THE LIGHT IN THE NORTH

CHAPTER 15 - The Sprites are Online

That evening, it was riotous in the mess, as the second years shared their stories, a sense of relief sweeping over them as they realised the worst was over and they’d survived their first transformations. Fran and Peter had taken themselves off somewhere, but everyone else stayed together, talking over it all.
By morning, their fears were behind them, and quite a few of them were keen to have another go, the other way round this time. When the elves gathered for target practice, they asked Sergeant Olt if they could.
“Yes, you can practise,” he told them. “But not too often, and let someone know what you’re doing, in case of problems, at least until you feel quite confident.” Then he smiled at them all. “But don’t think you can use it to play tricks on me! After all these years, I can spot that a mile off. Right, let’s get to work, and see if we can’t get a bit more length on your heave.”


There was a crispness in the air this morning, as if autumn was on its way, and Ace was relishing the chance to work outdoors, and felt he was doing quite well. It was good doing target practice without the goblins there. It could be disheartening seeing them throw distances he’d never be able to match, but when there were only elves there, working to gain another foot of distance seemed worthwhile.
“Where are the goblins, anyway?” asked Will, as they went to get more ammunition.
“Extra reading,” said Ace. “They had a test recently, and some of them did so badly, they’ve all got to do extra lessons.”
“That’s hard on Hogweed,” said Will. “He’s pretty good now, really.”
“Even he needs it more than he needs this, though,” said Ace.
They looked up as a first year fairy flew overhead, and dropped down to give a message to Sergeant Olt. She flew off at top speed, and the sergeant looked straight at them.
“Ace!” he called. “Come here, will you?”
Oh, thought Ace. This is it, I just know it.
He put the stones he was holding back in the bin, and brushed the dust off his hands, then walked across to meet the sergeant. Will came too, as if he knew something was up.
“The Commander wants you,” said the sergeant. “You’re to report to her in her office immediately.”
“Yes, Sergeant,” said Ace. “Thank you.” He knew he didn’t sound puzzled, but he couldn’t help it. “Not for the message… just for everything, you know? Everything you do for us.”
He smiled at the sergeant, hugged Will long and hard, then jumped off in a blur.
“Oh, dear,” said the sergeant. “What’s he done now?”
“I don’t know,” said Will. “That’s what worries me. Whatever he’s up to, he’s made very sure I can’t share the blame. But I trust him.”
“So do I,” said Sergeant Olt unexpectedly. “Ace could easily make an error of judgement, but his motives are always good. Don’t you worry, Will, but just carry on with your work.”
And remembering that that was what Ace had asked him to do, Will did just that.


As he stood outside the Commander’s office, Ace had to admit that he was feeling more nervous about this than he’d felt yesterday. He pulled his shirt straight, ran his hands through his hair, and knocked on the door.
The Commander was sitting at her desk. There was a flower on it in a slender glass vase, a scarlet poppy. Beside the desk, in an armchair, was General Herdalen. Ace couldn’t look at him, so he looked at the poppy instead.
“Ace,” said the Commander, “I understand from General Herdalen that you tidied his office recently, is that correct?”
“Er, yes, ma’am,” said Ace. “On the free day – day before yesterday.”
“And did you remove anything from the office?”
“Just a few cups, and a couple of bottles. Took them back to the canteen.”
“That’s all? No papers, nothing you might have thought was rubbish?”
“No, ma’am, nothing like that.”
“And was anyone with you? Was Will there?”
“No, ma’am, Will was working with Major Teplou. But I did have some help, from Blanche Hakarp.”
General Herdalen’s hissing breath made Ace glance at him, but the general didn’t meet his eyes.
“And did Blanche remove anything?”
“I don’t think so, ma’am. Not that I saw. Why, is something missing?”
“Yes,” said General Herdalen heavily. “A list. A list of every officer of the rank of major or above, known to be committed to the cause. Just about the most secret paper in my possession. Except that it isn’t in my possession any more.”
“Where exactly was it stored?” asked the Commander.
“In a special box – a box that Will made, actually – with a cunning sliding lid. The sort you couldn’t open by accident. I kept the box in a drawer in my desk.”
“Did you open this box, Ace?” asked the Commander.
Ace was feeling very nervous now, but he knew he had to be honest.
“Yes, I did. I saw a sheet in a heap, that I knew should have been in the box, so I opened the box to put it away.”
“I see. And Blanche could have seen you do this?”
“Yes, ma’am. But I didn’t draw attention to it by making a big thing of it.”
“I think, then, that we had better send for Blanche,” said the Commander. “Ace, please take a seat on the bench outside the door, and wait.”


