Modern Magick

The Heart of Hyndorin: 7

I waited, holding my breath, for the sounds of a lock clicking back, or hinges creaking as the door opened for us.

All I heard was Pup's whimper as she pawed at the Wyr-tree. I pretended not to notice when she squatted and, er, watered the base of its trunk.

'It doesn't turn or something?' I said to Alban.

He shook his head, and demonstrated its absolute immobility. 'It fits in there, but... that's all.'

I looked at Emellana. 'Any ideas?'

She considered the question in what I hoped was a promising silence, then said, 'No.'

I sighed. 'Anybody?'

'There were three things in that case,' Jay pointed out. 'Perhaps there's more to this than a weird key.'

I took out the watch. Being of troll craftsmanship, it was a lot bigger than most of the examples I had seen, and heavy. 'No tarnish,' I murmured, running my thumb over the gleaming, silvery metal. 'Has anyone cleaned this?'

'I don't know for certain,' said Alban. 'It hasn't been under my care.'

It had no glass, the mechanical parts instead protected by an ornately-patterned silver case. I opened it, and beheld a clock face made from something resembling ivory. I hoped it wasn't unicorn horn, but based on everything we had seen at Vale, I did not hold out much hope there. No numerals were etched into that circular face; instead, intervals were marked with tiny bubbles of coloured jewels embedded into the ivory/unicorn horn/whatever it was.

I counted. Nine, not twelve.

Also, a new detail I had failed to note before: it did not have two hands. It had three. One, perhaps, had been concealed behind another, the last time I had taken a brief glance at it. Now, all three were splayed out around the face, and none of them appeared to be moving.

'Not a clock,' I said, passing it to Emellana.

Jay was deep in study of the snuff box, with (slightly to my surprise) Miranda leaning over his shoulder. 'There's nothing in it?' she was saying.

Jay opened the lid to display its emptiness. 'It really looks like a snuff box, but—' he lifted it to his nose, and inhaled. 'It doesn't smell like it's ever held anything like snuff.'

'It's old,' Miranda pointed out. 'If it's been empty for a long time, there might not be any lingering smell.'

'Maybe,' Jay agreed. 'But snuff's pungent stuff, especially the flavoured blends. It does linger.'

'So you think it wasn't used to hold snuff?'

'I can't think of a reason why Torvaston would keep something so mundane in so important a scroll-case, alongside the key to this door,' said Jay. 'Can you?'

'No. So, what was it supposed to hold?'

'No clue.'

'Alban,' I said, sidling his way. 'There wasn't anything in the papers that might give us a hint?'

He shook his head. 'Torvaston never mentioned any of this.'

'He wouldn't, I suppose,' I said, remembering. 'The papers date from before the fall of Farringale, right?'

'Right.'

I sighed, disappointed. And stymied. The watch (or whatever it was) might be pretty, and intriguing, but to look at it was to receive no indication whatsoever of its function, and an empty box could be of no use at all.

'Ves,' said Emellana.

I looked up. 'Tell me you have something.'

She had walked away to the very edge of the plateau, and now walked back, holding the watch out in front of her. 'Walk with me.'