Chapter 9 - Ten Silver Coins - Book 1

Someone's in the house

Catch up on previous chapters here.

Jill woke to the sound of chirping birds and gurgling water. Her body was so relaxed and comfortable, she didn’t want to move. Before she opened her eyes she imagined she was lying in the Great Forest on one of the beautiful mossy stream beds she had longed to lie on when she made her way to the Great Hall. When she finally opened her eyes, which took all the effort of her will for she could have rested there for a long time, she found that she was still in The Atrium lying among the grass and flowers beside the pool. 

“Seraph?” she said as she sat up from where she lay and looked to the place where he earlier stood. But he was no longer there. The room seemed much bigger now that his huge presence no longer filled The Atrium. In his place, however, was another statue. A horse—young and strong, sculpted out of stone—leaned its head into the pool, which was once again filled with water. There were fish swimming about the pool, but no coins. When Jill saw there were no coins, she automatically felt about for the orange and white sequinned purse. It hung around her neck by the red cord.

“What’s with all the horses?” Jill asked under her breath. “It’d be nice to see a real horse around here, you know.” Jill sat on the ledge of the pool beside the horse’s head.  Its eyes were the same crystal as Seraph’s had been, and the colour of the steed was glassy and reflective. Curious, Jill put her hand on the horse’s forehead and whispered, “Seraph, is that you?”

Jill stopped her breath as she waited, half expecting the horse to shape shift in front of her into the majestic being. But it did not. The horse didn’t move. It remained in the same position it had been carved out of the stone to assume, head over the pool, drinking from the water. 

Jill stood up, disappointed but also amused. She wished she had been awake to see how the statue appeared, and what happened to Seraph. Jill imagined Seraph had gently picked her up and placed her on the soft ground beside the pool, then, unfurled his wings, looked to the ceiling, and with one dramatic movement pushed off the ground and disappeared through the roof. Jill ran to the windows overlooking the field and trees to see if she could see Seraph’s powerful body charging through the clouds. She could not. Jill stayed at the glass for some time, mesmerized by the sky. 

Finally, she turned when her stomach grumbled. She covered her murmuring stomach with her hand, embarrassed, a reaction she had performed many times during class before lunch at school. Jill blushed even though there was no one with her in the room. I guess your stomach is trying to tell you something, Jill thought. Better go find some food. 

Jill left The Atrium but not before picking a few pieces of fruit from the trees: an apple, orange, and a mango which she planned to use in a fruit salad to eat alongside the other food she hoped to find in the fridge downstairs. She started to walk down the hallway toward the giant stairway. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw that the door to the room marked Private was cracked slightly open. Jill quickly stepped away from the door and stood with her back against the wall. 

“There is someone else in the house,” she whispered. 

Jill looked around the hallway and tried to decide what to do. Was she safe? Was she in danger? Who was in the house? The Keeper and Mr. Kay had said nothing. Nor had Seraph. Maybe they didn’t know either. Jill realized she hadn’t been imagining things when she looked through the little eyehole in the door. Whoever was in the house had one green eye. That was the only thing Jill knew for certain. 

She stepped toward the door, planning to outrun whoever it was in the room if they weren’t friendly, and hoping Mr. Kay or Seraph would help her if she needed it. “Seraph said not to be afraid.” With that, a bit surprised at her sudden logic and courage, she put the fruit from The Atrium down, and knocked three quick raps of her fist against the wooden door. 

“Hello? Is anyone here? I don’t mean to disturb your privacy, but I just wanted to introduce myself.” Jill heard a noise. The sound of wood scraping against wood. But, it didn’t come from behind the door, it was an unmistakable kitchen sound: a chair being pushed away from the dining table. Someone or something was downstairs!

Jill turned from the door and started running down the hallway. She came to the stairs and grabbed onto the railing, as she started to descend the staircase, two steps at a time, the whole apparatus lit up in a column of light. Jill turned on her heel at the bottom of the stairs and started to make her way toward the kitchen. She slowed her pace to straighten her hair and tuck the bag of coins under her shirt. She took a few deep breaths once she was at the end of the hallway, then slowly opened the kitchen door. 

No one. She scanned the kitchen. All eight chairs at the long wooden table were fixed in their place. Jill walked over to the table. Crumbs! And, a drop of milk. Jill, once again, quickly looked around the room. She walked behind the island that separated the eating area from the area where food was prepared, to see if someone was hiding behind it. Nothing. But she did notice a trail of crumbs along the floor. 

