Chimera Book One

Chapter Five

The Lumen Arboretum was very warm, a constant buzzing coming from its snarls of cables.  Large butterflies chased each other through the standard lamps. One settled on Kyp’s hand for a moment.  It was deep velvety blue with perfect yellow spots.  It looked a lot like a bowtie.  Other creatures scurried amongst the pine needles. Pheasant-like birds with bodies like wide-brimmed hats went haring off into the wood at the sound of their approach. 

Kyp thought more about what Atticus had said about this strange new world being a world of lost things.  Did that mean his missing roller-skates were here?

What about teeth? 

Was there somewhere a heap of teeth as vast and pearly as an iceberg?

(The old silver locket?  Was that here too?)  

Deep in thought, the first Kyp knew Atticus had stopped was when he trod on his tail.  Atticus was staring into the dense swathes of standard lamps, tasting the air with little flicks of his forked tongue.

‘We’re being followed,’ he said.  ‘Hide.  Quickly.’

They hurried off the path and forced their way into an embankment of cables.  Loops of warm, humming flex closed around them in strangleholds.  As Kyp wriggled further into the wire-patch, the black rubber sleeves encasing the thickest cables began to split.  Out of the cracks protruded masses of smaller wires that bristled like sea anemones, blue sparks shooting from their copper tips.  Kyp flinched as an arc of electricity leapt from one of the newly opened rosettes and discharged into the ground close to his foot.

‘Shock poppies,’ whispered Atticus. ‘Don’t touch them.’

Kyp was about to suggest they rethink their hiding place, when he heard the sound of something approaching along the path. They waited, not daring to breathe.

At last, they heard the snap of branches as their pursuer moved away.  In his relief, Kyp put his hand down on a shock poppy, which sent a jolt of electricity surging through him.  He cried out, burping smoke.  Atticus gagged him with his tail, but too late, whatever it was following them had heard Kyp’s cry and returned.

As more poppies blossomed, Kyp and Atticus picked their way through the wire-patch as quickly as they dared.  There was a loud bang and Kyp watched in dismay as Atticus rocketed forwards, his body glowing like a neon tube. Then Kyp was jumping too.  Another blast knocked him backwards, his legs in the air.  Now Atticus was stung again. Kyp and Atticus lit up the wire-patch like a pinball table, until, mercifully, a circuit blew.  As standard lamps throughout the Lumen Arboretum went dark, they were jettisoned from the wire-patch trailing sparks.

Kyp sat up and wiped the soot from his face. ‘I’m never going to make it out of here alive,’ he said.

‘Nonsense,’ said Atticus, appearing at his side. ‘You’re going back where you belong.  I’ll see to that.’

‘Then you’re wasting your time,’ said Kyp, getting to his feet.  He scanned the dark copse of standard lamps.  ‘We need to keep moving, you said.’

‘Wait!’ Atticus caught Kyp with his tail. ‘Before you darned my wound with the thread from your pocket, you were smiling.  You were remembering something.  What?’

‘It doesn’t matter.  None of it matters now.’

‘Tell me.’

‘It’s silly, Atticus. It’s nothing important.’

‘Tell me.’

Kyp sighed and pointed at the sandy-coloured stitches in Atticus’s side.