Shazza, who didn't have a knife at her throat, acted more decisively. She leaped from her corner so suddenly Flower almost didn't see her, grabbed Pinky and yanked her bodily from Badora's grasp.

Pierus gave a furious yell, pushed Flower so hard she collided with the opposite wall and grabbed Shazza by the throat. "How dare you interfere?"

His words were almost lost in Badora's deafening bellow. The vampire king jerked against his restraints and made the whole wall shiver. A wire crackled and threw out sparks. "Fairy!" he roared.

Flower picked herself up and crawled the few feet to where Pinky had landed. She helped her to a sitting position and checked her for injuries. "Are you okay?" she whispered.

Pinky nodded, but her eyes were wide and staring, and Flower didn't like the look in them. "I'm so sorry Pinky," she whispered. "I should have listened to you. To you and everyone. This is all my fault."

Badora's roar, which had covered her words, came to an end. They both looked past him to Pierus and Shazza.

"I said where's Kazza?" Pierus repeated. His hands squeezed and Shazza gasped for air.

"I don't know!" she choked.

"Then find her!"

Shazza disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Where go?" Badora yelled.

"Don't you worry your ugly head about it," Pierus snapped.

The vampire spotted Pinky again and lunged for her, causing more wires to crackle and spark. Flower got between them.

"Really Flower, this is very disruptive," Pierus said. "Do you always cause this much mess when you pay a call?"

Shazza reappeared before Flower could reply. She was pale and wide-eyed, and she positioned herself well out of Pierus's reach.

"Well?" he demanded. "Where's your sister?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know? You might be the defective one, but even you can go anywhere in Shadow with a thought. How can you not find her?"

"She'snotthere." Shazza glanced at Flower. Something in her look was terrified, elated and furious all at once.

Pierus missed the look, but Flower understood. She brought her hands into her lap where nobody could see them shaking. Terror. Elation. She'd not just destroyed the machine, she'd destroyed the false muses too.

"What do you mean she's not there? She has to be somewhere! Did you check the mine?"

"I mean, she's not there." Shazza's voice grew stronger. Again she looked at Flower and this time Pierus caught the look.

"What?" He strode forward and dragged Flower to her feet. "What have you done?"

The key was still in Flower's hand. She grasped it so tight the metal cut into her skin. She ignored Pierus and spoke instead to Shazza. "How many were there?"

"Sixty-five," Shazza said. "All gone. Every one."

"But not you?"

Pierus said what sounded like possibly the most filthy word Flower had ever heard. Once more his fingers dug in and he strode from the room, dragging her with him.

Shazza ran after them, and Pinky after her, leaving the horror alone behind them. Even after the door closed on him Flower could hear him yelling.

Pierus dragged her up the stairs. Flower didn't resist, since anywhere away from Badora was fine with her.

Pierus uttered a low, venomous oath when he saw the blasted open door, but when they stumbled into the room, he let her go. He fell to his knees and let out an inarticulate sound of rage, frustration, grief. "What have you done?"

"What I had to." Flower rubbed the spots on her shoulder where his fingers had made purple marks. "You've gone quite mad, Pierus, and I cannot allow what you are doing to continue."

He dropped his face into his hands. "You've killed them all."

"Your false muses? That was not my intention, and for Shazza's sake I regret it."

"I don't care about them." Shazza approached the machine and ran her hand over a spot where flames flickered in the wreckage, waving her fingers through the fire. "He killed them a long time ago. I'm defective because he didn't stamp out my soul. That's it, isn't it, king?"

"Nobody asked you," Pierus snarled.

"I don't care!" Shazza stamped her foot. "You made me what I am, you can bear the consequences! Tell me why I didn't die too?"

Pierus paused. For the first time ever, Flower saw him look uncertain. He looked to the wreckage of the machine, then to Shazza, then back to her and Pinky. "The key," he whispered. "The key is keeping her alive."

Flower met Shazza's eyes. "Run," she mouthed, then she grabbed Pinky's hand and bolted. They hurried down three flights of stairs and clattered across the huge, dilapidated foyer, only to come up against a locked door.

Pierus's footsteps echoed on the stairs. He descended at a slow, almost lazy pace.

"Flower," Pinky whispered, "I'm never going to complain about being pink again if we get out of this alive."

"And I'm going to personally apologise to Nikifor and Fitz and everyone else I know for being so blind about that man." Flower's words were grim. "Quick, this way."

They ducked through a side door into a large hall dominated by a huge dining table that was dusty and pitted with holes.

"You can't leave, the roses will kill you like they killed your friend Hippy." Pierus's voice echoed into the room. "You're welcome to hide. I haven't let Badora out to play in years, but I'm sure he'd love to hunt down that thing he thinks is a fairy."

Pinky clutched Flower's hand so tightly her grip hurt. "What do we do?"

"I just killed sixty-five false muses. I'll kill Badora too before I let him get you." Flower tried to stop her voice from shaking. "Can't be that hard to fight a brain-damaged vampire."

"What with?" Pinky hissed. "We've got no weapons! I wish we brought Nikifor and Fitz!"

"Me too."

Shazza appeared in front of them in a puff of smoke. She collapsed on the edge of the table. Weariness and stress had put lines around her eyes. "I can get out," she said. "But you two are as good as dead."

"Listen." Flower grasped the key as tightly as she could, memorising the feel of it, savouring it, because she'd never been without it. "It's me he wants. He doesn't care about Pinky."

"Oh, you've forgotten already he wants to kill me because I'm defective and I helped you?"

"I hadn't forgotten." Flower held out her hand, fist still tightly closed. "Take it, Shazza. Guard it with your life and he won't be able to touch you. All I ask is that you look after my writers and find a way to save Pinky."

