The Ring of Five (27 page)

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"The Fifth!" he heard murmured through the crowd. "It's him. It's really him!" A glass was pressed into his hand, and an admiring crowd surrounded him. Danny felt his head reeling. Did the Fifth mean so much in Westwald?

"Such a handsome boy," breathed a sharp-faced woman in a gown studded with diamonds.

"Looks like the man to me," wheezed a fat red-faced man who looked as if he was about to burst out of his tuxedo. "About time we got rid of Wilsons and opened the Upper World to business--our kind of business!"

Longford steered Danny through the crowd by the elbow, greeting people as he went. Then Danny got a shock. They were heading toward an elegant woman in a long red dress. She had a cigarette holder in one hand with an unlit cigarette in it--Nurse Flanagan! He realized that he hadn't mentioned her part in his escape to Westwald, but she was sure to recognize him. However, when Longford introduced him, Nurse Flanagan merely lifted a gloved and perfumed hand to be kissed.

"A pleasure, I'm sure," she purred. Danny remembered that she was shortsighted, but he was sure no one was that shortsighted. Was she playing some kind of double game against Longford?

Danny turned, confused, but she had already raised her hand in a greeting to another guest. He turned back and got another shock. Dixie was standing right in front of him, a tray in her hand. Her face was fixed and pale, and he started as if a ghost had appeared in front of him, but then composed himself.

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"A drink, sir," she said, and then in a whisper, "They've got--"

But before she had a chance to finish her sentence, Longford had whisked Danny away.

"No time to stand around chatting to waitresses," he said. "A piece of business has arisen that requires our attention. Do you know the girl?"

"She's just a servant," Danny said, an edge to his voice. "I get the idea she's a bit flaky."

Dixie stared after him as he stalked off.

Longford led Danny through another room, where men were playing cards on green felt tables. One of the players seemed to be winning more than anyone; great piles of poker chips stood at his elbow. He was an immensely fat man with at least four chins, and he was sweating profusely, wiping his brow every so often with a large handkerchief.

Danny lagged behind, his eyes on the play but his mind feverishly trying to work out what Dixie had been trying to tell him. The game was poker--Texas hold 'em, the same game he had learned at Wilsons. Longford joined him, looking amused.

"That's Cranbull, our head of prison. A great poker player." As they watched, a man in a tuxedo threw down his cards in despair, burying his head in his hands.

"I'm ruined," he sobbed. Cranbull grinned and wiped his face again.

"A rather brutal man," Longford said. "Now, Danny, we have a little unpleasant business to attend to."

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They left the room and entered a long corridor--if "corridor" was the right word for it, for it was more like a gallery or a museum, high-ceilinged and ornate, the walls hung with gilt-framed oil paintings depicting Seraphim and Cherbs. The marble underneath echoed their footfalls.

"You have met three of the four members of the Ring of Five," Longford said. Danny looked at him, startled.

"Have I?"

"You haven't realized yet?"

Danny thought about it.

"You are one?"

"Of course."

"And Conal?"

"Very good. The Seraphim have to be represented." Longford smiled. "Now you can meet the Third."

As they reached the end of the grand corridor, they came to a towering marble gallery. In the middle of the gallery was a broad desk, and at the desk sat a squat powerful figure.

"This is the third member of the Ring of Five. Rufus Ness, commander of the Cherbs."

Rufus Ness. For a moment Danny panicked, thinking Ness might recognize him from the Painted Door. Then he realized that he had been in disguise when he had seen Brunholm meet with Ness.

The Cherb stood up. He was taller than Danny, and his body underneath the Cherb uniform was hard and muscular. His forehead was higher than that of most Cherbs, and his gaze was shrewder, more penetrating.

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Without warning, he reached out and grabbed Danny's chin between two steely fingers, then turned Danny's head as if he was examining a fruit in the market. Danny felt that Ness could snap his neck like a twig if he found a flaw. Instead, he grunted and released Danny.

"Looks like the Fifth, all right. Smells of treachery and all. We'll see for sure in the next while, won't we?"

