Episode 6 - Chapter 93

In the kitchen I quickly made two tuna fish sandwiches and returned to the living room, handing over plates as I did.

“There you go,” I said, “Now please tell my wife what she wants to know.”

The dark haired cat sniffed at her plate, unsure of its content. The other one knocked the top off her sandwich and began to lick at the tuna. It did look most odd, I have to say.

“Yes,” Mary said, “Have you seen Raven? Have Robert and Fiona found him yet?”

“We last saw...” the auburn cat began between licks.

“...the man not man...” the other continued, still unsure of her food.

“...at a place where stories...”

“...are bought and sold. He's...” the dark cat took a bite from her plate.

“...made a new...”

“...friend.”

Episode 6 - Chapter 92

“Oh for heaven's sake,” I said, “Just tell us.”

The brown haired cat made for the sofa, brushing Fiona's feet out of her way to sit down. The one with dark hair seemed to be circling my husband, occasionally brushing against him.

“I'll get them something,” he said, walking toward the kitchen.

“There,” I said, “Food is on its way, now tell me if you have any news.”

The auburn girl suddenly looked at the corner of the room, a sort of anticipation filling her eyes. The other stood staring at Oak. He groaned again, which seemed to cause the cat to yawn, then look very surprised.

“Anything at all?” I asked, but they both stayed silent.

Episode 6 - Chapter 91

“Oh thank goodness,” Mary exclaimed when the cats walked in. “Do you have any news from the Weave? Have you seen Raven? Or my son?”

“Hungry!” They declared again, making their way proudly across the room.

“Of course,” she said, “But please tell us something.”

“We might know...” the auburn one said,

“...a thing or two...” the other continued.

“...about a thing...”

“...or two...”

“...but hunger clouds...”

“...our memory. Perhaps...”

“...if we were to eat...”

“...a little something...”

“...not too much...”

“...it might make...”

“...our recollections...”

“...clearer.” The dark haired one finished the sentence, walking close by, her shoulder nudging me gently.

Episode 6 - Chapter 90

“So you're telling me,” Robert says, somewhat incredulously, “That you're a sparkly cloud?”

“That is quite so,” Tom replies.

“How can you be a sparkly cloud?”

“I am one of the Embodiments, or personifications as we'd probably be called now. Unfortunately what I personify is quite vague in the human imagination.”

“I don't understand.”

“We are... we're what people imagine abstract ideas look like. Most of us manage to maintain a regular form, like the Grim Reaper say, though he's not the best example these days.”

“So why is that more of a problem for you?”

“Because what I am changes for everybody, all the time. I don't have a stable image in the human subconscious.”

“Why, who are you?”

“I'm Tomorrow, I'm one of the Futures.”

Episode 6 - Chapter 89

Fiona is escorted to a luxurious dressing room, where five girls are waiting by a steaming bath.

“Do what you can with it,” the thin man commands, “And put it in something purple.”

The girls leap into action before Fiona realises what's happening. For the next hour she is bathed, buffed, polished, primped, preened, dressed and made up, until she's standing in front of a full length mirror looking at a stranger.

“It'll do, I suppose,” is the judgement of the thin man. “You can take her,” he tells the guards.

They quickly escort her to a grand library, where the Angel is sat by a roaring fire.

“My dear Fiona,” he says with an oily smile, “How lovely it is to finally make your acquaintance.”

Fiona walks straight up to him. With every ounce strength she can muster she slaps him across the face.

Episode 6 - Chapter 88

“Well how do we persuade him?” Fiona asks.

“We would imagine,” Strauss replies, “That two of those envelopes in your pocket will do the trick.”

Fiona quickly hands them over and Strauss returns to the guard. Moments later, the gate swings open to reveal a bustling courtyard beyond. Before them stands two guards, locked in salutes.

“Welcome to the Court of the Peacock Angel,” one of them declares, “If you'll follow us, we'll take you to your audience immediately.”

“No, no, no,” a shrill voice declares, “That simply will not do.”

“What's going on?” Fiona asks Strauss, who shrugs in reply.

A tall, impossibly thin man approaches. “It can't meet the Angel looking like that,” he tells the guards, “You'll have bring it with me.”

