Commander exactly what she thought of him and his insults.

  “So you want an audience with His Greatness, do you?” the Commander smirked. “Well, you’re going to get one, up close and personal. And then you’re going to be very, very sorry.”

  The assembled Watch Frogs laughed. It was a low, drawn-out croaking sound that reignited Suzy’s fear.

  “Get them in the detention trailer,” said the Commander. Two pairs of Watch Frogs stepped forward smartly, caught Suzy and Wilmot under the arms, dragged them to the trailer containing the kraken, and simply tossed them in. The tentacles coiled around their bodies and held them tight. Suzy tried wriggling, but it was useless. She tried to keep calm by reminding herself that this was all part of the plan.

  “What about this one?” said the Commander. He indicated the Chief, who floated a few feet above the trailer, untroubled by the grasping tentacles, which slipped straight through his ghostly form.

  “Oh, don’t mind me,” the Chief replied. “I’ll come quietly.”

  Scowling, the Commander pushed his way to the trailer and made a brief but fruitless attempt to seize hold of the Chief himself. When he realized it was hopeless, he simply turned his back, put his hands on his hips, and declared, “The prisoners are secure. Cancel the red alert.”

  Suzy couldn’t see what happened, but a few seconds later, the red glare of the streetlights faded from bloodred back to gold. Despite being trapped, the return of the warm dappled light came as a relief to Suzy. The flood of colors made the city feel slightly more real.

  “S-Cargo Unit, move out on the double,” the Commander croaked
. “I’ll present the prisoners to His Greatness myself.”

  The squad sprang straight up into the air and landed neatly in the seats in the trailer immediately behind the S-Cargo Unit. The driver vaulted clean over the top of the machine and out of Suzy’s field of vision, but she heard the machine’s engine rev a moment later. The Commander, meanwhile, hopped up onto the detention trailer between Suzy and Wilmot. Suzy was a little annoyed to see that the kraken didn’t react to him in the slightest.

  She was glad of the creature’s tight embrace once the S-Cargo Unit surged forward, though. It roared in a victory lap around Plankton Plaza, the trailers whiplashing behind it. Suzy and Wilmot were facing backward, and she hated not being able to see where they were going. She heard the newspaper seller and the remaining Watch Frogs cheering. Then the vehicle roared away uphill, the Watch Frogs all giving the same rising and falling siren call.

  Buildings flashed past, curious faces at every window. Then, just for an instant, Suzy saw Ina watching from the recesses of a narrow lane. Her eyes were wide and sorrowful, and she might have raised a hand in farewell but the S-Cargo Unit raced onward, around the curve of the street, and she was gone.

  Suzy spluttered as they plowed through a particularly heavy sheet of rain. She hoped that Ina’s predictions about Frogmaggog were wrong, but she knew, deep down, that they weren’t. She, Wilmot, and the Chief were heading into mortal danger, and there was nothing she could do about it.

  Wilmot was obviously thinking the same thing, because he turned his head to her and said, “Brave heart, Suzy. Very soon we’ll have completed the most difficult delivery of our careers.”

  And maybe the last delivery of our careers, she couldn’t help thinking.

  16

  PROPELLENDORF

  The Express was safely inside one of the aircraft hangars built into the city’s belly. It had taken two whole teams of deckhands and a little more creative use of the Negotiable Gravity to get them here, but now the train’s gravity had been restored to normal, and it was safely parked between a sleek dirigible with flame decals and a flock of giant swans wearing diamond-encrusted saddles. The swans, which had been asleep until they were forced to make room, were less than happy with the arrangement and snapped at anyone who got too close. Which was why Frederick was watching them from the safety of the Belle’s gangway beside Propellendorf’s Harbor Master.