The crumbs spotted the floor, here and there from the table, behind the island where Jill found a small piece of lettuce, all the way to the cupboard underneath the sink.

“I think I smell a rat,” she said, loud enough to be heard. Jill reached up and grabbed a stainless steel pot that hung from the rack, which was overtop the island. She gripped it in her right hand then slowly walked to the cupboard.

“Whoever you are, come out slowly and quietly. I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if I’m forced to do it.” There was no movement or sound. Jill waited. She counted thirteen heartbeats. “I know you’re in there, you may as well come out. Don’t make me force you. Come out slowly, or I’ll use the weapon I brought with me from The Armoury upstairs.”

Jill looked at the pot in her hand and rolled her eyes. “Come out!” she nearly shouted. With that, there was a sudden movement inside the cupboards and Jill heard a voice shout, “Don’t hurt me! Don’t! I’ll come out! I’ll stop hiding! I’ll go, I’ll go, just like he told me! Just don’t do anything to me!”

“Out with you, then!” Jill said with confidence that surprised her.

The cupboard door swung open. After a moment a foot shot out, followed by a leg, then the upper body and finally the head of a young, orange haired boy. He looked at Jill first with anxiety, then with wide-eyes of surprise. The boy was a little shorter than Jill. He wore brown corduroy pants, white sneakers, and a blue T-shirt with the number three on the front. The shirt was too short for the boy’s body, and barely covered his little round tummy. The boy had freckles and very green eyes. He had crumbs all over his shirt, and a wet stain that went from his neck to his chest, like he had been sweating a great deal.

Jill started to giggle. 

“What’s so funny?” the boy asked self-consciously.

“Nothing,” but then Jill burst into a laugh.

The boy squinted his eyes and frowned. “Nice sword,” he finally said, then smirked.

“What happened to you?” asked Jill, pointing at his shirt.

“You made me spill my milk.”

“Do you normally eat your lunch in the cupboard under the kitchen sink?” Jill asked. 

“Very funny.”

Jill stopped laughing. She put the pot down, wiped her hand on her pant legs then offered it to the boy. “I’m Jill Strong.”

The boy hesitated for a moment. “I’m Simon. Simon Henry Harris,” he added automatically. 

“I must say, Simon Henry Harris, I’m glad you’re not a monster,” replied Jill.

“And I’m glad you don’t have a sword. I thought, maybe, you were that mean old Mr. Kay.”

Jill laughed and Simon shook her hand. “What’s for lunch?” Jill asked.

“Turkey sandwiches with salt and vinegar chips,” replied Simon.

“I’m starving,” said Jill. “Why don’t you grab your food from under the cupboard and we’ll sit and eat at the table.”

***

Jill and Simon ate a hearty lunch. Jill was amazed to find, when she opened the fridge, food that was already prepared, waiting to be consumed. When Jill told Simon about it he wasn’t surprised. “That’s the way it always is. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Supper. And snacks in between. There’s always food in the fridge or the cupboards.”

“Always?” Jill asked. “And you said you’ve never seen the person who brings it? Who does all the grocery shopping?”

“I don’t know. It’s magic, just like the rest of the place. Who cares, really? It’s really good food, and I’m happy to eat it,” said Simon, taking a bite of his sandwich.

Jill looked down at Simon’s stomach then back at Simon. “Looks like you enjoy it. How long have you been here?”

Simon sneered at Jill and pulled down his shirt. “I don’t know, it’s hard to keep track of time here. But, when I came, there was still snow on the ground. What month is it?”

“It’s September. You’ve been here since the winter? Simon, you’ve been here for over half a year!”

Simon lifted his chin and looked at the roof. He counted out the months on his fingers. “Really, it’s been that long?” Simon pondered. “Oh, but time is so different here. It hasn’t felt like more than a week. It’s been wonderful.” 

“But didn’t the Keeper leave you with a task or something to do?” 

“Who?” Simon asked. 

“The Keeper,” replied Jill. 

“The Keeper,” Simon repeated. “I’ve heard that name.”

Jill raised her eyebrow and looked at Simon. “What did he ask you to do?” she asked. “Did he give you a treasure too?”

Simon’s eyes went wide, and he looked at Jill. “A treasure? No. What are you talking about?” Simon was about to take another bite of his sandwich but stopped. “Were you given a treasure?”

Jill kicked herself for speaking about the treasure so openly. She didn’t know Simon at all. She remembered the warning in the letter and forced a smile. “Yes.”

“What is it?” Simon asked. “Can I see it?

“I’m sorry,” Jill replied, “but you can’t. I’ve been asked to guard it, and can’t show it to anyone else, until I go to a place called Terador.”

