The Midnight Guardians by Ross Montgomery

Author:Ross Montgomery [Montgomery, Ross]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781406396287
Publisher: Walker Books Ltd.
Published: 2020-09-02T16:00:00+00:00

The Turning Tide

THE MIDWINTER KING CAME TO A STOP AT THE crater’s edge.

There was nothing left of the fairy fortress in the swamp. The fairies had fled: in fact, they had stopped responding to the King’s calls completely. The Midwinter King knew why – they were trying to hide from him. Not that it would do them much good. He would find them, and he would punish them for letting the Guardians slip away.

The Guardians.

The waters of the swamp boiled beneath him. He had set up a nightmare trap for Col, but once again the boy had somehow slipped from his grasp. The Midwinter King had been forced to spend another day hidden in his bone house, waiting for darkness to return so he could search for Col’s mind again. And now that midnight was here: nothing. He had searched for hours, and he still couldn’t find him.

The King gazed at the swamp around him. Losing the boy wasn’t his only problem: he could feel his powers growing weaker. He knew why it was happening. He had spent three days away from his throne, living in the world beyond, and it was straining his strength to its limit. His horse did not stand quite as proudly as before, either. The bones were turning pallid and grey, sagging beneath his weight. The Midwinter King had drained the life from it, as he drained life from everything he touched. They would not last for much longer: but that was no matter. He would make as many horses as he needed until he found the Guardians.

That was the beauty of this ancient land. No matter where you stood, you stood on bones…

The movement was almost silent, but not quite. The Midwinter King spun round and fixed the creature in his black gaze, locking it to the ground.

“No! Let me go, please!”

It was King Buttercup, his clothing ragged, his eyes wide and terrified. He had not been able to bring himself to leave his fortress when the others fled: like all fairies, he was proud and vain. The Midwinter King dismounted his horse and leaned over the cowering fairy, like a boy burning ants under a magnifying glass.

You let them get away.

King Buttercup cringed. “I didn’t mean to, Your Majesty! They tricked me…”

You saw them yourself? With your own eyes?

“Yes, Your Highness! I’ll tell you everything! I—”

You do not need to say a word.

King Buttercup sagged; his eyes turned grey; his arms hung at his sides like a strung puppet. The Midwinter King reached inside his mind and took his thoughts as easily as taking a penny from a table. He saw all King Buttercup’s memories spread out before him – everything that had happened in the last two days.

There was Col, standing in the chamber. There were his Guardians, the tiger and the knight and the badger, at his side. There was a girl he did not recognize – Col’s sister? No, that was impossible – she was in London, and anyway the King had already seen her in the boy’s—

He stopped.

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