Episode 6 - Chapter 87

They hurry through twisted alleys, travelling up hill.

“Not far now,” Strauss declares, as they round a corner to find their path blocked by a very serious looking gate.

Strauss knocks, bum be-bum bum bum, and a smaller door set within the frame of the gate opens. Some words are exchanged, but they are spoken too low and Fiona can't hear what is said.

Moments later, the door closes. “We are afraid that the invitation is very specific,” Strauss reports, “Ourself, and you, m'lady. The guard will require some persuading if he is to allow the captain in.”

“That's okay,” the captain says, “I can wait for you here.”

“It is unlikely,” Strauss tells him with a worried expression, “That this door will be here for much longer. We will no doubt exit somewhere else in the Weave.”

Episode 6 - Chapter 86

Strauss leads Fiona and the captain across the harbour into a maze of cramped cobbled alleyways that snake and crawl away from the water's edge.

“Quickly,” he commands, “We must move quickly. Our rendezvous time is very brief, if we miss it there wont be another.”

“Do you mean the time of our audience?” Fiona asks, struggling to keep up.

“No,” declares the captain, “He means rendezvous.”

“The captain is correct,” Strauss confirms. “Unlike the Court of Doors, which is always in a fixed place, the Peacock Court likes to move around. Nobody knows where it will show up, or when.”

“Then we better get a wriggle on,” Fiona insists, redoubling her efforts to keep up.

Episode 6 - Chapter 85

“The appropriate arrangements have been made,” Strauss says breathlessly as he arrives in his taller incarnation.

“That was quick,” Fiona replies.

“Our contact in the Peacock Court proved to be more accessible than we had feared. They have even managed to secure you an audience with the Angel himself.”

“I'm impressed,” Fiona declares, “Well done.” She turns to the sandman, offering her hand. “I guess I'm done here, thanks for letting me help, it was fun.”

“It is I who should be thanking you,” the sandman replies, pressing a handful of the white envelopes into her hand. “Should you ever need a job here, come see me.”

“Thanks,” she says, stuffing the envelopes into her pocket. “I didn't get your name.”

“It is Ollie,” he replies with a smile.

Episode 6 - Chapter 84

“The Reaper?” Fiona asks.

“Yeah, the Reaper,” the sandman replies, “The Grim Reaper, Angel of Death, you know.”

“You mean the skinny guy in the black hood,” Fiona asks, “Has that big sheath thing.”

“He's skeletal,” the sandman insists, “And it's a scythe.”

“What did they do to him then?”

“Took advantage of a short-term trend to steal his power and share it among themselves.”

“How did they do that?”

“Through the dreamers. They turned him into a caricature, a laughing stock, a joke. You've got to have some respect, especially for someone so old. They used us!”

“I've sort of got the impression that that stuff goes on all the time.”

“Among their lordships, sure, of course, but you don't expect to see the Embodiments behaving like that.”

It's at that moment that Strauss returns.

Episode 6 - Chapter 83

“Do you do anything cheap?” Fiona asks, turning to the sandman. She's surprised to see he's angry, walking forward and rolling up his sleeves.

“Get out of it,” he shouts, “I don't sell to the likes of you.”

“Our currency is as good as any other,” the undertaker replies.

“Not to me it's not,” the sandman spits, “Now go on, sling yer 'ook!”

The undertaker moves on looking disappointed.

“Bleedin' cheek,” the sandman says to himself, “Coming down here, asking me of all people.”

“So what's wrong with selling to him?” Fiona asks.

“He's one of the new Deaths. I wont have anything to do with 'em. Not after what they did to the Reaper. That's just lack of respect.”

Episode 6 - Chapter 82

Trade is swift, white envelopes pile up. Some customers can be served, others get turned away or directed by the sandman them to another seller.

“Are you not afraid of losing customers?” Fiona asks him.

“Nah,” he replies, “We'll have sold out before demand runs dry.”

By the time they've sold half their stock, trade has slowed to a steady trickle. Fiona has a little bit of time to take in her surroundings. All along the harbour are stalls and barrows selling dreamers to an eager crowd. More dreamers are being landed all the time, a crowd forming around each new catch. Beyond the harbour a rainbow sea ebbs and flows, tiny ships bobbing on the horizon.

