Rise of the Darklings (27 page)

A
n evening fog was forming, creeping through the streets and casting everything in a shadowy yellow half-light that made Emily wonder if they really had escaped the Faerie Queen.

Emily kept hold of William’s hand. They hadn’t stopped walking since they’d left the garden, and she didn’t plan on stopping until she saw something, anything, that showed her she was back in her own familiar world.

Except that her world would never be familiar again. Her world would never make
sense
again. What had the voice meant by saying the debt was repaid? What debt? And how had it known her name? It was yet another in a long list of things that she didn’t understand, things that implied she
had more to do with events than she actually did. Everything the Queen had said about Emily causing harm to the fey, about being a pest to them—how? She hadn’t even known about them until yesterday morning.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Corrigan, giving her hair a sharp tweak.

“We’re far enough away,” he said. “They won’t find us for the moment.”

For the moment.

Emily ignored Corrigan, pulling William through a mews that led to a dark, misty street. Jack followed, lost in his own thoughts. She heard sounds of life somewhere to her right, a fiddle playing a drunken tune, the crash of something breaking, then the roar of laughter. Familiar sounds.
Human
sounds.

She let go of William’s hand and shrugged her shoulders.

“Off,” she said to Corrigan.

“Off? We still have to—”

“I said
off
. Now.”

After a moment, Corrigan climbed down her back, muttering beneath his breath. He looked so small standing there in the hazy half-light, Emily thought. She steeled herself.

“Now go.”

Corrigan didn’t say anything for a moment. “Go where?”

“I don’t care. Just leave me alone. I never want to see you again.”

Jack looked between Emily and Corrigan, confused. “Snow? What’s going on?”

“He betrayed us, Jack. They all did. The whole thing was a trick.”

“What?”

“It was the Queen who kidnapped William. Or at least, she ordered it. They pretended it was the Unseelie so I would get the stone, hoping they’d use it to find Will. But they just wanted the stone for themselves.”

Jack turned to Corrigan. “And he knew all the time?”

“Yes.”

“But I rescued you!” said Corrigan. “I thought you’d forgiven me.”

“Forgiven
you?” Emily took a deep, steadying breath. She wouldn’t let Corrigan see her tears. “You lied to me. You tricked me. You kidnapped my brother. We could have been killed! Everything about you from the time I saved your life has been a lie.” She paused, a thought suddenly occurring to her. “Or was that part of the lie, as well? Was the fight in the alley a show, put on for my benefit?”

“No! That was real. Emily, what did you expect me to do? She is the Queen. You saw her. You saw the Dark Man. You don’t betray the Queen. Not if you value your life.”

“No,” said Emily softly. “You just betray everyone else.”

“I had no choice!”

“You always have a choice. I’m twelve, and even I know that. How old did you say you were again?”

Corrigan ignored the question. “She’ll send the Dark Man after you, Emily. You need my help.”

“Your help? Look where your help has gotten me so far. Just get out of my sight.”

Corrigan didn’t move. Jack pulled out his rusty knife and took a threatening step forward. “You heard her. Get lost!”

Corrigan gave him a contemptuous look but didn’t budge. Emily grabbed William’s hand and turned away, stalking silently along the street. Jack spat on the pavement next to Corrigan, then hurried after them. Emily looked back once and wished she hadn’t. He looked so lost, standing there in the fog, fear clearly visible in his eyes. Emily hesitated. Maybe he was telling the truth. And if he was, what would the Queen do to him for helping her escape?

“Emily?”

She looked down at William.

“Can we go? I really don’t like it here.”

Emily steeled herself and kept walking. She had made the right decision. She couldn’t trust Corrigan. She had no way of knowing whose side he was really on.

After a few more steps, she turned one final time. The fog had swallowed Corrigan up, as if he had never been there.

It took them an hour to reach Somerset House, but it seemed far longer. Every time she turned a corner, Emily expected the Dark Man to be waiting for her. But all she saw was the normal, everyday life that was London: A lone coffee seller shivering by his pot. A fight spilling out of a pub, which they had to cross the street to avoid. Young children tumbling and somersaulting in the street to impress some theatergoers. It was the kind of thing she was used to seeing, and it should have been a comfort.

