The Future's Mine (7 page)

‘Don’t ever let me catch you speaking to me like that again, do you understand me, boy?’

The Mayor emphasised every single word slowly, so as to make sure his intentions were understood. I saw Noah grit his teeth.

‘Yes, Sir.’

‘You know I can’t fire you but I can make your life a living hell. You’ll wish you had never been born. Nor your family.
You know what I mean.
Understood?’

‘Yes, Sir.’

He thrust his finger at me. ‘And make sure she suffers.’

‘I will.’

Then, amazingly, the Mayor stood aside. I never expected him to give in so easily. A little flip of hope jumped in my chest and I allowed myself to be led by Noah like a cow being led by a ring through its nose.

Hysterical screaming drifted out of the Complex and across the courtyard to the Great Hall. There was a sound of pounding feet, more than one pair, running down the stone corridor of the Complex. They slapped with cold, flat thuds that sounded like a death toll. My joy at averting disaster turned to despair as I saw Flora hurtling through the glass doors and launch herself at the Mayor. The musicians stopped playing. The Metropolites backed away as the Mayor tried in vain to bat away the frenzied creature that clung to his clothes and clawed at his eyes.

Perkins, leading an army of Parrots, burst into the room and threw himself into the fray, receiving a vicious kick to the chest from Flora as she cried ‘Noah! Noah! Help me!’

The Mayor, receiving a brief respite as Flora wrestled Perkins, looked at Noah in shock. ‘
You
let her out? You don’t know what she’s capable of! You don’t know what she’ll start! My own assistant! We had a deal! You’ll pay for this, you bastard, but not before she does.’

The Mayor roared with fury and charged at Noah who lightly sprung out of his way.

‘Run! Go!’ Noah yelled at me as he launched himself at Perkins, trying to prise him off Flora, who was writhing on the ground.

Survival and evasion. My speciality. This is what Matthias had taught me to do. My brain kicked into automatic and I sprinted for the glass doors.

‘Stop her!’ the Mayor bellowed as a handful of Parrots began to yank the doors closed, sealing off my escape. I grabbed a chair and charged at them with the legs pointed outwards. I hit the first Parrot and he toppled backwards, knocking the others down like dominos, but it was too late. Twenty other Parrots rushed towards the Hall from the Complex, like army ants defending their nest. I skidded to a halt and wiped away the sweat that had started to bead on my neck. I’d have to find another way out.

I dropped the chair and leapt onto the dining table. Running down the centre of it, I kicked off plates, glasses, and dishes, aiming at the Parrots and the Metropolites who cowered behind the little boy in the ruff and his harp. The sounds of smashing objects joined together in a cacophonous riot that made my head pound. Oh dear, I don’t think Brigadus made a very good impression on the Metropolites. This would only further confirm their suspicions that we were savages. The thought filled me with glee.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that the serving girls had happily grabbed serving implements and were swinging them with such joy at the Parrots that they seemed unconcerned about the repercussions. I even witnessed our tutor Sal engaging in her own brand of rebellion when she threw a slippery fish under the feet of a passing Parrot and then added, ‘Oh my, it seems you’ve slipped.’ My heart swelled as I realised that we might actually win this. I might actually escape.

My eyes found Noah. He was trying to fight the Parrots off Flora but he had been backed into a corner. I hesitated for a moment, wondering whether I should risk helping him. After all, he’d helped me. But the moment’s pause cost me.

There was a swipe at my ankle and I crashed down onto the table. Pain shot through my back. ‘What the – ’

 I felt myself being yanked from the table onto the ground with such force that I thought my ankle had disconnected from my leg. My head hit the hard gold rim of the table and I saw colours and patterns bloom in my sight. I touched the back of my head. A hot, sticky puddle of blood was seeping over my hair. An unrelenting boot to my shoulder, then to my legs, kicked me under the table. I tried to roll away further under the table but my resistance waned as the colours and stars returned at every movement I made.