When Blanche arrived, she gave Ace a pleading, apologetic look that made his heart sink. Just how bad was this going to be? He was summoned back inside too, but he wouldn’t stand next to her. She wasn’t his twin. He stood slightly back and let her take the front position as the Commander questioned her… whose idea had it been? Had she seen the box? Had she removed anything? Had she seen Ace remove anything?
“Yes, ma’am,” said Blanche. Ace blinked, and the general just stared. “I saw Ace take a piece of paper from the box you mentioned. I don’t know what it was, of course, but it was only a single sheet. He knows I saw him, because he said he knew a safer place for it. He would keep it safe for the general, he said, in the place where he hides his mobile phone.”
“What!” said Ace. “That’s a complete lie from start to finish, and you know it! Don’t listen to her, ma’am, it’s not…”
“Be quiet!” ordered the Commander. “You’ll speak when you’re spoken to. Is it true that you have such a hiding place, and such an illegal device?”
“Yes,” said Ace, his heart sinking.
“You will take us there now, and show us the place.”


This time, Blanche was told to wait. Miserably, Ace led the Commander and the general to Hut Twenty-Four and prised up the floorboard. He pulled out the phone, which the Commander confiscated, and underneath it, plain for all to see, was a sheet of white paper. The general pulled it out, and rapidly scanned it.
“This is it,” he said, with relief in his voice.
Ace wasn’t sure what to think any more. He was just hoping desperately that Gran realised he hadn’t put it there. He tried to catch Gran’s eye, but it was no use. The general wasn’t even looking at him, and Ace thought he had never seen his face look bleaker.
“May I leave this with you now, Commander?” said the general. “I’ve got so much to do.”
“Of course. Put that floorboard back, Ace, and return to my office.”
Ace had to go then, so he didn’t hear what the Commander and the general said to each other before they parted, but he couldn’t hope it was anything good. He stood as far away from Blanche as he could too, much too shocked to think of anything but her betrayal.
You low-life, he thought. Pretending you’d changed! Will was right about you all along.


The Commander’s self-control was very impressive. It was clear she was very angry indeed, but she didn’t raise her voice. She spoke coldly and crisply to Blanche.
“You have acted most unwisely. You know very well that you are not permitted to enter officers’ rooms without permission. Ace had no authority to invite you and you should have refused. Furthermore, if you observe something suspicious, your business is to inform someone, not wait until you are asked. The evidence corroborates your story so far, though I am not wholly satisfied. Did you have previous knowledge of this hiding place of Ace’s?”
“No, ma’am, not at all!” pleaded Blanche tearfully.
The trouble is, thought Ace, I have no idea if that’s true or not. Did I tell her about it? I wish I could remember.
“Very well. May I remind you what I said to you on an earlier occasion? You are from a place with a record of unremitting hostility to the army, and your job is to convince us that you are the exception to that rule. So far, you are not doing a very good job. Bear that in mind, in future.”
She turned to Ace, and however innocent he knew he was, he couldn’t help feeling scared. This could be very bad. His heart was banging and his palms were sweating.
“Once again, Ace, you disappoint me,” said the Commander. “Your talents, which are many, should be put to good use, but you squander them in senseless behaviour. You appear to trust no-one’s judgement but your own. Are you so completely arrogant that you think you can keep General Herdalen’s possessions safer than he can himself? Or is it even worse than that? Did you intend to betray us? Was this theft some kind of insurance, a way to buy yourself out of trouble? No, don’t bother to answer. I’ve no time to listen to lies. But this I will tell you. No-one is ever forced to leave the army. That is not our way, and we are proud of it. But the gate is open. For you, it is wide open. If you wish to leave, no-one will stop you. Do you want to take that way?”
“No, ma’am,” said Ace chokily. That was the most horrible thing he’d ever had to listen to, and he was close to tears.
“So be it. You will report to the police immediately and serve two week’s detention. You will never enter General Herdalen’s office again, and you will lose your place as leader of your team. Go now, both of you.”