“Excuse me,” an undertaker interrupts her reverie, “I'll take anything so long as its not too costly.”

Episode 6 - Chapter 81

Fiona finds she enjoys working with the sandman selling dreamers. The customers come in a variety of shapes, sizes and get-ups, with a just as diverse a list of requests. Her first customer, a man in a cowboy hat with spurs on his boots, wanted “a senior, any nationality” which she was able to supply quite readily. Payment came in the form of a small white envelope, which she passed to the sandman immediately.

The second customer looked shifty and foreign, wanting “a man who has left his homeland looking for a better life.” The sandman had to check for that one, but the customer was eventually satisfied.

When the third customer, a Spanish bull fighter, asks for “a fifty year old Korean lady,” the sandman steps in. “Other end of the dock mate,” he tells him, “You'll have more luck for an oriental over there.”

Episode 6 - Chapter 80

“Okay,” Robert says, “So I can make stuff appear, got that. What else can I do?”

“Change your surroundings,” Tom replies.

“How do you mean?”

“You can cause things to grow or shrink, appear or disappear, come to life or stop stone dead. You can even change the colour of the sky. All you have to do is imagine and believe.”

“Will I be able to find my wife that way?”

“Sadly no,” Tom says, “Your abilities are only concerned with what's naturally in the Weave. A wake walker, or for that matter an agent of the Forest, have their own will. You cannot overcome that.”

“I see,” Robert says. “But I still can't see you.”

“The sparkles in front of you, do they seem any denser?”

“They do, I suppose, almost like a cloud.”

“Then you can see me. How do you do?”

Episode 6 - Chapter 79

At the far end of the dungeon, an over sized keyring bearing any number of keys, hangs from a hook by a stone archway. Raven hurries toward over, snatching it off. As he does, an arm seems to grow out of the arch, grabbing his wrist. A second arm appears and Raven realises that the arch itself is coming to life. It plucks the keyring from Ravens hand and returns it to the hook. The arch twists slightly and its legs emerge, before it turns toward him with a leering stone grin. It grabs Raven's other arm and lifts him clear off the ground.

“Oh no,” says the guide, “Trolls.”

Episode 6 - Chapter 78

“I'm going to regret asking this,” Raven says, “But imposters of what?”

“We don't know,” the woman replies. “The Prince is summoning all the women our age to the palace. When we get here, we are told to wear a pair of shoes. If the shoes fit, we get locked up for being Imposters. You have to help us, please.”

Raven looks at the desperation on her face, on the faces of all the women. “I should leave you all here,” he sighs, “You wont die. Ideas don't die.” He bends to examine the lock for a moment. “But I'll see what I can do,” he continues as he stands, looking round.

“Ah, that'll be it,” he says when he spots what he's looking for.

Episode 6 - Chapter 77

“Please,” shouts another young woman, “You have to help us.”

Raven ignores her, going from door to door to find the same thing in each cell: women in chains, none of them Fiona. The women that are there though, are increasingly vocal in their pleas.

As Raven approaches the last door, a hand shoots out and grabs his wrist in a solid grip. “Please,” the young woman implores, “You have to help us. He'll kill us all for sure.”

Raven looks at her blankly. “Who will kill you?” he asks, “And why?”

“The Prince,” the woman replies, “Because we are the Imposters.”

Episode 6 - Chapter 76

The spiral stairs eventually lead them down into a long, gloomy corridor with thick, metal braced doors at small intervals. They can hear the sounds of women whimpering and groaning. There is sobbing behind one door, while another shields whispered prayers.

Raven steps to the closest door and peers through the bars. The cell contains a group of young women, all in chains and rags, crammed together.

“Fiona!” Raven shouts. “Are you down here?”

One of the women rushes to the bars, grabbing them with chained hands. “Please sir,” she pleads, “You've got to get us out of here.”

Raven steps back, then on to another door. The scene in there is the same, young women chained and huddled together. “Fiona!” he shouts again, but there's no reply.

Episode 6 - Chapter 75

Raven drops to his knees to quickly draw a large trap door into the stone floor. Once he's done, he hauls the door open to reveal a descending wooden staircase.

