There were stables in a big grey building at the end of the road.  The Finery family took them up to their section on the second floor and unlocked one of the gates.  They whistled, and a large animal stepped forward. 

It was some kind of… frog?  Lizard?  Something wide-mouthed and green.  It was about the same height as an elephant, but broader.  And as it crouched down, Rube saw a grid of large, deep holes in its back.

The Finery family grabbed the reins and motioned towards the holes.  “Alright- in you get.”

Rube stared at it.  The holes were about half a metre across, and the insides of them glistened like jelly.  They couldn’t mean… She wasn’t supposed to…

Jeanette was the first to move, hoisting herself up onto the frog-lizard’s back and sliding across to a hole in the middle.  Once she’d sat down, it seemed to close around her, so that only her head and shoulders were visible

Then, while Rube was still gawping, Sally followed, a little more awkwardly, and settled into the hole next to Jeanette.  So now, Rube had no excuse.  She climbed up, choking back her surprise at how soft it was, and sat in the hole next to Sally.

She tried not to wince as the sides moved towards her.  It felt like jelly, too.

The Finery family gave an approving nod, and climbed into the… driver’s seat?  It only came up to the waist on them.  Or where Rube assumed their waist was.  They pulled on the reins, and they were off.

The frog-lizard-thing moved in long, bouncing strides, which just made Rube even more confused about what it actually was.  At least the jelly kept them all still, instead of rattling around and getting carsick.  But they couldn’t even move their arms.  It felt wrong.

They moved through the city, taking in more neon and glass and glitter, more corncob buildings, and more silver tree-people.  They went past a park filled with the kind of plants Rube usually associated with jungles, and across a bridge carved with animals she didn’t recognise.  They passed by little shops that looked as if they’d been hidden in the corners, and huge department stores with their windows packed with colours. 

Jeanette nodded towards her- probably the closest she could get to nudging her without her arms free.  “So…” she said, low enough to be mostly drowned out by the breeze, “I don’t think the Finerys are going to be very helpful.”

“We’ve got to give them a chance…” mumbled Rube.

“OK, but if they blow that chance, what’s our backup plan?”

Rube said nothing.  They seemed to be heading away from the city centre and towards the mountains.  Rube remembered the little army from Tavin Chapel, and frowned.

Sally looked from Rube to Jeanette.  “We could trick the Iridescences into capturing us so we can find Colwyn.”

“Sally!” hissed Rube.

Jeanette grinned.  “I was just going to say we should break in.”  She almost looked impressed.

Rube wanted to tell them to stop being ridiculous, but the sad thing was, she didn’t think they were.  The Finery family hadn’t exactly fallen over themselves to help them- they’d mostly just sighed at them until they’d made it clear that they weren’t going away.  But breaking into the Iridescences’ house?   Never mind the risk, how were they even meant to do it?  It wasn’t as if they were experts in breaking and entering even when they knew what kind of building they were dealing with.  Who knew if the Iridescence family’s place was even the same shape?

Jeanette took in Rube’s expression.  “I mean, I’m happy to be the one who actually does it.”

Rube sighed.  “No, I’m the oldest.  It should be me.”  It was about time she took responsibility for something.  She’d promised Mum that she’d keep an eye on Sally and Jeanette, but so far she’d just followed them around, feeling useless.

“Why can’t we all do it?” asked Sally, sounding a bit hard-done-by.

“We need someone on the outside,” said Jeanette.

“To do what?  Wait around here and probably get captured anyway?”

That was a good point- they didn’t know anywhere safe to wait around here.  And they couldn’t just send one person into the house while the other two went back to Dovecote Gardens, because how would the person inside ask them for help if they needed it?

Rube didn’t like it, but she couldn’t see any other options.  At the moment, they were safer in a group than they were apart.  “Alright.  We’ll all do it.  But not until after the Finerys try it their way.”  And there probably wasn’t much hope of that, so it looked like they were going in. 

For some reason, Rube thought about the Three Musketeers.  All for one and one for all.

(To be continued)