Nice to meet you too, Danny thought.

"We will, won't we?" Longford said.

"What are you talking about?" Danny asked.

To Danny's amazement, the wall in front of them began to part. Danny found himself looking on a great room with pillars of black marble. The floor was black, as were all the velvet hangings that adorned the walls. The darkness was broken only by tall ice-white lamps, their light glistening off the polished black surfaces. At the center of the room was a round table with five chairs around it. And running round the edge of the table, a thick golden ring, the light playing off it as if a fire burned within. There were two cloaked figures sitting at the table. Danny heard hissing breath: Conal. Longford and Ness stepped forward and sat at the table.

"Do you summon the Fifth?" Ness said.

"I do. I summon the Fifth," Longford replied. "Step forward, Danny, and take your place at the table."

As if in a dream, Danny walked into the room, hearing the wall slide to behind him. He looked around the table. Longford and Ness were there, of course, as was Conal. The fourth figure was hooded and still, but Danny could smell a rich perfume.

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"Nurse Flanagan!" he said. The woman threw her hood back and smiled a wicked smile.

"Rather a big moment, don't you think, the Ring of Five becoming complete?" she said.

"Each of the four has met Danny. Each is satisfied that he is the Fifth," Longford said. "Therefore, let us bring our minds together. Place your hands on the Ring!"

One by one they put their hands on the Ring. Danny, shaking, put first one hand, then the other on the golden ring on the table. For a moment nothing happened. Then it started. Danny could feel dark power flowing through him. He could feel the thrill and the tug of it, the desire to command, to rule. And then the sensation changed so that he could feel the lust to manipulate and conspire. Delicious plots and schemes tumbled through his mind until he could almost taste intrigue on his tongue.

A whispering began in his mind, a sense of female wiles, of situations manipulated, almost like a heady perfume that clouded his thoughts.... He was inside Nurse Flanagan's mind! The perfume cleared, making way for thoughts of old intrigues, creaking and dark, like wandering through an ancient castle reeking of pride and treachery. Conal! Then he was in the mind of Rufus Ness, and this time it felt like being part of a street gang, all thuggery and cunning. And lastly, he entered Longford's mind, which was like being in a palace of mirrors where you could not tell what was real and what was not, only that danger lurked everywhere.

He knew that just as he was in their minds, they were in his--he could feel them prowling in every corner,

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wanting to know his secrets. Unbidden, the photograph of his parents came to mind, and the picture in the newspaper of Brunholm as the man seen running away. He knew that the rest of the Ring of Five knew what he was thinking. He could feel their satisfaction. They knew that he wanted revenge against Brunholm.

And finally, with a great rush, their minds came together, and Danny knew that no force could match the Ring of Five for cunning and guile. His hand slipped off the gold ring. A dark thrill coursed through his body. He was not a pupil anymore. He was a master of spying. Longford was smiling at him.

"Now you are truly the Fifth," he said. "Bring the prisoner!"

Danny looked around the table. The members of the Ring had been in his mind. If he had been only pretending to go along with the Ring, they would have known. A thought took form, then was driven away as if it had never been. Two Cherbs dragged in a crumpled figure and threw him on the floor, where he lay barely moving, blood oozing from a cut on his face, his wings ragged, the feathers bent and broken.

It was Les.

"The prisoner stands accused of spying for Wilsons," Conal said. "He has refused to identify himself. Can any member of the Ring name him?"

Danny looked down at Les. The power of the Ring was still coursing through his veins.

"Think, Danny," Longford whispered. "Think of the Ring. Think of what you will be!"

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Light gleamed on the death's-head badge on his uniform. What had Brunholm called Les? A thief and a liar. Danny knew this was a test. If he passed it, then what good he could do back in his own world! He could end war and famine. People would come to him and he would dispense judgment and forgiveness. Except, of course, for Brunholm. Les moaned and stirred.

"Well, Danny," Nurse Flanagan said, looking bored, "do you know him?"