“That's a blessing,” he says before grabbing the guide's arm. “Come on, there's work to be done.”

He repeats Fiona's name under his breath as they walks down the stairs, pulling the door closed behind them. The stairs descend a short way to a stone floored landing, which leads to a second set of stairs, leading a downward spiral.

The stairs are illuminated by intermittent torches, so the light is less than perfect. Raven thinks he can hear the rattle of chains below them.

“I hope she hasn't got herself locked up,” Raven quips as he begins a cautious descent.

Episode 6 - Chapter 74

The delivery room, it turns out, is a small featureless, white walled space. There are no windows nor are there any other exits. In the centre of the room is a simple square wooden table, about four feet in length.

“This is the delivery room?” The guide asks. “Where do the deliveries come from?”

“That,” the librarian replies, “Remains a mystery to us. The books just appear on the table. Sometimes single volumes, sometimes the table is piled high. The books never appear when somebody is here.”

Raven has chalk in hand, trying to draw on the wall, but the line disappears into the white of the wall.

“Bugger,” he says, “It's going to have to be another trap door.”

Episode 6 - Chapter 73

The guide returns quickly, the librarian following closely. “This is simply such a marvellous place,” the guide remarks, “And I've been given license to return.”

“Did you discover what you wanted to know?” the librarian asks Raven.

“Not entirely, no,” Raven replies, “But it was informative so I thank you for your help.”

He reaches forward to shake her hand.

“It was a pleasure to be of assistance,” she replies, taking his hand. “The same licence is available to you, though I suspect you're less likely to use it.”

“Well,” Raven says, “I don't belong here. Now, I need a wall.”

“There are no walls in here, only shelves,” the librarian says, pointing to a doorway in the distance, “You'll have to go through to the delivery room.”

Episode 6 - Chapter 72

“Every night when she closed her eyes,” Raven says, to no one in particular, “The Angel touched her dreams, a gentle brush one night, a sharp prod another. He shaped them, moulded them, to bring me to that house.”

He looks around him, searching for the guide.

“Still doesn't put me any closer to an explanation though.” He rubs his chin in thought. “Why does the Angel want me here? Why go to all that trouble?”

He sits in contemplation for a few moments more, lost in thought. Suddenly he leaps to his feet. “Only one way to find out,” he declares. “Guide!” he shouts, “Get your coat, it's time to move on.”

Episode 6 - Chapter 71

Raven sits at a desk in the library pouring over tome after tome of recorded dreams. For hour upon hour he reads, sighs once in a while, grunts occasionally. Most of what he reads makes no sense at all, which is what he expects, but after a time he begins to see a pattern. He confirms this to himself when he thinks he knows what elements the next dream will contain. His prediction is correct, and suddenly the pattern is very clear.

The guide, meanwhile, is off with the librarian, taking a tour and finding out as much as he can.

“Remarkable,” Raven says as he closes the final book, “She never had a dream of her own.”

Episode 6 - Chapter 70

“I think I'm getting the hang of this,” Robert says, looking at the notebook he's just imagined into his hand. He puts it on the ground, alongside the marble, pen, scissors, comb, tin can and yo-yo he's created while practising.

“Okay, one more,” he continues, closing his eyes and concentrating. “Let's have a gun this time.”

“I'd advise against that,” Tom tells him. “Guns do unexpected things here in the Weave, and it's not as if you can kill anything here anyway.”

“If you say so,” Robert replies. “Well then, a sword.” In moments he feels a cutlass in his hand, heavier than he was expecting.

“Very good,” Tom says, “Now why don't you try for something bigger.”

Episode 6 - Chapter 69

Edward was scratching his head when he said “I don't know, Mary, violence seems a little extreme.”

“Violence,” I declared. “They might be about to destroy our home, that's violence.”

“You don't know that's what they're planning. You don't know anything.”

“No,” I said, “I don't. But I'm sick of being ordered around without being told what's going on, I'm tired of our lives and feelings being so inconsequential. It's time for us to stand up to them.”

At that moment the cats... the ladies who were also cats... it's hard to know what to call them... anyway, at that moment they waltzed into the living room.

“Hungry!” they declared in unison.