There was a heavy panting close to my ear and a bead of someone else’s sweat fell on my cheek.

‘I’ve got you now.’ His beery breath was so heavy and pungent that it settled around me like fog. ‘No audience, no escape, no chance.’ He laughed. 

Chapter Ten

The Mayor was kneeling next to me under the table, trying to cram his bulk into the small space. ‘No need for confinement, we’ll just finish this here, where no-one can see. They won’t know it was me.’

Then he stopped himself and laughed again. ‘Although, it wouldn’t matter if they did know it was me; what can they do? Who can stop me?
Unforgivable, what you did
. They’ll only find you under here when they come to clear up tomorrow. No-one makes a fool of me. I’m the Mayor. Do you know what that means? It means I’m better than you in every way. It means I’m important. It means I’m respected –’

‘Ha! Like the Metropolites respect you, you mean?’

A burst of anger registered on his face and he grabbed my neck, easily encircling it with one hand. ‘
They do respect me. Everyone respects me.
’

 
I couldn’t stop myself from laughing, although I knew it was probably shortening my life span. ‘You sad old man. Look at you. Did you really think for one minute that those men saw you as their
equal
? You’re nothing but an unpleasant inconvenience for them; a fat, stupid bully who they can manipulate to do their dirty work so they keep their manicures clean.’

His hand closed tighter so that I struggled to breathe but I kept on going, unable to cork the stream of abuse that spouted from my mouth. ‘But you know what’s funny? What’s really,
really,
amusing? You actually believe that the people of Brigadus
respect
you!’

I laughed at the absurdity of it. ‘Here’s how much we respect you.’ And I spat in his face.

He roared and shook me by the neck like I was little more than a toy. The crushing pressure on my throat and the blood pulsing from my head sent me to a world of colours and sparkles that burst in front of my eyes as my body tried to get enough air to fight on. As I was being shaken about by his attack, the cold weight of metal registered against my thigh. The knife I had stolen from the kitchens!

I pulled it out and drove it deep into the flabby flesh of his upper arm, the only part of him that I could reach. He immediately dropped me with a yowl of agony and I rolled out from under the other side of the table. A surge of adrenalin took over any control I had over my thoughts and actions. I didn’t care about helping anyone else at that moment; I just needed to get out, needed to get back to Matthias, back to Edie and Aiden and back to our normal life of talking about rebellion from the safety of our boat. But after tonight I doubted that would ever happen. I’d stabbed the Mayor. I’d be hanging from the end of a rope tomorrow morning if I didn’t act quickly.

I took a running leap at the golden harp, which was placed next to one of the glass walls. It was enormous and looked as though it could easily weigh half a ton. It tilted forward with a groan but didn’t topple. I ran at it again, this time getting some purchase from the ground. I threw myself at it as hard as I could manage.

Slowly, agonisingly, the harp teetered and then toppled forward. It hit the glass wall. A resonating ting like a tuning fork reverberated through the glass, sending shockwaves of sound through the other crystal panes. For a moment, my heart stopped. The glass didn’t smash and silence descended as everyone stopped their battles to look at where the ominous sound came from.

What if the glass was shatter-proof?

Nausea threatened to take me captive when, suddenly, a large crack sprung from the place where the harp had hit the glass. The entire room watched the fault line spread quickly up the glass and give birth to other fractures which branched off onto other panes of glass, producing a criss-crossed road map of fissures. There was an odd noise, like the creaking of our wooden boat in a storm, a noise I would never have thought glass could make. The cracks spread to the glass ceiling, forming delicate hair-line fractures. My fingers fumbled to untie my apron and wrap it around my head. I knew what was coming.

The Parrots and the Metropolites stood dumbfounded, unable to move but I saw Noah and some of the more savvy serving girls inch towards the table, ready to dive under it and take shelter when the inevitable happened. Suddenly, there was a deathly silence; we all held our breaths.

A tiny shard of sparkling crystal popped out of the glass where the harp had hit it and musically tinkled to the ground.