He is your friend
, a voice inside his head said,
your friend!
Danny wavered. And then he felt it flow through him; a dark, overwhelming lust, burning and irresistible--the urge to betray, to break faith with those who trusted him.

"I know him." His voice felt as if it was coming from very far away. "His name is Les Knutt. He is a cadet at Wilsons."

"Take the prisoner away," Longford said, satisfaction in his voice. Danny stared at Les as the Cherbs started to drag him away, transfixed with horror at what he had just done, and yet with a feeling of having satisfied a terrible longing. It was then that the thought that had been trying to form in his mind broke through. With a mixture of wonder and dismay he saw it all--the web of deceit woven by Devoy and Brunholm with Danny at the center. He could see it laid out, suddenly as clear as day. A plot of cruel genius designed to get him to the heart of the Ring of Five. He groaned and put his face in his hands. He had been meant to betray Les.

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A JUICY BAIT

Danny could feel the eyes of the rest of the Ring on him. He had to pull himself together! Longford put a hand on his shoulder.

"The first great betrayal is always difficult. To turn your back on a friend ..."

"But isn't that the most fun?" Nurse Flanagan said brightly. "To do the dirty on a real friend? After all, when you get to our stage, you don't have any real friends."

"Perhaps," Conal said, "when he is older he will learn how to relish betraying someone, to go over it in his mind and savor it."

"Can't see the big deal," Rufus Ness complained. "A piece of Messenger trash. No great loss."

"I remember my first husband," Nurse Flanagan said

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with a fond smile. "The look on his face when he realized that I'd double-crossed him ..."

"You'll be fine in a while," Longford said reassuringly. "Now we've done betrayal, let's move our young friend here on to revenge, shall we? Equally satisfying in its own way."

"Should we?" Conal nodded toward Danny. "After all, he has only just joined the Ring...."

"He is the Fifth," Longford said. "He has a right to know. Besides, the attack is to take place almost immediately. Within forty-eight hours Wilsons will be ours."

Forty-eight hours! Danny tried to force himself to concentrate, but his thoughts were in turmoil. Devoy and Brunholm had created a plot of such complexity that his head reeled.

Focus, he told himself; you're no use to anyone like this. As he struggled to hide his thoughts, the center of the table started to turn misty in front of his eyes. What was happening now? The mist turned to smoke. Longford leaned forward and blew gently on it, and it disappeared completely. Danny found himself looking down on a living map of Wilsons Island. The sea heaved gently; smoke hung in the air over Westwald. On the other side he could see tiny car headlights moving on the roads around Tarnstone. There was nothing moving around Wilsons, though. It appeared to be asleep, unaware of looming danger.

"The tunneling is almost complete," Longford said. "The workers have been withdrawn."

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"The tunnel?" Danny's voice still sounded strange in his own ears.

"Ah yes." Longford chuckled, pushing back the flap of hair. "I forgot you were a guest worker on the tunnel! It goes from under this railway building here"--he pointed to a huge metal-roofed shed--"and it comes out ... here!"

He was pointing to the parade ground at Wilsons!

"We'll take Wilsons first and then roll down into Tarnstone," Rufus Ness growled.

"The Seraphim will fly ten minutes before the tunnel mouth is opened to make sure that there is no resistance," Conal said.

"I am so looking forward to seeing Wilsons again." Nurse Flanagan's eyes glittered. "I was also a pupil there. I cannot wait to see it, and I ache to see it burned to the ground."

"What do you think, Danny?" Longford said.

"I can't wait to see Wilsons taught a lesson," Danny lied. He was thinking frantically. Devoy and Brunholm had taken a terrible risk with their plan--but when he thought about it, there was nothing else that they could have done. Sranzer's appearance with the newspaper detailing his parents' death must have been a setup, the paper a fake. He had been meant to flee to Westwald and join the Ring to seek revenge against Brunholm. His parents had not been killed--he was sure of that now. He was horrified at how he had been used, but a part of him could only admire the fiendishly complex plan. He'd had to be