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‘What do you think?’
She hesitated, then nodded. ‘I think it’s a great idea.’
‘Brilliant!’ Aidan beamed at Sirius and Trinity. ‘Thank you so much.’
Killian grinned. ‘Can’t wait to hear what the folks back home think about that.’
Derwa’s expression revealed she really didn’t care, and Aidan merely shrugged.
‘They can’t deny I’ll be doing something useful,’ he said. ‘They have to let me live my own life, and that’s all there is to it. After all, I did what they wanted. So did Derwa. They owe us this.’
‘What about the artefacts?’ Hector asked. ‘Do you intend to leave them here on the island?’
I considered the matter. ‘I think they’re probably safest here,’ I decided. ‘The Pendragons won’t be able to land on the island. It will make quite sure of that. And if we’re ever betrayed again, by witch or fae, it’s unlikely they’ll find the second floor of the tower, or the crystal cave.’
‘But the table,’ Sky said. ‘Surely you want that with you?’
‘I expect we can squeeze it in somehow,’ Iliana said airily. ‘You know, our house has a way of adapting itself to our needs. I think one of the rooms will expand if necessary.’
‘I’m not sure that’s such a good idea,’ Jethro said. ‘You don’t know how many members of the Alliance you’ll end up with. You could recruit lots of people for all you know. Do you really want them turning up here at all hours for meetings? Surely you’d be better off finding a secure base for that; somewhere you could safely store the table?’
‘He’s right,’ I said. ‘Castle Lodge is your home, and if it’s going to be our home, too, we want it to feel that way. If we hold our meetings there it will be like we’re never off duty. We need to find somewhere we can put the table and meet up in peace and safety.’
‘I think I know just the place,’ Celeste said, smiling. She looked round at us all. ‘The castle.’
‘The castle?’ Benedict said doubtfully. ‘But it’s in ruins!’
‘The dungeons aren’t,’ Star pointed out. ‘Well, half of them are in excellent condition anyway.’
‘Yes,’ Benedict said, ‘and in the summer tourists go down there, remember? It’s hardly secure.’
‘But the other half of the dungeons are blocked off,’ she reminded him.
‘And buried under rubble, thanks to Jennet,’ Sky said. ‘She destroyed them to bury Blaise’s work, and there’s no way through any more. Not that we’d be able to get in there anyway. And the other sallyport is blocked off so how would we even try to get in from the other side?’
‘It really wouldn’t take much doing,’ Hector said. ‘Look at you all. You’re witches and Shining Ones! There’s a Great Guardian among you, for goodness’ sake. Do you really think you couldn’t clear a bit of rubble from a dungeon?’
‘A bit of rubble?’ Sirius laughed. ‘Have you been down there, Hector?’
Hector smiled. ‘Not for hundreds of years, no. But I don’t need to see the damage. I can see you. Your powers and abilities. If you want to make this happen you can. You just have to work together.’
‘Of course you’re right,’ Celeste said. ‘We can clear the rubble, spruce up and repair the other part of the dungeon, make it safe, and open the other sallyport so we can enter from that side.’
‘But then visitors to the dungeons will be able to…’ Trinity sighed and clapped her hand to her forehead. ‘I have to start thinking like a magical being, don’t I?’
‘You do,’ Star laughed. ‘We can easily put a magical barrier in place and make it look like a wall. And the sallyport will still look, to all intents and purposes, as if it’s bricked up. Only we will be able to see that it gives access to the dungeon.’ She smiled at me. ‘The new headquarters of the Pendragon Alliance.’
So it had all been decided—with Frey’s and Runa’s approval, naturally—and after spending Christmas on the island, Keely, Derwa, Aidan and I had moved to Castle Clair. We were going to start work on the dungeon in a few days, and then Emrick had promised to transport the table to its new home.
He wasn’t coming with us to Yorkshire, having found a home at last on Peloryon Island.
‘I’ve travelled enough in my life,’ he told me. ‘Who knows where I’ll be called in the future, but for now I’m happy with Ewella in my own little corner of the world. And I’m looking forward to the school opening. It will be good to have little ones about the place. And Killian and I have always been great friends, so I’ll have him to talk to. Don’t worry about me, Wulfram. I’ll be fine.’
‘You deserve to be,’ I said warmly. ‘If anyone deserves peace and happiness it’s you, Emrick.’
‘Well, not too much peace, I hope,’ he said, a twinkle in his brown eyes. ‘I’m not retiring just yet. Like I told you, if you need me you can count on me. I’ll always be there for you, Wulfram. I swear it.’
He didn’t have to tell me that. I already knew it. The man who’d brought me up rarely bothered with me these days, too busy with his new wife and child and his life in Truro, which was fine. And, sadly, I’d never known my real father, Ashen Pendragon. Emrick was the closest I had to a father, and I really couldn’t wish for a better one.
