The Purple Emperor

CHAPTER EIGHTY SEVEN

They stared down at the body.

'We can't just leave him here,' Pyrgus said.

'Yes, we can,' Nymph said firmly. 'Ochlodes was forest-born and soldier-trained. Any soldier who dies in the forest expects to be left where he fell. The trees take care of the body. That way his soul becomes part of the forest itself.'

Henry chewed his upper lip. 'There aren't any trees down here,' he said. He was feeling ill. Ochlodes's death had been his fault.

Nymph glared at him. 'It's still Ochlodes's belief.'

Blue looked at Pyrgus. 'It's not as if we have any option.'

Pyrgus moved away from her and turned to take in his surroundings. 'Is this the second level? Does anybody know how we got here? Did we fall into a trap?'

Henry's mouth had gone dry. 'I think I -' He swallowed.

Blue moved beside her brother and followed his gaze. She shook her head. 'This isn't the second level. It isn't any level.' She blinked. 'At least it doesn't look like a level to me.'

'It's a service tunnel,' Comma said.

They turned to stare at him.

'Well, just look at it,' Comma said defensively. 'Look at the heating pipes on the walls. I bet if we follow this corridor, we'll find machinery that runs bits of the maze. Uncle Hairstreak would do it that way – it's cheaper than using spells all the time.'

Blue glanced at Pyrgus. 'What do you think?' she asked quietly.

'Why aren't there lights?' Pyrgus demanded aggressively. 'You wouldn't have a service tunnel without lights – it doesn't make sense.'

'How should I know?' Comma muttered. 'Maybe this isn't the main service area. Maybe it's just a connecting passage. You wouldn't need lights in a connecting passage.'

'What do you think, Nymph?' Pyrgus asked.

'Does anyone know how we got here?' Nymph asked in her turn.

'I did it,' Henry blurted.

'Henry,' Blue said, 'I don't -'

But Henry was sick to his heart with the need to confess. 'I did it,' he repeated. 'One of the torches – I was fiddling with a lev-Look, when we were coming down the stairs I noticed the torches were fake. I mean, I don't know about this stuff, but I was fiddling with one of them and it turned out to be a lever and I pulled it and the stairs opened up and we all fell through and I killed Ochlodes.' He finished close to tears.

To his astonishment, nobody started shouting blame. Pyrgus said, 'A lever?'

Henry nodded. He was watching Blue out of the corner of his eye, but she didn't seem upset by what he'd done.

Pyrgus said, 'This must be a service tunnel. The engineers would know about the lever, but they wouldn't use it without a ladder or a portable suspensor spell.'

'And a light,' Comma put in brightly.

'But I ki-' Henry bit back the rest. He was learning that life and death were treated very differently in the Faerie Realm to the way they were at home. Ochlodes was just one more bit of guilt to add to his personal store. He thought briefly of Flapwazzle and shuddered.

'OK,' Pyrgus said, 'let's see if Comma's right and this corridor leads to a machinery bay. But be careful. We don't know for sure yet. There could still be traps, so keep your eyes open.' He hesitated. 'But if this really is a service corridor then we've survived the maze and that's something we have Henry to thank for.'

Henry blinked. He'd killed Ochlodes, and Pyrgus was saying he'd saved them all. In the turmoil of his emotions he found himself thinking he didn't belong here, in this Realm. He didn't have the courage or the toughness, or -

Comma said, 'If it's a service tunnel there'll be a way out.' He grinned, happily.

They began to move as a group down the corridor. Without any further discussion, they left Ochlodes's body where it lay.