Out on the target range, Will was too far away to know exactly which building Ace was in, but when Ace suddenly stopped moving, his worry turned to dread. As soon as the lesson was over, he rushed back into camp, and the nearer he got, the more his horrible suspicions were confirmed. It was true, then. Ace was in detention. Even worse, he wasn’t responding when Will tried to message him. That meant he was asleep – which wasn’t very likely – or he was unconscious.
What’ve they done to him? Will thought angrily. Beaten him up? Or whipped him, so he passed out?
It made him feel sick, just thinking about it, and not knowing what all this was about was driving him crazy, but if Ace didn’t want to tell him, he wasn’t going to go asking anyone else. All the same, he didn’t go to the canteen. He slipped away to the narrow passageway between Signals and the Great Hall, where it was shady and quiet. He squatted down with his head in his hands, his senses alert for the slightest sign of a message. Eventually, his patience was rewarded.
Will…
I’m here, Ace. How are you feeling?
Not good. I think I passed out… banged my head, anyway. My arms are still bleeding. I got two weeks, Will.
Oh, no… that’s horrible! Are you sure it’s worth it?
Well, I was. Not so sure now. I set her up – that was Gran’s idea – but she turned the tables and I’m caught in my own trap. The worst of it is, I don’t know if Gran believes me. He might think I changed the plan to help her.
Is there anything you want me to do?
No! No, Will, please don’t do anything. The only thing that’s helping right now is that you’re in the clear. They might question you, and you have to be able to say truthfully that you know nothing about it.
If that’s what you want. But if you change your mind, you’ve only got to say. What exactly are you in detention for? What do they think you’ve done?
Stolen a secret paper from Gran’s office.
I see. Did she plant it on you?
Hid it with the mobile phone.
How did she know where… oh, Ace!
I know. I might have done. Showing off… I can’t remember.
How long d’you get for hitting a fairy? It’s only a day, isn’t it?
Don’t, Will. I understand how you feel, but what even Gran doesn’t see is that winning her over would be the greatest victory. I thought I had – or at least I thought I might have done – but I see I’ve got some way to go yet.
You’ve still not given up on her? Even now?
Give up? said Ace, with a flicker of spirit and laughter. What’s that?
You’re amazing, you are. Insane, but amazing.
Don’t worry, Will, I can cope with this. I was expecting trouble, I knew it wouldn’t go smoothly. OK, maybe I wasn’t expecting this much trouble, but I can handle it, especially if you’ll talk to me every day.
What do you think? Try and stop me.

He’s bearing up well so far, thought Will. It’s good he sounded so cheerful, but it’ll be different in a few days when the thirst really begins to bite. I’ll need some good things to cheer him up then.


The midday break was over, and Will was supposed to be getting back to work. As soon as he was out in plain sight, Clover saw him and whistled. She flew down beside him, her face white and frowning. The news was out, then.
“Sergeant Olt wants us,” she told him.
Will followed, running, where Clover led him, which was to the sergeant’s office.
“Ah, there you are, Will. Are you all right?”
“Yes, Sergeant,” said Will firmly.
The whole team was there, and it wasn’t hard to guess why. He was going to inform them officially of the news that they’d clearly all heard. But that wasn’t exactly what he wanted.
“You’ve all heard that Ace is in detention, I’m sure,” he said. “They say he stole a paper from General Herdalen’s office. I don’t believe that for a minute, and I’m sure you don’t either, but what we have to do here is trust. The truth has a way of coming out, in the end. Ace is a very brave elf, and he needs his team to be brave too. Now, the Commander tells me that he has also lost his position, so whether we like it or not, you have to choose a new leader.”
Will nearly fell over when he heard that. Ace hadn’t even mentioned it… but that must have hurt him. It was very hard not to blame Gran and the Commander for this. Why couldn’t they trust him?
“There isn’t time to let a new leader emerge, as you would do at the beginning,” said the sergeant. “That’s why I’ve called you all here. The fastest way is to have a vote.”
Will stared at the blank slip of paper the sergeant put into his hands, and tried to think who to vote for. It was almost impossible. Everyone had strengths, but no-one could match Ace. In the end, he went for Dan, who was a fast thinker and understood elves and goblins better than the other fairies did.
The sergeant looked at all the slips, and nodded.
“No surprises there,” he said. “One vote for Dan, and ten for Will. Will, you’re the new leader. It may not be for long," he added encouragingly.
Wondering how many more shocks he was going to get that day, Will made an effort to pull himself together.
“No-one hopes that more than I do,” he said. “Thanks, everyone. I appreciate it. I’ll do my best.”
The team quickly dispersed to various classrooms, and Will, who would have had Maths, was free to work on the computer. Fired up with a new sense of urgency, he worked with fierce concentration, swearing to himself when he had to break off to go to Botany. Not wanting anyone to think he was moping or ashamed, he worked hard there too, then hurried back to the computer.

