Gilded Hearts (The Shadow Guild Series) (25 page)

Looking down the tunnel, Piper was faced with only darkness. William either must have an unerring sense of direction, or else the engineer was part mole.

“How long have these tunnels been here?” Her voice echoed as she spoke.

“Since before my arrival with the Sentry.” Samuel was barely paying attention to her, as he jerked one of the cult members away from the edge.

“They go beneath all of New London?” The idea of a secret network of tunnels beneath the city was fascinating. How many people knew about them? How would the citizens react if they knew they were here, something below even the old sewers and dungeons? Piper could see them quickly becoming a second city, a place where those affected most by the strong sun and increased radiation in the air could escape, live their lives as normally as one could beneath the surface. Yet the King’s Sentry did their best to keep this hidden.

“More secrets the king keeps from his people.” Constantine struggled in Timmons’ grasp, growling and spitting at the man. “These tunnels could be used. They could save lives, and yet they are kept hidden.”

“Shut up.” Timmons jerked him back. “How the hell could we police them? It would end up being ruled by the criminals. Or worse, be taken over by one of the guilds.”

Constantine’s men began to shout and fight against them. Piper watched helplessly as the men tried to pull away. One even tried to head-butt Dennison, though the archivist saw it coming. Withdrawing her knife, Piper turned her back to the tunnels and readied herself for a fight. If one of them got free, she would be ready.

The sound of gunfire rang through the tunnel and platform area. Shouts morphed into screams, the scent of blood sharp in the air. Piper didn’t know what she was seeing at first, the scene was so foreign to her. One moment Constantine was screaming and angry, the next pale and confused.

Blood soaked the front of his shirt, and for several seconds no one seemed to move. Then Constantine slipped to the floor, supported by Timmons, while Samuel and Dennison dragged the other men for cover.

“Move, Pip!”

Someone had shot him. Piper knew she needed to move, get to safety, but her body wouldn’t cooperate. Dear God, he was dying. Not an already lifeless body. Not an empty shell waiting for her to extract its essence. A man struggling to take his next breath, clinging to life.

Another shot rang out as a bullet zipped past her head. The close call sent her stumbling, landing on the platform a few inches from where Timmons held Constantine. Blood bubbled from the doctor’s mouth, his clothing now soaked with blood. She couldn’t hear him, her ears ringing from the shot that narrowly missed her, but she could see his lips move.

Don’t take me.

Another shot, this time bouncing off the platform several feet away. Timmons was shouting at her now as well, his voice little more than a muffled rumble. They were in danger, and she should be getting to shelter. Not that she cared. A man was dying and she didn’t know what to do to fix it. To stop it from happening. With all her knowledge and training, she was useless to him until he was dead.

Don’t take me.

He wouldn’t be given a choice about the extraction. The Guild Masters would insist upon it, needing to know everything Constantine did. He’d sealed his fate the moment he’d joined forces with the French and vowed to take down the Archives.

Don’t take me.

The panic on his face was clear. Piper wasn’t sure what terrified him more, the prospect of dying, or having his memories extracted. Another shot, more screams, and Constantine continued to hold her gaze as she began to distinguish the sounds around her once more.

“Don’t—”

“Pip!”

Samuel was pinned behind a steel girder, his gun drawn and eyes frantic. She should run to him, get to safety, but that would mean leaving Constantine to die on his own. It was cruel. When her time came she hoped she wouldn’t be alone. That someone would care enough to hold her hand and be with her while she drew her final breath.

Grabbing for him, Piper squeezed Constantine’s fingers. “I’m here.”

“D-d-don’t—” Another coughing fit brought up another wave of blood. “Don’t—”

“I won’t. I won’t let them do it.”

His thanks were clear, even as the light went out of his eyes. The last hiss of his breath was nearly lost as a hail of gunfire blasted from Samuel and Dennison. Timmons grabbed her by the arm and yanked her to safety.

She’d lied to him as she watched him die. The fleeting contact between them still lingered on her skin, tingling as numbness rolled through her.

“Stay back.” Timmons used his body as a shield, returning fire. “How the hell did he get in here?”

Piper couldn’t imagine, but someone clearly knew the King’s Sentry’s secret. A man moved along the bottom of the platform, a large black hat barely visible as he moved. Piper watched as he blindly shot at them, no longer seeming to care where the shots landed now that his apparent target was dead.

