I smile. ‘Sorry, it wasn’t intentional. How are you doing, Ashley?’
‘I’m good.’ Her mouth turns down at the corners. ‘I heard about the mares. I can’t believe you led them through the town like that. It must have been a hell of a sight.’ Despite her grim expression, there’s a hint of awe in her tone.
‘It wasn’t such a big deal,’ I say. ‘But I guess you heard what the Mayor said afterwards.’
‘Yeah.’ She bites her lip and nods doubtfully. ‘They are pretty dangerous.’
‘Except,’ I point out, ‘they didn’t attack anyone when I freed them.’
‘No,’ she says slowly. ‘But why would the Mayor capture them except to keep them safely away?’ The answer is already written all over her face; she just doesn’t want to admit it. She looks even more troubled. ‘He’s been looking for you, you know.’
‘The Mayor? Don’t worry, I’m going to find him and speak to him.’
Her eyes widen. ‘Are you sure that’s a good idea?’
I smile. ‘I want to do it before he gets too upset. But I need your help.’
‘Of course! What can I do?’
She’s so eager to come to assist me that I know I’ve got the right person. I hope she’ll manage to forgive me when all this is over. I force myself to meet her eyes. ‘I was in the castle earlier today and I found a butcher’s knife there. I know I’m supposed to hand it in because we’re not allowed to carry weapons but I didn’t think it would be a good idea for me to take it.’ I twiddle with my hair awkwardly. ‘If the Mayor saw me carrying it...’
‘Yeah,’ she agrees. ‘He wouldn’t like it very much. You should ask Esme to collect it for you.’
‘I was hoping you would.’
‘Ask Esme?’
I shake my head. ‘Fetch the knife.’
Ashley’s face pales. ‘But I don’t go into the castle. No one goes into the castle apart from Esme.’
‘Yeah, it’s kind of creepy.’
She shudders. ‘Kind of? It’s like some horrid tomb. All those unconscious people – there are even kids there.’
‘I know.’ I drop my voice to a conspiratorial whisper. ‘But Esme only goes in because no one else will. It’s obvious it’s really hard for her. I mean, she’s like them, isn’t she? She’s in a coma too.’
Ashley stares at me. ‘Oh gosh,’ she whispers, ‘I never thought of it like that. She must hate it.’
I nod. ‘She does. I asked her.’
I can see that Ashley really doesn’t want to go there and I don’t blame her. ‘We could just leave it there,’ she suggests.
‘Ordinarily I would but, like you said, there are kids in there. If one of them wakes up or sleepwalks or something and finds it...’
‘They do that? Sleepwalk, I mean?’
‘That’s what Esme told me,’ I lie.
‘I had no idea.’ Ashley looks sick at the thought.
I wait for a moment, giving her time to think it through. ‘I can see you don’t really want to do it. It’s alright, Ashley, I’ll ask someone else. Or maybe I’ll go and get it myself. How mad can the Mayor get?’ I force a laugh.
Stricken, she shakes her head. ‘No, you ... you’re right. You can’t let him see you with it. He flies into a rage sometimes and if he thinks you have a weapon...’ She sounds more decisive. ‘I’ll get it for you. Don’t worry, Zoe.’
‘Thank you so much, Ashley. You don’t know what this means.’
‘Sure,’ she mumbles, her face still pale. ‘Should I go now?’
I feel awful. ‘Yes. It would be better to get it out of way. Meet me in the square when you have it.’
She swallows hard, then walks off in the castle’s direction. I watch her go, worry gnawing at me. I’ve come this far, though; I have to see this through.
As soon as Ashley’s out of sight, I clamber back onto the nearest roof, hunching down and moving swiftly. I probably only have five or ten minutes once Ashley’s entered the castle, so I can’t take long. It’s harder to stay unnoticed now because the streets at this end of town are busy; I have a few hairy moments when I’m sure I’ve been spotted. I’m not, however, and eventually I’m crouching down on the roof of Esme’s little shop.
Annoyingly, there’s a crowd of teenagers standing in front of it. I recognise them as the ones who were getting drunk in the pub during my first visit. They are having a good-natured argument about whether it would be better to be eaten by a mare or trapped in the Badlands; the general consensus is that the mare option would be the worst. I scowl. The Mayor has certainly succeeded in keeping everyone in a state of fear. I’m not denying that it’s wise to be wary of the mares but they’re hardly monsters.
I watch them argue for a few minutes. It doesn’t look like they’re going to move away from the door any time soon. Even if they did, there are so many other Travellers standing around and gossiping, or wandering up and down the street, that nipping inside without being seen will be impossible. I guess I need another entry point.