Inkdeath

He felt those mighty fingers closing more tightly around him again, and then — he couldn’t believe his ears! —the giant began humming the same tune that Roxane sang to the children in the evening. Did giants sing human songs? Whether they did or not, this one was obviously happy with himself and the world, even if the toy with the black face was broken. Perhaps he was thinking about giving the other strange creature that had fallen into his hand so suddenly to his son. Oh no! Fenoglio shuddered. Suppose the giant child pulled him apart the way children sometimes dismember insects?



You fool, he thought, you arrogant old fool! Loredan was right. Delusions of grandeur, that’s your trouble! How could you think there are words to control a giant?



Another stride, and then another.., good-bye forever, Ombra. Presumably he’d never find out now what became of the children. And Mortimer.



Fenoglio closed his eyes. And suddenly he thought he heard his grandchildren’s high, insistent voices: Grandfather, play dead for us. Of course! Nothing easier. How often he’d lain there on his sofa without moving, even when they prodded his stomach and his wrinkled cheeks with their little fingers. Play dead.



Fenoglio uttered a loud groan, made his limbs go limp, and fixed his eyes.



There. The giant stopped and looked at him in dismay. Keep your breathing shallow, Fenoglio told himself. It would be better not to breathe at all, but then your stupid old head would probably burst.



When the giant puffed into his face once again he almost sneezed. But Fenoglio’s grandchildren had puffed in his face, too, although with considerably smaller mouths and breath that didn’t smell quite so strong. Keep still, Fenoglio.



Still.



The mighty face became a mask of disappointment. Another sigh rose from that broad chest. A cautious prod with his forefinger, a few incomprehensible words, and the giant kneeled down. The downward plunge made Fenoglio feel dizzy, but he went on playing dead. The giant looked around for help, as if someone might come fluttering down from the trees to revive his toy. A few snowflakes fell from the gray sky — it was getting colder again — and settled on the giant’s huge arms. They were as green as the moss all around, as gray as the bark of the trees, and then finally white, as the snow began to fall more thickly.



The giant sighed and murmured to himself. Obviously, he really was severely disappointed. Then he put Fenoglio down on the ground as carefully as he had set down the Black Prince, gave him one last experimental prod with his finger — Don’t move, Fenoglio told himself! — and sprinkled a handful of dry oak leaves on his face. They had wood lice in them, and other creatures of the forest floor, most of which had a great many legs, and all of them immediately looked for new hiding places in Fenoglio’s clothes. Keep playing dead, he thought. Didn’t Pippo once put a caterpillar on your face ? And much to his disappointment, you still didn’t move!



And he did not move, not even when something very hairy crawled over his nose. He waited for the footsteps to go away and the ground beneath him to stop vibrating like a drum. Away went the helper he had called. Away he went, leaving Fenoglio alone again with all his other creations. Now what?



All was still. There was only the faintest vibration left in the distance, and Fenoglio pushed the dead leaves off his face and chest and sat up, groaning. His legs felt as if someone had been sitting on them, but they would still carry him. But which way should he go? Follow the giant’s footsteps backward, of course, he thought. After all, they ought to take you straight back to the tree with the nests. You’ll be able to read the tracks easily enough for yourself



There. There was the last footprint. How his ribs hurt! He wondered if one of them was broken. If so, he, too, would have a claim on Roxane’s attentions at last. Not an unpleasant prospect. Although something else awaited him on his return: Signora Loredan’s sharp tongue. She’d certainly have something to say about his experiment with the giant. And then there was the Milksop. . .



Involuntarily, Fenoglio quickened his pace in spite of his aching ribs. Suppose the Milksop had come back and brought them all down from the tree by now: Loredan and the children, Meggie and Minerva, Roxane and all the others? Oh, why hadn’t he simply written that the Milksop and his men were struck down by the plague? That was the trouble with writing, there were such an infinite number of turns the story could take. How were you to know which one was right? Go on, admit it, Fenoglio, he thought, a giant just sounded more magnificent. Quite apart from the fact that the plague would hardly have stayed down at the foot of the tree.



For a moment he stood listening, afraid the monster might come back. Monster, Fenoglio? What did that giant do that was so monstrous? Did he bite off your head or tear off a leg? There you are, then.



Even what happened to the Black Prince had been an accident. Where was the place where the Prince had been left? Everything looked the same under the trees, and the giant’s strides were so long that you could lose your way between his footprints.



Fenoglio looked up at the sky. Snowflakes settled on his forehead. Darkness was falling, too. That was all he needed! He immediately remembered every creature with which he had populated the nights in this world. He wouldn’t want to meet a single one of them. There! What was that? Footsteps! He stumbled back against the nearest tree.



"Inkweaver!"



A man was coming toward him. Battista? Fenoglio was so glad to see his pockmarked face! He felt there wasn’t a more beautiful face in the whole world.



"You’re alive!" cried Battista as he came up. "We thought the giant had eaten you!"



"The Black Prince . . ." Fenoglio was truly surprised to feel such pain in his heart for the Prince.



Battista led him away. "I know. The bear found him."



"Is he. . ."



Battista smiled. "No, he’s as alive as you. Although I’m not sure whether all his bones are still unbroken. Seems like Death just doesn’t fancy the taste of him! First poison, now a giant — or maybe the White Women simply don’t like his face! But we’d better make sure we get back to the nests as soon as we can. I’m afraid the Milksop will come back. He’s certainly as terrified of his brother-in-law as he was of the giant!"



The Black Prince was sitting among the roots of the tree where the giant had laid him to rest, his back against the trunk, while the bear tenderly licked his face. The leaves that the giant had so considerately placed over him still clung to his clothes and his hair. He was alive! To his own annoyance, Fenoglio felt a tear running down his nose. He could have thrown his arms around the Prince’s neck.



"Inkweaver! How did you get away?" His voice showed that he was in pain, and Battista gently pushed him back when he tried to sit up straighter.



"Oh, you showed me how, Prince!" said Fenoglio hoarsely.



"The giant was obviously only interested in live toys."



"Just as well for us," replied the Prince, closing his eyes. He deserves better, thought Fenoglio. Better than so much pain and all that fighting.



Something rustled in the undergrowth. Fenoglio spun around in alarm, but it was only two more robbers and Farid, with a stretcher made of branches. The boy nodded to him, but he clearly wasn’t half as glad as the others to see him safe. How those black eyes were looking at him! The fact was, Farid knew too much about Fenoglio and the part he played in this world. Don’t look at me so accusingly, he wanted to protest. What else were we to do? Meggie thought it was a good idea, too—well, to be honest, she had expressed afew doubts.