“Jack!” Samuel’s shout rose above the cacophony. “Jack!”

A noise, an inhuman screech, was the only response before Jack raced back into the tunnel. Samuel bolted to follow. She couldn’t let him face this demon alone, the monster the Guild Masters had made. Ignoring Timmons, she joined Samuel at the edge of the platform in time to see Jack jump onto the back of a skid. A blast of steam, and the single rider machine disappeared so quickly into the dark there was no time to react.

“He’s gone.” Her throat hurt as tears filled her eyes. “Both of them.”

Samuel continued to stare into the dark. “What were you thinking?” His voice was quiet, but she heard every note of his fear and anger.

“I was thinking no one deserved to die alone.”

“At the expense of your own
life
?”

“Yes.”

His hands twitched at his side. “We need to get the body upstairs.”

“He didn’t want his memories extracted.”

“Too bad. He should have thought about that before committing treason.”

“I think working with the French alliance was little more than a means to an end. He truly believed that the Archivists were collecting souls and that the king was using them for his own purposes.”

Samuel finally turned to face her. “Again, too fucking bad. We need to know what he knew. We need to stop Jack before he kills again.”

There was no doubt on his face. Nothing to indicate he had any issues with what he proposed. How quickly things had changed. “It’s wrong, Sam.”

“Of course it’s wrong. It won’t get right until we can stop Jack. The only way we can expose everything, force the guild’s hand, and wake up the population to the atrocities occurring under their fucking noses is to find Jack and shove him in front of them.”

No. Oh, God, no.
“You’ll cause a riot. If people know about Jack, who he is—”

“We won’t have to close the Archives. The people of New London will.”

Rage filled every pore and cell in Samuel’s body. Not only had he let his guard down and let a man die in his custody, but Piper was nearly shot and Jack managed to get away. What the hell kind of King’s Sentry did that make him?

Timmons agreed to stay with the body while he and Dennison put the rest of the cult members into holding cells. Piper trailed along behind him, pale and shaking. Shit, he hadn’t meant to say what he had about exposing Jack and the Archives, even if it was exactly what he wanted to do.

He wasn’t surprised that the remainder of the cult members didn’t put up a struggle. Seeing their leader shot down by his hired dog obviously brought the reality of the situation to light. Jack was mad—none of them were safe.

The cell door clanked shut and the lock scraped into place. “We’ll be back to interrogate you all later.”

Dennison had remained unusually quiet through the hour after Constantine’s death. Samuel knew the younger man would be struggling with his own part in the events, questioning his place with the guild. It was the inevitable fallout of having such a raw wound exposed.

“Sergeant!” The trio stopped while one of the runners bolted down the hall toward them. “Sergeant Hawkins.”

“Yes, Boyd.”

“There was additional body reported while you were gone, sir.” He handed over a message tube. “Another prostitute. A witness came across the woman out in the street, bleeding and running. The report from the constable on site said it looked like the killer may have been interrupted and fled after stabbing her. She’s been identified as Catherine Eddowes and was found in her home. She was killed sometime in the night, but her body wasn’t found until this morning.”

“Dammit.” Samuel read over the report, noting that Jack’s attacks were increasing in brutality. “Has she been brought to the morgue?”

“Yes, sir.”

All this knowledge and they still couldn’t stop him. “Thank you, Boyd.”

The insanity was getting to be too much, the killings coming too fast and furious. They had to do something drastic to stop Jack before he killed again.

Dennison grabbed Samuel by the arm. “What are you going to do?”

Short of killing Jack, he hadn’t a clue. “We need to set a trap. Lure him out into the open so we can grab him. The question is, what would be strong enough bait to convince him to take the risk in exposing himself?”

“He’s fixated on you.” Dennison released his hold. “If you made a statement to the press, let slip a location where you plan to be, it might be enough.”

Piper shook her head. “No.”

“Miss Smith, please. I know you have a fondness for Hawkins, but this is his duty.”

“You misunderstand. No, it wouldn’t be enough to draw him. He’s obsessed with Sam, but not in the way he is with killing these women. He’s tying up the loose ends, completing the mission that his savior Constantine gave him, even if it meant killing Constantine to get the job done. Jack won’t stop until they are all dead.”

Before he had a chance to process what she’d said, Piper turned and marched back down the hall to where the cult members were being held. The damn woman was going to get herself killed. His chest still throbbed with the pain of being forced to sit and watch as Jack had fired his gun at her. It was nothing short of a miracle that she hadn’t been hit by one of his wild shots.