General Széchenyi was off camp again, so all he had to do was slip in unobserved. He’d left the computer all in bits, so he was soon back on his task of upgrading the RAM to cope with the extra workload. When that was finished, he put it all back together again, then worked on creating a program to recognise the modem signal.
That took a long time, and by the time it was ready it was getting dark. Will had a crick in the back of his neck and he was tired out, but he felt a great sense of achievement. The upgrade was finished and the computer was Internet-ready. The signal repeaters across the mountain were in place, and so was the dish that would send the signal back down into camp. All he needed to do now was link the amplifier to Karl’s computer down in Hella, and they could go online. He tossed his screwdriver into the air and caught it, then switched everything off. The desk it was all on slid away into its own cupboard, and when it was all safely hidden again, he slipped out and went to the Concourse.
He didn’t go into the mess. If Ace was in detention, he’d be getting nothing but water, and precious little of that, so Will wouldn’t touch anything but water, either. He drank from the fountain, enjoying the peace. It all seemed a bit quiet tonight. It wasn’t cold, and he’d have expected more people to be sitting outside on such a pleasant evening.
All he wanted to do now was talk to Ace, and he decided he’d go as close as he could get to the detention cells. When he got there, he saw an extraordinary sight. Sitting quietly on the grass near the cells was their whole team, and more and more people were coming to join them. Emotion welled up inside him as he realised what they were doing.


Solidarity – they didn’t believe Ace was guilty, and this silent protest was their way of saying so. With a smile, Will went to join them, watching in wonder and joy as still more came, with no fuss or bother, just quietly sitting down and joining in. They weren’t all second years, and they weren’t even all for the cause. Just people who loved Ace and trusted him, and just knew in their hearts that he’d been wrongly accused.
Phil and Rob arrived, and passed round little candles, so that very soon everyone in the crowd was holding a light. Sergeant Olt passed by and nodded, with a smile on his face. The Commander came to look, too. She didn’t say anything, but she didn’t stop them. She just looked, then went thoughtfully away.
Ace, said Will gently. I wish you could see this. All your friends – there must be nearly a hundred people here – are sitting outside your cell. Everyone’s holding a lighted candle. Just to say, you know, that they believe in you.
Oh, Will…
I know. It’s beautiful. Hang on in there, because there are a lot of people out here who are thinking of you.


On Saturday morning, three elves stopped at the tree line to check it was safe to come out of cover. A stiff breeze was blowing, and a few yellow birch leaves scattered around them. Below them, right on the shore of the fjord, lay the village of Hella.
“Looks good,” said Gran. “Let’s go.”
Major Teplou and Will followed his lead, jumping in tight formation across the steep pastures above the village. Leaving the fields, they followed a footpath, where they had to dive out of the sight of a woman walking a dog, then crossed two gardens, and approached the back door of a grey-and-white painted house with a very steep roof. In the back door of the house, there was a cat flap.
“Karl hasn’t got a cat,” said Gran, pushing it open and climbing inside. “So I suppose you could call it an elf flap, really.”
Will emerged into a warm kitchen with a wooden floor, and a big wooden table where someone was sitting reading Bergens Tidende. He’d heard the flap go, though, and called out cheerfully.
“Morgen, Gran!”
“Morgen, Karl! I’m not alone, there are three of us.”
Karl exclaimed happily, laid aside his newspaper and stood up. Will found himself looking up at the tallest man he had ever seen. He had a neat brown beard, and when he crouched down to say hello and shake hands, Will could see how kind he was just by looking into his deep brown eyes.
“Hello, Karl,” said Will, “it’s so exciting to meet you at last!”
“You must be Will,” smiled Karl. “Gran’s told me all about you. But where’s your twin? Didn’t he come with you?”
Before Will could answer, Gran did, and his answer astounded Will very much.
“Ace is doing a job for me right now, rather a tricky one, that I couldn’t give to anyone else. I hope it won’t be long before you can meet him.”
Gran didn’t say any more just then, because Major Teplou had made it through the cat flap.
“Boris!” beamed Karl. “Oh, this is splendid. Come, sit down, let’s have some tea.”