“Hey, that’s the place I’m supposed to go to as well,” Simon said as he snapped his finger in recognition. 

“Do you know anything about it?” Jill asked, almost frantically.

“Not much, but I think it’s far away, and I know that I don’t want to have to go there alone.” Simon looked down at the table then quickly back at Jill. “My brother told me about it, the night he was taken away to the mines.”

Jill sat upright in her seat. “You have a family member at the mines?” 

Simon looked away from the table and stared out the large glass door and out into the backyard. He was silent for a while, and Jill started to wonder if he had heard her question. “Three,” he said to break the silence, in a barely audible whisper.

Jill closed her eyes and bit her lip. “Simon, I’m sorry.”

Simon sighed. “I am too.”

“How long have they been there?” Jill asked carefully.

“My father was taken first, three years ago, on my eighth birthday. My brothers were taken later, the night before I came here.”

Jill looked at Simon for a long time, not knowing what to say. He sat quietly and gazed out the window. Jill felt very uncomfortable, she hated awkward silences when she felt like it was her turn to have something to say. 

“You don’t have to have anything to say, Jill,” Simon said. “I don’t think there is anything you could say. But maybe you could tell me something.”

“What, Simon?”

“Who is the Keeper?”

“I don’t know much about him. This house is under his care. I know that he is an important man. Someone I should very much like to meet. I knew it the first time I read his letter.”

“Well,” Simon said, leaning back in his chair, “if he’s anything like his house, he must be amazing.”

Jill sat and studied Simon’s face. “Why haven’t I seen you before, in the city?”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“Your brothers, you have family members at the mines, that means, well,” Jill cleared her throat, “that means your family has been disgraced, you’re a Shameface.”

Simon pushed up from his chair, it tipped over and hit the ground loudly. “I don’t see your veil anywhere, Jill! What are you trying to say?”

“No, I don’t mean that, Simon. You’re right. I have no veil, I wore one to escape the city, but that’s the only time my face was hidden in Vendor. It’s just that, if you’re a Son of Disgrace, we might have seen each other at school, there aren’t many of us, you know.”

“Well I’d have you know that I’m not, Jill. You’re the only Child of Disgrace in the room.”

Jill instinctively pulled her hands to her face and looked away. Simon frowned. He bent over and picked up the chair, then put his hands in his pockets. 

“But if I had stayed a moment longer in the city, I’m sure I would have become like you. My mother, my sisters, they found favour with the Council; they weren’t covered in shame when my father disappeared. I’m sure they’ll find a way to appeal to the Council and prove their innocence,” Simon chuckled. “But with sons at the mines now, they have their work cut out for them. Boy would I ever like to see the look on their faces if their veils were ever removed.” Simon smiled wildly. He looked at Jill for a few moments; her hands still covered her face. “Don’t be embarrassed, Jill, I saw my sisters’ faces all the time.”

Jill looked up at Simon, astonished. “Really?”

“They took their veils off at home all the time.”

“But, that’s illegal –”

“Everybody does it, Jill. My sisters forced me to keep it on, though. I hated that stupid mask, it made eating so difficult.”

“But what if a member of the Council were to stop by, or a Watchmen?”

“They don’t care. They know it happens. The Council is only interested in a few groups of people, the people they’re watching.”

“How do you know all this?” Jill asked.

Simon stopped speaking and bent over to tie his shoe. “I just know,” he said. “Let’s not talk about the Council anymore, Jill. You won’t hear about it from me, ‘for the Council alone’ and all the other rubbish. I’m in the Forest for a reason.” Simon stood up and started to walk to the sink with his dishes. He turned back to look at Jill after a thought and said, “Don’t feel ashamed to show your face.”

Jill looked back at the floor, but managed a weak, “Thank you, Simon.”

© 2024 Andrew Kooman. All rights reserved.

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About Andrew Kooman

Andrew Kooman is a Canadian writer of fiction, poetry, plays, and films. His work has been enjoyed by audiences around the world and translated into lots of different languages. 

He’s the author of the children’s books Popcorn Helmet and Simple Christmas Spectacular, the first two books in the Ramsey P. Heaton, Future Billionaire series. Andrew likes to make people laugh in church. His popular plays and skits are performed across North America and can be purchased at SkitGuys.com.

Andrew founded UnveilTV with his brothers Matthew and Daniel, where you can watch content that inspires you. You can follow all of Andrew’s latest work on his weekly newsletter Things I Wrote Down and find him on X and Instagram.