Shazza looked from the closed fist to Flower's face in astonishment. "Really? You're going to give me your key?"

"Yes. But you must swear to me you'll save Pinky and get her back to Nikifor."

"Flower what about you?" Pinky's voice turned to a squeak. "If she can save me, she can save you!"

"No. If I escape, he'll hunt us both down. You he'll let go. Shazza swear to me."

"I swear." There was no hesitation in the words.

Flower took a deep breath, then dropped the key into Shazza's hand.

Shazza vanished.

Flower and Pinky blinked at the empty dining hall.

"Where'd she go?" Pinky's voice got higher and higher. "Now what do we do?"

"There you are."

Pinky and Flower put the length of the table between them and Pierus, who loomed at the door. Flower shoved Pinky behind her.

Pierus jumped onto the table and stalked toward them, as much a predator as any brain-damaged vampire. "Flower," he said. "You've been a very, very bad muse."

"You're deranged." She held her ground, since he was right, there was nowhere to go.

"I resent that." He stopped at the end of the table and held out his hand. "Give me your key."

"And then what?" Flower took a few steps backward this time, in response to Pinky tugging her away from the king.

"Then I'll make everything better." He tilted his head and regarded her with a half-smile, an expression she remembered well because it used to make her feel special. "I wouldn't have expected anything less from you, Flower. You were always the best and brightest of my muses. Of course you would be one of the last to become part of my new Shadow. I respect that. I will even reward it."

Flower and Pinky took another step backward. "How?"

"I won't kill you, for starters, even though you've just cost me almost all my new muses. You have no idea how much more efficient they were than you lot, but no matter. It suits me that every writer and artist in Dream should receive no more inspiration."

"Why?" Flower was horrified. "Why would you want that?"

"Because the ignorant and uncultured are easier to control." He hopped down from the table and stalked them, a slow, measured dance that took them all back toward the door into the foyer. "But that's not your concern. No, you my dear, are going to be quite serene. You think I'm a tyrant now, perhaps, but when you understand that I'm keeping all of my muses safe and happy, you'll think different." He paused. "To be accurate, I suppose you won't think about me at all. You'll forget I ever existed. Would you like that?"

"Yes I would." The words were more fervent than she intended. Flower stopped herself. "Wait. How?" She and Pinky went backwards into the foyer. Her eyes widened when she realised the door was open. The late afternoon sun turned the threshold a deep gold-pink. "Pinky run!"

"Pinky stay." Pierus's voice kept them both in place. "Unless you want to be food for the roses. You my dear will share a rather contented exile with the muses, at least until I discover what you are. Now Flower, give me your key."

"It's gone," Flower said.

That stopped his advance, at least for a moment. "What?"

"I said it's gone." Flower felt a surge of victory. "I don't care what you do to me now, you'll never get that key."

"You gave it to Shazza." His lip curled.

"Maybe."

Pierus strode forward so fast Flower had nowhere to go. He put his hands around her neck and pinned her to the nearest wall. Flecks of spit flew from his lips when he spoke, his face creased into a mask of fury. "It's all for nothing, you stupid creature, you hear me? It was for nothing! Shazza can't stop me! I'll find a way to rebuild the machine and make both Shadow and Dream bow before me. I'll finish rebuilding Badora, he's almost complete. And when he's done, I'll send him out to hunt down and kill Nikifor and any other dissident who dares to threaten my life! And youyou won't remember a thing." He let her go and took several steps back.

Flower caught her breath. It was all she could do not to collapse. "You'dyou'd kill Nikifor?"

"Kill him? I'll grind him to dust." Pierus raised a hand, swooped it down, pointed at her and said a word that made her stomach turn.

"No!" Pinky ran in front of them and flung out her arms to shield Flower.

"Pinky no!" Flower pushed her out of the way, but it was too late. Pinky doubled over, went white and then collapsed.

"Oh how tiresome," Pierus said. "She could have waited her turn."

"What have you done to her?" Flower dropped to her knees and put her arm under Pinky's shoulders. She was still breathing, but apart from that gave no sign of life.

Pierus said that word again. It rang harsh on her ears and made her even sicker this time. A shockwave crumpled through her whole body and made her bones crunch. She fell down next to Pinky. Pierus's boots moved toward her. They were lime green.

Everything went dark.

It was still dark when Flower opened her eyes. She felt around her. She wasn't in bed. The floor was hard. In fact the space was very cramped and her shoulder was wedged rather uncomfortably against some iron bars. The rumble of wheels underneath accounted for the occasional jolt. She poked something soft.

The soft thing squeaked. "Watch it!"

"Watch what?" Flower looked about, puzzled. "I can't see anything." She peered through the bars, then caught a flash of light. "No wait! I can see something!"

"What?" The soft thing scrambled up next to her and peered through the bars too.

Flower's eyes gradually got used to the darkness. She could see leaves, lots of them, doing the oddest things. Everywhere the bright blue-white lights appeared, the leaves curled away. Soon she could make out tall people wearing long coats and pretty silver masks marching on either side. Some of them pulled the cart they were riding in.

After a while Flower got bored with watching, so she settled back and studied her companion. She was a pretty little thing with bright pink hair and bright pink clothes. "Who are you?"

"Pinky." The pink thing crouched across from her. "Who are you?"

"Flower of the Great North Island Beyond the Night-Flickered Sea."

"Long name."

They rode in silence.

"What do you suppose we're doing?" Flower asked after a while.

Pinky shrugged. "Don't remember. I guess we're going somewhere."

"I guess." They went under a really, really dark space, then through more leaves for a long time. The blue-white lights were starting to sputter and crackle by the time the leaves thinned out and then disappeared. After that, they travelled across a dark, grassy plain. Moonlight filtered through the bars, allowing Flower to see her companion a little better.