Forest Kingdom Trilogy 2 - Blood and Honor

glanced into the dark room, and muttered to himself under his breath. Taggert conjured up her ball of light again, and sent it over to hover above him, casting its glow into the room. Grey Davey grunted a terse acknowledgement as the silvery light showed him the bones floating on the dark liquid. As he watched, the liquid heaved and swelled, lapping against the glistening walls, but some invisible barrier held the liquid back from spilling out into the corridor. The smooth white bones spun slowly on the surface as they dissolved.
    Grey Davey walked slowly into the room. The dark liquid surged back from him, its Unreality repelled by his presence. The pink walls stirred uneasily. Davey's scowl deepened and his walk slowed, as though he was contending with some unseen presence. He hunched his shoulders, tucked his chin in, and pressed forward. The room changed. The purple veins faded away as the walls and ceiling became solid and sensible stone again, and the dark liquid vanished. Scattered across an ordinary, everyday room were some smoothly rounded shapes that had once been furniture, and various odd bits of metal too tough to dissolve. Only a few bones were left, none in any condition to be identified. The vile smell lingered on the overly warm air, like a fleeting memory of a bad dream.
    Grey Davey looked round the room once, and then turned and walked back into the corridor. His face was pale, but he carried himself as though this was just another day's work. Taggert smiled at him fondly.
    Davey was an irritating bastard, when all was said and done, but you couldn't help liking him. He reminded Taggert of her father, but then Grey Davey. reminded everyone of their father. He kept the darkness at bay, and always seemed to know what to do for the best. His company was like a cool breeze on a hot summer's day: bracing but comforting.
    'That's it,' said Grey Davey to Taggert. 'End of problem. For the time being. If I were you, though, I'd nail that door shut, barricade it, and declare this whole corridor out of bounds until things get back to normal. Once I'm gone and out of range, I wouldn't put it past that room to revert back again. The Unreal's getting sneaky these days. Not to mention stronger and more determined. The sooner we've a King on the throne and you can get to the Stone again, the better I'll like it. I don't like the way things feel around here ..." He glanced briefly at the broken door, hanging from its single hinge. 'Pity about the Penhalligans. I never liked him, but she was a pleasant sort. Always a smile, and a cheery word. I suppose there's no chance the children weren't there when it happened? No ... I thought not. Ah well, can't stop and chat, I've got work to do.'
    He turned abruptly on his heel and stalked off down the corridor. Taggert and the guards watched him go in a respectful silence. The corridor seemed colder and darker without him.
    'Sometimes I wonder about him,' said Doyle.
    'You're not alone,' said Taggert.
    Doyle glanced uneasily at the broken door. 'Was he right about the room? Could it revert?'
    'I don't know,' said Taggert, 'but I think we'll seal it up anyway. Just in case. Take care of it, Matt. And you'd better send word to the Regent that Count Penhalligan and his family are dead.'
    'Of course.'
    Taggert looked up and down the long corridor and chewed on the insides of her cheeks. Davey had wanted the whole corridor closed, but that would mean uprooting a great many important people, just on the off-chance that something nasty might happen in the future. The courtiers would not take
    kindly to that. In theory, as Steward she outranked everyone not actually of royal Blood, but she had enough sense not to push that too hard in practice. Of course, things were different now . . .
    'Start evacuating this corridor, Matt. I want everyone moved out of here, as fast as possible. No exemptions, no excuses. Then set guards at each end of the corridor to stand watch. No one is allowed in or out, unless accompanied by a Sanctuary.'
    Doyle raised an eyebrow. 'The people here aren't going to like that.'
    'Yeah,' said Taggert. 'Isn't it a pity, all those wealthy courtiers and nobles having to put up with a little inconvenience, like us common folk.'
    She grinned at Doyle, and then walked away and left him to get on with it. The grin stayed on her lips for some time. Every now and again, she got a little back for every time a noble had sneered at her or her father for not having any