The Purple Emperor

CHAPTER FIFTY

The endolg Flapwazzle climbed a smooth sewer wall to peer into a drainage passage. 'Know what?' he said. 'I think we're l thought you remembered the map,' Henry said accusingly.

T do, but this part of the system doesn't seem to be on the map. I think we're lost.'

Henry said, 'Doesn't matter – we're trying to get to the river anyway. We'll just do what you said and follow the flow until we reach the outlet.'

Flapwazzle slid back down again to floor level. 'I like you, Henry,' he said. 'I thought you were a nice-enough sort the first time I met you, even if you were a dreadful liar. But now I've got to know you better, I think you're even nicer. Not many people would take getting lost so calmly. They'd scream and shout and try to blame me for everything. You know we endolgs have a proverb – Blame the endolg. Three of the truest words ever spoken. Everybody blames the endolg. But not you, Henry. You stay calm and never lose your common sense and take things as they come. I really like you, Henry. I think you and I could be good friends.'

'Well, I like you too, Flapwazzle,' Henry said, which was actually true. They'd been wandering in the sewers for over an hour now and his companion had been unfailingly cheerful and entertaining. He could see why so many faeries took to keeping endolgs. Their truth-sense was useful, but their personalities were great.

'Look down before you say that,' Flapwazzle told him in a comic drawl that suggested he was imitating some Realm celebrity Henry didn't know.

'Pardon?'

'Look down,' Flapwazzle said in his normal voice. 'Then tell me if you still like me.'

Henry looked down. 'What am I looking for?'

'Something that isn't there,' Flapwazzle said. 'The flow we've been following.'

'It's dried up!' Henry said. 'What do we do now?'

'Keep moving,' Flapwazzle said. 'Hopefully we'll soon find somewhere that looks familiar.'

They moved forward together. The tunnel loomed endlessly before them. After a few hundred yards, Henry said, 'Why do you think it dried up?' The liquid flow had been pointing their way to the river since they entered the main tunnels.

'That's what I don't like,' Flapwazzle said. 'Only time the water withdraws is when they're about to do a flush.'

Henry stopped, his heart suddenly thumping. 'You mean you think they're about to flush the system now?"

'I can't tell a lie – I think they may be.'

From somewhere behind them, Henry heard a distant rumbling sound. 'What are we going to do?' he asked in sudden panic.

'Get out of the main tunnels,' Flapwazzle said, swivelling his eyes to look behind. He'd obviously heard the same sound Henry had. 'We've some chance if we're in a drain or something.'

Henry looked around him wildly. 'I don't see any drains.'

Flapwazzle said, 'Neither do I.'

The roaring sound was getting louder.

'So what do we do now?'

'Run,' suggested Flapwazzle.

Henry ran. The echo of his footsteps was swallowed by the roaring noise behind.

He'd covered several hundred yards before he realised he was alone. He stopped. 'Flapwazzle?' he whispered.

There was no sign of Flapwazzle.

'Flapwazzle!' he called, loudly this time. But with a mounting sense of horror he knew there would be no answer. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! He should have realised endolgs couldn't move nearly as fast as human beings. They had no feet. They crawled along by wriggling their whole flat little bodies like a snake. He should have picked Flapwazzle up and carried him. With a surge of guilt he realised it would have been so easy: Flapwazzle couldn't weigh much more than a few pounds. But Henry had been so concerned about his own safety he hadn't even thought of it. He'd taken off like a frightened rabbit and left Flapwazzle to… to…

'Flapwazzle!' he screamed, and began to run back down the tunnel.

Then he saw the wall of water rushing towards him.