And then it happened.

The entire pane imploded with a force that almost blew me off my feet. I clung to the harp, weathering the bombardment of sharp slices of crystal that cut my face and bare arms. There was an ominous cracking noise as other panes started to give way, pouring slithers of pain onto the guests and the Parrots. With relief, I saw that Noah, Flora, and Sal had taken shelter under the table. The Mayor was shoving Parrots out of the way to get to the door but his blood loss from the stab wound was slowing him down.

 I braced myself and sprinted through the waterfall of falling crystal that stood between myself and the outdoors. I leapt over the jagged edge of the shattered window and sprinted into the courtyard.

Trees, grass, fountains blurred in front of me as I ran towards the Complex with all the speed I could muster. I was out of control, like a runaway wagon; my legs were running away with me and I felt in danger of tripping head over heels but I couldn’t bring myself to stop. I threw a glance behind me and saw the beautiful crystal palace folding in on itself, like a toppling house made of cards. Each smashing pane triggered off the implosion of its neighbour. The noise was incredible, like the roaring of the ocean in a storm.

The shattering had knocked over some of the brass lamps onto the whiskey table. Fire was catching quickly, creating shadow monsters that were projected onto the walls of the Complex; looming demonic shapes that glowed red and slithered across the walls and transformed into a new demon with each shattering pane. I heard cries and coughs behind me. The Mayor, Perkins, a few other Parrots, and the Metropolites staggered through the doors, in a hailstorm of glass shards. The guests were using silver platters as shields. The Mayor looked as though he was wearing a red sleeve, so thick was the blood that flowed from the stab wound.

I hoped that Noah, Flora, and the other girls were safe under the heavy table and that the fire and smoke wouldn’t engulf them before they could get out. I could do no more for them. I had to run. I had to get out.

Sprinting for the door of the Complex, I tried to remember the pathway through the corridors, back to the outside world, where Matthias was waiting. I had no doubt that he had heard the commotion and was probably terrified of what was happening within. I could only hope that he wasn’t stupid enough to try to barge his way in – there’d be no chance we’d find each other in the maze of corridors and dead ends.

Feet running behind me – Perkins. I dived for the door and took an immediate right turn. I wasn’t moving quickly enough though. The tiny slashes from the glass on my face and arms were stinging; it was agony. My head wound was making me woozy, my arms and legs thick with fatigue. I felt hysteria start to take over and fought back tears with huge rasping sobs. Perkins followed close behind, his long strides making gains with every step.

I turned a corner and was confronted by a fork in the corridor which led to two dark passageways. One twisted to the right, the other to the left. Right or left? No time to decide. I took the right-hand fork and threw myself into a room about fifteen feet down the passageway, shutting the door just in time before I heard Perkins pound into range. I heard him skid to a stop.

‘Where are you?’ he called with menace in his voice. ‘I’ll find you.’

Sounds of more people running; one particularly heavy tread accompanied by the wheeze of someone unaccustomed to exercise. The Mayor.

‘Where is she?’ he demanded.

‘I’m … I’m not … She went down one of these corridors, but I’m not sure –’

The sound of a slap broke the tense silence, followed by a number of hard wallops that accompanied each word that the Mayor spoke. ‘When I ask you a question, I want a direct answer!’ The last word was given with a particularly vicious thump and I heard Perkins, that huge beast of a man, fall to the floor.

‘Yes, Sir.’

‘Now, answer me again. Which way did she go? And just be careful, be very careful, because what you’re about to tell me will determine whether we catch her and you get to live, or whether we lose her and you will feel what it’s like when I’m
really
angry.’

The man was a lunatic. He had taken the dive off the edge of the void into madness. Perkins was stunned into silence.

‘Speak, man!’ roared the Mayor.

‘Left! She went left! I’m sure I heard her go to the left.’

The Mayor laughed. ‘Well, boys, we’ve got her, because that leads directly back into the courtyard. You better pray that you’re right, for your own sake, Perkins. Come on!’