But it wasn’t. Everything had changed. It was as if she were watching her old world from a distance, or through a window she couldn’t open. It was there, same as always, but removed from her in a way that made her incredibly lonely.

Except, she wasn’t
quite
alone.

“What’s your plan?” asked Jack as they emerged from a side street and stopped opposite Somerset House.

What
was
her plan? She had been thinking about it ever since they escaped. All she knew was that before she did anything else, she had to get William to safety. That was her main concern. If the Queen thought Emily had lied about the riddle, she wouldn’t rest until Emily was her prisoner again. If William was safely hidden away, then at least the Queen couldn’t use him against her. But once William was
safe? What then? What would happen tomorrow? Or the next day?

Should she arrange passage out of London for the two of them? She didn’t really want to do that. London was her home. Why should she be forced to run because of the Queen? No, leaving London was a last resort. There had to be another way to deal with the Queen.

She leaned close to Jack. “The main thing is to get William to safety,” she whispered, careful that her brother didn’t hear. He hated being treated like a child, and he would definitely have something to say about going into hiding. She still wasn’t sure how she would break it to him.

“What makes you think he’ll be safe here?” said Jack softly.

“Corrigan said they haven’t been able to get inside the Invisible Order for two hundred years. Too much iron. It’s the best place for him.”

“What about Ravenhill?”

“I reckon he’ll be out looking for the stone,” said Emily. “If not, we’ll just find an old office or something to hide him in.”

Jack thought about this, then nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

“Is the boat still there?”

Jack added, “At the bottom of the stairs. Tied it up when I made my escape.”

They crossed the street, retracing the steps they had taken
the previous night. The fog was so thick now that they almost missed the alley opening. She led William blindly down the lane and finally bumped up against the metal railings. She groped along until they reached the steps leading down to the Thames.

She could hear the water lapping sluggishly against the wall. Once again, the smell was almost overpowering: a mixture of sewage, rotting food, and the putrid stench of something that had died.

They descended the steps. The water lapped gently against the stone, leaving behind a dirty scum that clung tenaciously to the stairs. It was almost as if the river was trying to claw free of its ancient banks, trying to escape the rubbish that now fouled its waters. Emily didn’t blame it.

Jack helped William into the boat. Emily was about to follow when she slipped on the step. One foot plunged into the water, and Jack lunged forward to grab her arm. She smiled nervously at him and climbed carefully aboard, taking her seat on the bench next to William.

Jack followed and took up the oars.

Three miles away, the Thames swirled and eddied around the barnacle-covered hull of a steamer. Ripples spread out from the large, silent ship, forming tiny whirlpools that
skated slowly across the water. The whirlpools grew in size, then joined together to form two deep depressions in the river.

Two heads rose slowly out of the black holes.

Black Annis raised her head to the fog and sniffed deeply.

“She’s in our water, Jenny. I can taste her. Disgusting little child.”

Jenny Greenteeth smiled. “We’ll get her this time, Miss Annis. You see if we don’t.”

“And our debt to the Dagda will finally be paid.”

Jack guided the boat up to the pier, and they all climbed out and hurried to the door of Somerset House.

Emily hesitantly touched the handle, carefully pushing it down. She heard a click, and then the door swung slowly inward. She had been worried about Jack “fixing” the lock to keep it open, but it seemed he had done his job properly.

They retraced their steps through the building. The doors whose locks Jack had picked were still open. Up ahead, she saw the door leading into the Invisible Order’s headquarters. This was where their luck had nearly run out the previous night. She quickened her steps, dragging William behind her.

It seemed their luck was to stay the same. The door was locked.

Emily stared at the handle, then tried it again in case she was mistaken. She supposed it made sense. This was the door that led into the offices of the Invisible Order. They wouldn’t just leave it unlocked. There was too much they needed to keep hidden.

“Emily? What’s wrong?” asked William.

Emily locked eyes with Jack. He shook his head. “Don’t have my tools,” he said. “The fey made me drop them when they caught me trying to get into the garden.”

Emily knelt in front of William, trying to look calm. “Nothing’s wrong. We just have to find another way in, that’s all.”

There was a clicking sound from behind her. Emily spun around, her throat tight with fear, and found herself looking into the surprised face of Sebastian, the young man she had tricked into showing her the way out.