Still reeling from finding out that Major Teplou was called Boris, Will jumped up onto the table with the others, and was soon drinking tea out of a proper sprite-sized cup. It made him feel as if he was back in Sally’s kitchen, and he missed Ace very much just then. All the same, Gran’s words had given him a great boost. Whatever was going on, it seemed to Will that it was all part of Gran’s plan, and Ace was worrying about it too much. Gran was devious, carefully covering every possibility, and you didn’t always get the full story till afterwards, as Will knew very well.
Ace wasn’t expecting detention, he thought. But he was expecting trouble… he must have told Gran he’d take the blame, for whatever it took to trap Blanche. But he doesn’t really want to trap Blanche, he wants to save her from herself.
Will was getting the picture now. That was the part Ace hadn’t told Gran… but he really had to stop worrying about Ace now, and concentrate. He had to expand the amplifier, which someone else had made, in front of a general, a major from the Technical Section, and a human computer expert. Major Teplou had unpacked the equipment, making Karl exclaim with delight over its miniature perfection. Will opened the casing.
“I need to see all the parts,” he said. “I’ll do the lid separately.”


Focusing with all his might, Will made sure he had all the components clear in his mind, then expanded them all to human size. They’d all kept very quiet to let him concentrate, but even so, he was a bit dizzy when he’d finished. Still, it looked good, and he felt hopeful.
“I’ll do the lid, Will,” said the major. “You get your breath back.”
Once it was done, Karl screwed it together again and they all went out into the garden. Using a compass, they got the angle right, then Karl screwed the box to the wall of his house. If everything worked, it would now start sending the signal from Karl’s modem up to the first signal repeater. They couldn’t test it until they got back to camp, but while they were there, Karl showed them the latest news anyway. He took them into a room where Will counted three computers, as well as keyboards, monitors, speakers and a printer. Karl showed them one of his own websites, where he shared his photographs of Jotunheim and Rondane, and also showed them how they could message him direct, as well as by email.
“Your email account is all set up for you,” he said. “As soon as you’re online you’ll be able to access that. Stand by for an avalanche! I told everyone on David’s forum that they’d soon be able to send you messages.”
“I can scarcely believe it,” said Gran. “This is a wonderful day. Thank you so much, Karl. You do so much for us, and we’re so grateful. Is there anything we can do for you? Anything you need mending?”
“Well, now you mention it,” beamed Karl, “I did tear my favourite jeans, and I am very bad at sewing.”
“Ah, excellent!” said Gran, “Something even I can manage! Bring them here, I’ll fix them for you.”


Even without Ace, it had been a very exciting morning. Will could hardly wait to get back to camp and see if it had all worked. He thought the other two were just as excited as he was, because they seemed to get back in record time, and went straight to General Széchenyi’s office.
“Go for it, Will,” said Gran. “This is your moment of triumph.”
His hand was almost shaking on the mouse as he clicked. For a moment, the screen was blank, then suddenly the homepage that Karl had made for them appeared.
“We’re online,” said Will faintly.
Gran squeezed his shoulder.
“Well done,” he said. “You’ve just made history.”
Hardly knowing whether he wanted to laugh or cry, Will typed a message to Karl.
“It works! Thank you, Karl! Pass the word round, the sprites are online!”
“YES!” Karl typed back. “Good work, Will – I’d give you a job anytime.”
“Even humans are trying to poach him now!” laughed Gran.
He and the major also typed messages, and while they were doing that, Will sent a message in a more traditional way.
Ace, it worked!
Oh, brilliant! Oh, Will… so happy for you. For all of us… this is going to be so useful. But I knew it would work, you genius.