“Pip!” His growl shook through him, propelling him forward. “I swear she’s going to be the death of me.”

“You and me both.”

They reached the cells as Piper banged on the front. “Hey.”

The men inside ignored her, but it was clear from the way in which they were purposely looking everywhere but at her that she had their attention.

“How many women did Constantine bring out for you? How many had been with members of your group?”

The oldest looking of the group let out a snort. “And why the ’ell should we tell ya anythin’?”

“Because if you don’t we’ll be using you as bait for Jack.” Samuel smiled at their disbelieving looks. “What, you think I wouldn’t sacrifice you to stop him? You think the people of New London will show remorse for a group of men who intended to open them up to attacks from the French alliance?”

The older man pointed at his companions. “Not a word, lads.”

Clearly, there was no honor among traitors, as the one closest to the door gave Samuel a pointed look. It only took a second to unlock the door and haul him out. “Talk.”

“You bastard, don’t say a fucking word.”

The man swallowed hard, moving to stand against the opposite wall from the cell. “There were five women. We, er… used them, their services, over the past few months. The doctor told us we’d yapped too much and them ladies had to be put down. He sent Mad Jack to deal with ’em.”

Five women—four bodies.

Piper straightened to her full height and stepped in close. With her eyes wide, there was no hiding the thick white bands in her irises. “Do you know their names?”

The man swallowed hard, nodding sharply. “Yes, ma’am. There was Lizzie, I mean Elizabeth. She was a bit sweet on me. And them two Marys, and Annie and Cathy.”

“Two Marys?”
Shit
. He tried to see if there was any recognition with Piper, some sign that David’s memory wipe wasn’t as permanent as the guild’s and she remembered Annie. But there wasn’t a twitch on her part, nothing to indicate a return to the madness.

“Yes, sir. Mary Kelly and Mary Nichols.”

Another Mary. One final target and opportunity to catch Jack.

Because Samuel had no doubt that once these women were dead Jack would disappear and the killings would go unanswered.

He put the man into a separate cell and once again found himself chasing after Piper as she marched from the prison level. The air on the main level of the Tower was cleaner, making it easier for him to catch a breath. Piper hadn’t said anything else to him since they emerged, which was little comfort. It meant she was planning something.

The evening air was warm, bringing with it the scent of decay. Samuel had begun to lose track of time, the hours seemingly blending into days. Dennison had disappeared while he was debriefing his superiors about the events in the tunnels. Constantine’s body would need to be processed and his thoughts retrieved. Piper remained silent throughout the proceedings until they stepped out onto the cobblestone walkway. Her fingers brushed his, but she made no move to entwine them.

“I have a proposal for you.” Her thumb brushed along the back of his knuckles. “But I know you’re not going to approve.”

A group of drunks approached, but they stepped out onto the road when they caught sight of Piper. She didn’t even seem to notice, which disturbed Samuel more than it should have. The call of a night merchant chased them as they made their way down the still busy street. Fewer carts and vendors were out than normal in this part of New London. No doubt many were scared to catch the eye of Jack the Ripper. Blasted papers. By sensationalizing the attacks they gave power to Jack and encouraged others to kill in his name.

Piper turned her face to look at the wares of a small boy. The odd assortment of knick-knacks were little more than scavenged bits, worthless to most. Piper paused to peruse the contents. “It’s something I’ve given a great deal of thought to, so I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t dismiss it out of turn, or because you didn’t think of it first.”

“I rarely like others’ ideas, but I will try to keep an open mind.”

“That’s all I ask. Oh, this is beautiful.”

The boy hadn’t spoken, his wide stare fixed on Piper’s eyes. She couldn’t have been blind to the reaction, even as she picked up a small cog to examine. It was an intricate little piece and at one time would have fetched top coin from a skilled clockwerker. But with the metal now tarnished and worn, it wouldn’t be safe to install it into even the most basic of machines. It would fetch more as scrap, but these street boys could never collect enough metal at a time to sell to the scrapyards, who rarely bothered with lots smaller than a hundredweight. Without saying a word, Piper pressed a copper to the center of the boy’s palm, pocketed the cog, and continued on her way.

“Piper?”

“There is one woman left. Another Mary.”

It was only a matter of time before she’d circle back around. “The men are out looking for her now. Don’t worry, we’ll find her before Jack does.”

