They marched through the double doors into an enormous hall that if anything was even more sumptuous and magnificent than the preceding hallway. The hall was semi-circular in shape, with tiers of seats rising to create an amphitheatre around a central, semi-circular stage. They entered through the middle one of three long entrance passages that carved out long valleys in the slope of the rows of seats, and Oscar could see that all the seats on either side of them were packed with people, all talking and shouting between themselves, apparently ignoring whatever was going on on the stage in front of them.
The stage was bare except for a lectern in the shape of a great white stone dragon, with its outstretched wings forming the top of the stand. Behind that were three great golden thrones, two smaller ones - one upholstered in blue velvet and bronze stars, the other in green with silver moons - stood either side of an enormous central throne, covered in coiling wooden dragons, with a cushion of blood red leather dotted with golden flames. Behind the thrones were choir stalls and then a high panelled wall into which had been carved row after row of names. Above them, disappearing into shadow was a set of stained glass windows, dark and indistinct in the night.
There was a man standing at the lectern on the stage - a large, bald man, with a white beard, wearing what looked like a shapeless blue dressing gown, which parted in the middle to reveal an untucked white shirt flapping over a sizable stomach. He had evidently got dressed in a hurry because his hair was still standing on end and he only had one slipper on. He was shouting, trying to make himself heard over the commotion all around him.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, please, you must all calm down - this is no time for panic. I realise that we all want to get to the bottom of what happened at Hammages this afternoon, but there are far more pressing matters for us to attend to..."
The only person who seemed to be listening to the man in the dressing gown was a small lady who was perched behind him on the green throne, her legs swinging several inches off the ground, chewing her lip and drumming her fingers nervously on the arm of her throne.
"Please, Ladies and Gentlemen - you must listen - I have just been informed of an emergency occurring even now..."
"Ladies and Gentlemen!" A new voice, louder than all the others, cut through the hubbub and this new interruption brought a sudden pause in the surrounding noise. It was Thursby - he had jumped up onto the stage next to the man in the dressing gown and was trying himself to get the attention of the crowd.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! You should be listening to what the Lord Chancellor has to say..."
The man in the blue dressing gown looked pleased at this and opened his mouth to say 'Thanky..." when Thursby cut him off again.
"Because right now we face the most important emergency the Order has ever faced!"
"That's right, thank you, and now if you'd just listen..."
"The White Tower has been emptied! The prisoners are free!"
For a moment the room sat in stunned silence at Thursby's outburst and then everyone began shouting again, even louder than before, calling out furious denials, arguing about what he meant, demanding answers to vital questions.
"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Once again Thursby's voice rang out over the clamour, "Do you want to know what happened this afternoon in Hammages? Do you want to know what is happening right now at The White Tower?" It seemed that they did. "Then listen to me!
"This afternoon the Wild Ride attacked Hammages! Yes, it's true!" The revelation had caused another round of shouting, but Thursby just carried on regardless, "And what did the Knights Watchmen do to protect this most secret and safe of places? Did they protect the Magi there and face down the Darklings? No! No, they did not! But someone did! Yes, someone faced down the Rebel Spirits and drove them off! It's true! And what's more - it was a child! Come up here, Oscar..." Oscar climbed up the steps onto the stage, aware that all the eyes in the hall were on him, "This boy, this child, faced down the Wild Ride where no other Magi dared, saving many, including dear old Maggs here, and what did the Knights Watchmen do, when they had crawled out of their hiding place? Did they reward him? Did they congratulate him? No! They tried to arrest him! Yes, arrest him!"
The room was in true uproar now, a mixture of outrage and disbelief. Maggs had joined Oscar on stage, along with Cuddy, and he moved as close to them as possible, trying to feel a little less exposed.
"This is the truth of what the Knights Watchmen are!" Thursby was still shouting, "They are not our guardians! They are not our preservers! They are our persecutors! They are our jailers! Hammages Department Store - one of the few places any of us ever felt safe - is attacked by the Wild Ride, our most grievous threat, and what do they do? They hunt down a small boy and a defenceless old lady!"
Oscar felt Maggs stiffen at being called defenceless and old, and he wasn't that keen on being referred to as a 'small boy', but there was no stopping Thursby now.
"We stand up for them and they turn on us! We go to the White Tower and what do we find? Do we find murderers and madmen and terrorists? No! We find more defenceless, ordinary Magi - people like you and I - all locked away, all persecuted and driven mad with fear just because they stepped out of line, because they annoyed the Knights Watchmen, because they crossed Lord Skelton. That isn't justice! I'll tell you what is justice - even now those prisoners are struggling in the streets against the Knights Watchmen and their servants - they are fighting for freedom - not just for their own freedom, but for yours, too! All of ours! We are prisoners too - prisoners of fear, prisoners of Lord Skelton: Are we going to be prisoners forever?"
"You will be, Thursby!" The crowd were just about to cheer when a new voice cut through. It was a Knight Watchman and Oscar recognised him from Hammages, earlier that afternoon. He now had a cut on one cheek and his clothes were streaked with mud and rain. He strode up the main passageway towards the stage followed by the two Watchmen who had been standing guard outside.