The pack took off down the left fork and I waited silently, crouched next to the coal pile in what I discovered was a small maintenance cupboard.

I settled in next to the brooms and forced down the sobs that hatched in my chest. My hands shook as I felt the back of my head. My hair had matted to the wound in a wet clump. But I needed to wait until I could be certain that the coast was clear before I attempted to move. I’d wait all night if I had to. Surely they’d give up the search in a couple of hours; assumed I’d somehow defeated the odds and escaped? I prayed that Matthias would have enough sense not to come looking. This was my mess and I couldn’t risk both of us being caught. Who would look after Edie, Aiden, and Matthias’s grandmother then? No. This was my fault and I’d have to find a way out on my own.

I began preparing for a long wait. I found some clean cloths used for buffing silver and made a makeshift bandage to cover my head wound. I tipped a tiny amount of antibacterial cleaner I found onto another cloth and began pulling out fragments of glass that had embedded themselves in my arms. It was sore, stinging work but I was soon engrossed in the task. As I watched the little pile of crystals grow, I forgot about the danger I was in. I was so absorbed with the job that I didn’t hear the soft footsteps until it was too late.

The door creaked open and I cowered back into the corner amongst the brooms. ‘Shh,’ said a voice. The owner of the voice immediately stepped in and shut the door.

‘Who –?’ I began.

‘Be quiet, it’s Noah.’

‘Noah! How did you get out? Are the others all right; Flora?’

‘No time to talk now. You have to leave. It won’t be long before they find you as easily as I did.’

‘How did you find me?’

I could see his grim smile in the darkness. ‘You’ve left a trail.’

‘A trail?’

‘Blood. From your head.’ His voice softened. ‘Does it hurt?’

‘Not much.’ I shrugged, casually.

It was agonizing. He smiled again, as if he knew that I was all bravado but he did not challenge me on it.

‘I’ll get you out.’ Then he added in a deliberately offhand manner, ‘I assume that boy I always see you with is in on this, too?’

I looked at him but he averted his gaze, as though he had been caught out spying. ‘Matthias, yes. He’s waiting at the bottom of the rubbish chute. We were going to steal the food.’

‘I thought as much. I knew you weren’t the servile type when I first saw you.’

‘How did you … when did you first see me? Us, I mean. Me and Matthias? Where did –’

‘Look, there’s no time to talk now but let’s just say I’m a lot more observant than you are and you’re a lot less careful than you think. Come on.’ He grabbed my hand and hauled me to my feet.

We ran as silently as hunters through the corridors until we neared the kitchens. He steered us with a cool composure, always knowing when we had to duck into a doorway to avoid a running Parrot.

‘There’ll be people in the kitchens. I think the rubbish chute will be your best way out.’

I wrinkled my nose at the thought of sliding down the greasy, smelly chute but I knew he was right.

‘You come, too,’ I blurted out as I was preparing to jump down the chute. I reddened, wishing I could take it back. He looked at me with his sad blue eyes.

‘I can’t. Not yet. I’ve got to finish something.’

‘Your training? Forget that! Surely you don’t want to be a Parrot anyway? Not after tonight?’

‘
It’s not my training
. It’s something else. Something important. More important than you could ever imagine. Something that will change us all. I have to stay and work for the Mayor. For now, anyway.’

That intrigued me. ‘But you might not survive here after tonight, not after what you’ve done to the Mayor. At the very least you’ll be fired, but more likely you’ll be lucky to come out with your life.’

He laughed bitterly. ‘The Mayor won’t fire me. He can’t lay a finger on me.’

‘Why –?’

‘

!’ he cried. ‘Not here. I’ve seen you at Nora’s Tavern before. Meet me there at midnight tomorrow and I’ll explain everything. In the meantime, lay low.’ He squeezed my hands and a small smile unfurled on his lips. And then I slide down the chute into Matthias’s waiting arms.