He’d rather be out there with them, searching the streets looking for the woman in question, but he knew Piper would want to come as well. With everything they’d been through in the last few days, her two extractions and mind wipes, he wanted nothing more than to wrap her up and drag her back to bed, not take her on a hunt through the most unsavory parts of New London.

He stopped midstride. He’d been expecting this since Piper’s earlier objection to using Sam as bait. “We don’t dangle potential victims in harm’s way. We’re looking for her to save her, not to throw her life away.” The crowd thinned out, leaving them face to face and mostly alone. The white bands of her irises appeared to glow in the setting light, turning the surrounding brown to gold and giving her an otherworldly appearance. She was beautiful and terrifying, life and death melded together.

She touched her goggles, which were dangling impotently around her neck. “I don’t mean to put her in danger. I’m not suggesting we send her out on the street and hope for an attack. We simply need to let her location slip once we have her safely in custody, let Jack come where we will already be waiting. Nothing fancy or obvious to throw him off. We use only a few people we can trust, and spring the trap the moment he makes a move.”

It made sense, something he could convince his superiors to go along with. “I know a good location we could use. An apartment one of my contacts in the underground maintains in Whitechapel. It shouldn’t alarm Jack to any plots and we will be able to control the area, protect Mary.”

“Mary doesn’t even need to be there, as long as Jack thinks she’s there. She can be kept absolutely safe.”

“Jack will know it’s a setup though. We’ll have to have a woman in the building, or else he may not show.” Piper continued to speak as she withdrew the cog from her pocket and placed it in his hand. “All the pieces will need to be in place if this is going to work.”

Samuel didn’t need her to say the words to understand what she wanted. “It’s not going to be you, Pip.”

“It’s the only thing that makes sense. I know Jack and what he is capable of.”

No. He couldn’t let her do this, would never be able to live with himself if anything happened to her. Jack was unpredictable, and despite believing they could bring him down, Samuel wouldn’t bet Piper’s life on it.

“There’s a better way. We’ll discuss it in the morning.”

“This isn’t going to go away just because you don’t like the answer.”

Piper wasn’t pleading, not yet. He knew that tone, having been on the receiving end more than once. She was speaking to him as she would an apprentice, a child who needed to be instructed in the ways of reason and logic.

He didn’t have the luxury for either.

“There is always a better solution. We simply need to work it out. We can get one of the younger lads, put him in a dress, and coach him to play Mary’s part.”

Piper closed her hand over his, pressing the edges of the cog into his palm. “We’ll only have one shot at this. If we don’t take Jack out then, he’ll disappear and find another way to get Mary. Or worse, we’ll never find him again.”

“I won’t have you be a part of this.” No, he couldn’t bring Jack and Piper together. Jack would find a way to use her against him. If it came to that, Samuel knew there was nothing he wouldn’t do to save her life. He couldn’t allow himself to be put into that position.

“I’m not under your command, Sam. You can’t stop me.”

“Yes, I can.”

It wasn’t any easier to walk away from her this time, but he knew he could do it. Leaving to keep her safe was never something he’d regret.

“You are such a coward, Samuel Hawkins!”

He spun around and marched back. “Don’t you dare! I’ve faced more hell in my life than most. I’ve had to chase down criminals who’d undergone body augmentations that nearly killed me from shock just to look at, not to mention the fact that their owners were also trying to kill me in the usual ways. Don’t you stand there and tell me I’m a coward.”

Her hair had come loose and was blowing wild around her head. “Then explain why every time you don’t like something, you run away?”

Her words were like a punch to the gut. He swallowed down the bile and forced his fist to loosen. “What?”

“You ran away from the Archives. You ran from the Guild Masters. You ran from
me
.” Unshed tears filled her eyes. “I’d always been there for you, Sam. You used to talk to me, tell me things you would never say to the others. I trusted you with my secrets. Every time we were alone, I spoke the truth to you.”

“Pip…” But what could he say? She was right.

More than once since he’d left, Samuel had gone over her confessions. How she wanted to make Master Ryerson happy so maybe he’d care about her. How she wanted nothing more than to find someone to love her for who she was, despite her commitment to the Archives. When she had nightmares, she’d tell him every detail, needing to be pressed against his side. Samuel had only shared the barest of his hopes and dreams. He hadn’t wanted to frighten her away and lose his only friend.