"Arrest these men," he said, gesturing at Thursby and Cuddy as he strode towards the stage. But before the other two Knights Watchmen could follow him a group of young Magi jumped up from their seats and surrounded them, pulling them back, away from the stage. The leading Watchman rushed towards the steps up to the stage, and he sprang towards the Lord Chancellor, who was still standing at his lectern, dumbstruck.
"Lord Chancellor, you must end this, now!" The Lord Chancellor tried to pull his dressing gown around him along with his last shreds of dignity.
"You should not be giving orders to the Lord Chancellor..."
"Now!"
The Lord Chancellor coughed and looked at his feet. "Ladies and Gentlemen..." he mumbled but whatever he had to say was drowned out by the shouts of the crowd. Cuddy elbowed him away from the lectern. Oscar noticed that Ridley edged forward slightly, straining anxiously to see what the Knight Watchman was up to.
"I propose that we remove the Three Wise Lords from office immediately..." began Cuddy, as loudly as he could. The crowd became even louder. Some were arguing, but plenty seem to think Cuddy had the right idea. The Watchman pushed past the Lord Chancellor and grabbed Cuddy by the lapels.
"Traitor! I'm arresting you..." he got no further before Thursby had pulled him away and yanked him towards the edge of the platform.
"Arrest this man!" Thursby crowed and many of the young Magi surged towards the edge of the stage, reaching out for the Watchman. But as he turned, Oscar had seen the thunderous look in his eye and the blood red anger in his face and he shrank back against Maggs as the man reached into his jacket and pulled out something that glinted in the gas lamps.
"No!" shouted Ridley, "Stop him!" Her shout distracted many around the stage so that many of them missed what happened, including Oscar. They all turned to look at her and then turned back in time to see Thursby suddenly sag away and the Watchman turn, a bloody dagger in his hand as he slipped and fell into the waiting arms of the Magi below.
The whole room froze as Thursby staggered backwards clutching his side, then he raised one bloodied hand towards Cuddy and collapsed backwards in a heap. The audience gave a groan, one deep, all encompassing noise, as Cuddy leapt across, just catching Thursby before he hit the stage. Maggs thrust Oscar back and scurried across to join them. Ridley took hold of Oscar, pulling him protectively back.
"The most sacred law of the Magi," she whispered to Oscar, "We can call spirits against each other, we can curse and cast spells, but no Magi shall ever raise a hand against another. This has gone too far now."
Cuddy and Maggs and got Thursby to his feet. He was pale, but he raised a bloody hand in defiance as they led him back towards the lectern. The crowd cheered him.
"I propose," shouted Cuddy over the tumult, "I propose that we name Clive Thursby as Lord Chancellor of a new high council of the Magi!"
The crowd roared in agreement.
"Hands!" shouted Maggs, "We need to see hands, please, everyone, raise your hands! We need a vote!"
Hands shot up all over the hall - many people put up two, Oscar could see, while plenty of others were trying to pull down other people's raised arms. It was near enough impossible to take a count as everyone jostled and shouted, but it certainly looked like an overwhelming number of people were supporting Thursby.
"This is a new era," Thursby began, gripping the edge of the lectern, "An era of freedom... freedom from fear... freedom from oppression..." His voice was growing fainter and he was losing his grip, slipping backwards into Maggs' arms, "Freedom from..." He lost his hold on the dragon's wings and dropped backwards. Maggs staggered under the sudden weight as Cuddy helped her lower him to the floor. A number of the young Magi rushed up onto the stage to help lift him up. Cuddy returned to the lectern.
"We need any Magi with powerful healing spirits or medical training - please anyone who can help - take him to the Lord Chancellor's chambers...." The group of young Magi started to carry Thursby from the stage as various Magi, a couple even waving stethoscopes as signals of their abilities, starting elbowing their way down through the crowd to the stage.
"The Lord Chancellor wanted to propose me as Lord Lector," Cuddy was saying, "I must have your attention, please, ladies and gentlemen - this is a vital moment - we must vote in a new council, we have to..."
Cuddy suddenly realised that he was no longer shouting over the great crowd of Magi and that instead the whole hall had gone deathly silent and that all eyes were turned, not on him, but on a figure standing in the shadows by the main entrance to the hall. A whisper started spreading round the room, a noise like a distant sea or the wind in the treetops. Finally it reached the stage and Oscar could make out the fatal words: "Skelton... Lord Skelton... he's returned... Skelton's back..."
"You have to what, Mr Cuddy?" The voice was weary but heavy with disdain as Lord Skelton stepped forward into the light. He was dressed in a Knight Watchman's coat, wearing high riding boots and white trousers all spattered over with mud and stained by the weather. In one hand he carried not the usual black staff of the Knights Watchmen but instead a tightly furled black umbrella with a plain curved wooden handle tipped in silver. In his other hand he held a broad brimmed hat that dripped rain.
But it was his face that gripped Oscar - not because it especially evil or wonderful, handsome or ugly, but because there, unmistakable with its wild white hair, heavy brows and grizzled moustache and beard, was Oscar's Uncle Rufus. Lord Skelton was...
...Oscar's godfather!