Then Will typed in the address of David’s website, and entered the passwords. Together, they looked at the pages of beautiful artwork, then followed the well-hidden link to the forum and the news pages. They read lots of messages, and the recent ones from Cheadle were all excited about when they’d be able to talk to the sprites online. Will didn’t answer them – he’d get all the Moseleys together first, to do that – but not all the messages were from home. There were lots from Allies that he didn’t know, but Gran and the major did. They were constantly exclaiming, “Oh, I know who that is!”
“But who is Marta?” asked the major.
“She’s not actually an Ally,” said Will. “She’s not old enough. But she’s a friend of Ace’s, and she found the website by instinct. Guessed it was there, and guessed the first password.”
“That’s astonishing!” said Major Teplou.
“Some Allies are born, not made,” said Gran, and he winked at Will.
There were pages where serious news could be exchanged, and messages passed on from the colonies, and these Gran and the major read very seriously indeed.
“This Ally in France, reporting that he’s seen goblins talking Spanish, swarming into an abandoned colony, that’s exactly the kind of thing we need to know.”
“This is what it’s all about,” said Gran. “Now we can ask him more about it, and investigate. This is going to be such a help. When’s Dizzy back, d’you know? She needs to see this.”
While Gran and the major were attending to their work, Will messaged Ace again.


Gran’s not angry with you, you know. Karl asked where you were, and Gran said you were doing an important job for him.
Did he?
He did, and he seemed happy. So if you’re worrying, don’t. You agreed to do whatever it took, didn’t you?
Yeah… something like that.
I thought so. If he seemed mad at you in front of the Commander, I think he was acting. Who’s he really after?
Someone in Signals, I think. I don’t know for sure – you know what he’s like.
He thinks someone in Signals is helping Blanche?
Someone is. But for all I know, that’s only part of the plan. I might just be a piece in a jigsaw. It’s true I was hoping to help Blanche, but I didn’t change the plan, honestly!
I believe you, don’t worry! And so does Gran.


Ace was getting good at devious plans, thought Will, but Gran was still about a hundred and fifty times more devious. He’d probably factored in that nothing was going to make Ace believe Blanche was bad, and that he’d help her if he could. That was just the way Gran thought – he saw everything, and calmly used it all to weave his plans.

Once they’d read everything, Major Teplou went off to send a message to Colonel Dünnwald in Germany, and Will and Gran were left alone.
“Was he pleased?” asked Gran, knowing very well what Will had been doing.
“Very,” said Will. “He’s amazing. So interested, and not thinking of himself at all. You don’t really believe he’s done anything wrong, do you, sir?”
“No, of course not! Everything’s going very well, and a lot of that is thanks to Ace’s courage, facing even detention.”
“But he’s suffering,” said Will. “He’s thirsty and he’s bored. Since you know he’s innocent, couldn’t you smuggle him some extra water and a book?”
Gran looked at Will apologetically.
“I can’t risk it, Will. If it got out, it would undermine everything we’re doing, and then his suffering would be wasted. What I could do, though, is give you permission to visit him.”
“Oh, yes, please!”
“OK,” said Gran. “In recognition of your outstanding services in supplying the army with illegal technology, I authorised a reward, and you chose to visit Ace. Give me a bit of paper…”
He scrawled a few words, that Will could show the guards.
“You’ll have an hour, and be careful – they’ll search you.”
“Understood,” grinned Will. “Thanks, Gran.”


Will decided that making a big surprise of it would bring Ace the most happiness. He prepared carefully. He went to the library and found the book Ace had been reading, and got a big bottle and filled it with water. He shrunk them both and hid them between his hair and his collar. Sure enough, they didn’t look there. He had to turn his pockets out and take his boots off, but he got away with it. As he followed a guard down the dimly-lit corridor towards the cells, he was feeling nervous, expecting any moment to hear a shout of ‘Oi! Come back here!’ but he didn’t. Instead, he just heard Ace’s amazement when he realised how close Will was.
Will? What’s this… they’re letting you in?
The guard unlocked the door and went away. Slowly, Will pushed it open. The look of surprise and joy on Ace’s face was priceless.


“Gran said I could come,” said Will. “I think it’s his way of letting you know everything’s OK. He warned me not to smuggle anything in, but I got the feeling he was only saying that ‘cos he’s a general. I didn’t think he really meant it.”
Ace looked as if he couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw the water and the book.
“The thirst and the boredom are the worst,” he said. “But you knew that.”
“And this time, there’s no shame. You’ve done nothing wrong, and you know it, and Gran knows it.”
“He let the Commander think I had.”
“From what I can make out,” said Will, “once Blanche had incriminated you, he had no choice. He’s not ready yet, and the evidence that puts you in the clear is all tied up with finding this traitor. Why does he think someone in Signals is helping her?”
“Because we know she’s in contact with her bosses in Special Brigade. She’s admitted as much – ‘they said this’, ‘I fobbed them off with that’ – although you can’t believe a word she says, I can’t see why that would be a lie. But in any case, she has to be - they’d want reports, she has to be checking in.”
“But they can message, can’t they? Jasan could.”
“Not all the way to Poland. Jasan’s mate, that white willow, was only 200 miles away. Poland’s got to be twice that, at least, and besides, they were a lot older and more experienced. It’s hard for Special Brigade to message from here, the Tree doesn’t like their methods. Gran reckons there’s no way someone as young as Blanche could do that distance from here.”
“So he thinks someone in Signals is betraying us?”
“Maybe not deliberately. There are some who are very old and have friends in parliament, who don’t understand how bad things are. It’s happened before – you remember, when Madge was injured – they get taken in by plausible stories.”
“This is different,” said Will. “That was just some old chap giving out information he didn’t know was sensitive. This… if someone’s helping Blanche secretly, then they must know she’s up to no good, which makes it deliberate treachery.”
“I see,” said Ace slowly. “I hadn’t thought of that, but you’re right. Gran didn’t put it like that, but I bet that’s what he’s really worried about.”
“And the Commander would never believe it of them.”
“Not without proof,” said Ace. “It’s making a bit more sense now.”


The hour went too quickly, but Will could tell it had done Ace a lot of good. Ace finished up the water, so Will could smuggle the bottle out again, and hid the book inside his shirt.
“I feel so much better,” he said. “And now I don’t even have to be bored. Thanks, Will.”
Will hugged him hard. It was horrible, having to leave, knowing it would be another week before he could see him again.
“Take care.”
“You too. It’ll soon be over now. And Will, one more thing…”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for trusting me.”


The second week of Ace’s detention seemed to pass more quickly and easily. They were less worried now they’d had a chance to talk it over, and Will felt he understood now as much as Ace did – which wasn’t much, but better than before. As well as that, there was the cheering effect of all the support and friendship that were coming Ace’s way. Every night, his friends were gathering, not in the mess or on the Concourse, but near his cell. Not in solemn vigil, like the first night – they were messaging him, telling him all the news, and making sure he didn’t feel left out.
What with all that, he told Will, and the exercise he was doing, and the book, he didn’t have time to get bored. There was still the thirst… but Sergeant Olt had paid him a visit, as was his right, and he had just happened to have a bottle of water in his pocket too.
When they let him out, everyone was there to meet him, all cheering and shouting his name. Will hung back, watching, enjoying the sight and very impressed by how modestly Ace was handling it. He’d brought Ace’s new hat for him from their hut, and he skimmed it across the crowd’s heads. Ace caught it, waved unerringly in Will’s direction, and put the hat on at the jauntiest possible angle.
“Yes, I’m all right, Clover… thanks, Fran… thanks, Phil… thanks, everyone, so much. I tell you what,” he said to them all, “I’ve been in there twice now, and it’s not much fun. But it’s not nearly so bad when you’ve got nothing on your conscience, and when you’ve got such good friends rooting for you. When Will told me what you were doing, I was so choked up and happy. It meant so much, I can’t tell you.”
Rose and Clover made sure everyone got moving, so Ace could get to the canteen for some much-needed drinks. Droz was in there, on duty, and he had a pint of cool water waiting for him. When Ace had followed that up with two mugs of tea, he said he felt much better and ready for anything. They went off to the classrooms then, and even after the day’s work was over, Ace was still surrounded by people.
He was enjoying the company, after so long on his own, and Will was glad of it. He had something special to show Ace, but he waited patiently, saving the best till last. When they were finally on their own, he said,
“Come with me, I’ve got something to show you.”
He took Ace to the computer, and sat him down in front of it.
“This is our home page,” said Will. “And this… is David’s website.”
“Oh, wow!” said Ace. “This is incredible! Look at all the messages!”
“It gets better,” said Will. “Look at this. This is for personal messages, and this one’s for you.”
Will just watched Ace’s expression turn from excitement to awe.
“From Marta? Marta sent a message for me?”
“Yes, Ace. All for you. Go ahead and read it.”
Ace read it once, then pulled Will down beside him, so he could read it too.


Dear Ace, most beautiful elf, I miss you. I wish I see you again. But David is my friend, he told me how to send a message with a photograph. Here is your Marta holding my baby brother. His name is Pedr. He is beautiful, isn’t he? I love him. I know you made him come and I send you a big smile :) for thank you. I have learned about bad things happening to sprites and I worry. But then I think of you. I see your bright hair in the darkness and the darkness could not disappear it. No bad things will win when you are there. I send my love to you and your brother from Marta.


Will felt a big lump in his throat when he read that, and tears welling up in his eyes. He wasn’t surprised to see that Ace was crying too. After all he’d been through, it was bound to make him break down. But that was a good thing… it was release, it was what he needed, and it wasn’t as if any of it was sad. It was just happy and beautiful.
“Amazing,” said Will, laughing through his tears. “She really understands you, doesn’t she? And what a lovely picture. I don’t know if that’s a beautiful baby or not, they all look the same to me, but I can see that Marta is a beautiful girl.”
“She got her brother,” said Ace. “The one thing she wanted. I’m so happy for her.”
He buried his face in his hands and his shoulders shook. Will put an arm round him and hugged him until he was feeling better. After that, they looked at some other messages, and sent one to David, and by the time they’d done that, they were ready to sleep.
“It’s very nice to have you back,” said Will. “I miss it when your bunk isn’t creaking above my head.”
“It’s wonderful to be home,” yawned Ace. “G’night, Will.”

He hadn’t mentioned the team, accepting that that wasn’t his job any more. He hadn’t wanted to visit Gran, and he certainly hadn’t mentioned Blanche. He was waiting, thought Will.
He doesn’t know what’s going to happen next, and there’s nothing he can do about it. And if he can be patient, I can too.


Over the next few days, the Moseleys had a wonderful time, using every spare minute to send messages to their friends back home. They’d heard how David was getting on at college, and how Sally had found a refugee fairy who’d been beaten up by Gromwell, and how they’d nursed her back to health. Adam and Joseph had sent all the latest football news, and Rowan and Dominic had sent photos of the horse chestnut and the Elfcat. Laura, Gemma and Tony had all sent long letters, and there was even a note from Aesculus, though they suspected that David had typed it for him.

Ace please please please tell David to let me jump on a car, it said.

Not yet, Ace replied. But I’ll show you how to do it when we come home. Keep practising your jumping – I know I’m going to be so proud of you. It won’t be long now. We all miss you very much and we can’t wait to see you again.


Not all the news was good. It was worrying to hear that Cyril had been ill again, and sad to hear that Gemma was going to move house. She’d pleaded and pleaded with her parents not to go, she said, but it was because of her dad’s job and they had to. Still, now they could all keep in touch online, it wasn’t as bad as it might have been. Her dad had promised her a computer of her own, so she could send emails to Laura every day.


They replied to all these things, and sent their own news back home, and even Clover learned to use the keyboard and the mouse. After that, General Széchenyi got back from calming a situation on the Polish border, where overcrowding in a refugee camp had caused unrest. Practically the first thing she wanted to do was see the Internet, and Will was busy for a few more days, showing her everything she needed to know. It was very frustrating teaching her, because she was fascinated by everything and easily distracted by interesting websites, but Will could sympathise with that, and the imp general’s keen intelligence meant that when she was actually concentrating, she learned very fast indeed.
“Excellent, Will,” she said. “You’ve put a powerful weapon in our hands, and I for one am very grateful. But who’s going to be able to look after this equipment when you’re not here any more?”
“If anything serious goes wrong, Major Teplou knows enough to spot the problem, and Karl would help him fix it. But they’re busy people. Someone ought to be logging in every day, checking the messages, checking for viruses and so on. It’s a worry.”
“I see. So, really, we need someone to do the easier stuff, someone who’s here all the time. D’you think there’s anyone in the first year you could train up to do it?”
Will thought about that, thought about all his friends in the first year, and his face lit up.
“Yes, there is!” he said. “I’ll get onto it right away.”
“Splendid,” said General Széchenyi briskly. “I think we’ve just started a new tradition.”