The Return of the Witch (39 page)

“Run, Nipper!” I screamed. “Run!”

The child did as he was bid, tearing away into the blackness of the passage with the fleetness of foot only children are gifted with. I summoned a forceful blow and rid myself of my own attacker, but two more immediately strode toward me. I stirred up a miniature whirlwind, which whipped up the dust of ages that lay around us, temporarily blinding everyone.

“Elizabeth!” Erasmus snatched my hand and dragged me away. “Come! We must leave now.”

“But we have to go on…”

“This is not effective. We will be no use to Tegan dead.”

Together we ran back the way we had come and then dashed up a tiny side tunnel where we stopped, trying to silence our noisy breathing as the guards came searching for us. We were pressed up against each other in the cramped space. There was no light at all. I could not see Erasmus's face, but I could feel his breath against my cheek.

“Elizabeth,” he whispered, “you have to go after Nipper. Now that we know where Tegan is being kept he may be able to find another way in. Can you manage without a lamp?”

“Yes. I can sense my way without too much trouble. And Nipper is so frightened I should be able to sense him, too. But what will you do?”

He was about to answer when heavy footsteps came close. He put his finger to my lips to warn me to keep silent. With a stealth and a lightness that I was coming to recognize as his habit, Erasmus moved away from me and back toward the main tunnel. Whoever was approaching had a lamp and its unsteady light preceded him. The man walked forward warily, coming to a sharp halt when he found Erasmus standing before him.

“I think you should be on your way,” Erasmus told him.

“Go to hell!” the man yelled, and with that he dropped the lantern, raised a dagger, and threw himself at Erasmus. The thug was hefty and strong but far too slow to cause Erasmus any trouble. By the time the henchman had brought down his blade, Erasmus had sidestepped him and drawn his own knife across his assailant's throat in one swift, clean movement. The man gasped, dropped his dagger, and clutched at his throat. The lamplight showed dark streams pouring from between his fingers. Erasmus caught him as he sank to the ground, finally lowering him onto the grimy floor.

“I fear it is you who will be making that particular journey,” he said softly. He looked up at me, the other man's blood staining his jacket, his eyes wild, and I saw, not for the first time, that this was no ordinary man. He might present a bookish face to the world, but a Time Stepper faces danger frequently, and each must learn his own way of surviving it. Erasmus was not a man to cross.

“Elizabeth, go now.”

“What about you?”

“I will find you,” he told me, wiping his knife on his sleeve. “But first, there is work to be done. We could not force our way past such a number of rogues. I will fight these wretches one at a time.”

I watched him take the lamp and set off up the tunnel at a run. I felt a fleeting moment of pity for those he was in pursuit of, but more than that, I experienced a flash of fear that he himself might come to harm. My heart constricted at the thought, but I had not time to dwell on how much Erasmus had come to mean to me. Checking that the passageway was clear, I focused my thoughts on Nipper, and detected a faint but unmistakable trace. Hitching up my skirts, I ran in search of him.

 

26

The twins burst into my cell in high spirits. The change in their mood was as disturbing as it was unexpected. What did they have to be so chipper about? They were both dressed up to the nines in fancy white summer dresses, all frothy with lace, flowers in their hair, which was half piled up on their heads, and half flowing.

“Here we are!” Lucrecia practically skipped across the room. “A special dress for a special day,” she announced, holding up a new outfit for me. She and her sister were entirely taken up with the loveliness of our clothes, and chatted on about how beautiful the gowns were. All I could think was
They are taking me out!

Florencia smiled at me. “Do you like my ribbons? Look, they are periwinkle blue, like the flowers in my hair. I chose these for you.” From her pocket she took two lengths of rose red ribbon and a comb. “I shall do your hair.” She lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “Lucrecia would pull so hard your eyes would water!”

Florencia's rivalry with her sister, and the way she had to put up with being the underdog all the time, was causing a tiny fracture in their bond. It was so small as to be easily missed, but it was all I had to work with. I had to make the most of it.

“Thank you!” I whispered back, and then submitted to her pretty expert hairdressing skills. Her sister, meanwhile, helped me to dress. My own gown was also white, though slightly less fussy. The skirts and petticoats were lacy, but the bodice was more about shape than decoration. Someone had made an accurate guess about my size, though I had been losing weight since being held captive. Lucrecia stood behind me and tugged mercilessly on the corset ties.

“It has to be right,” she puffed. “You have to look your very best.”

“I feel like a bride in this,” I said.

Both girls stopped what they were doing, just for a second, and then continued without commenting on what I had said. I felt my uneasiness increase.

“Where are we going?” I asked. “What is so special about today that we have to get all dressed up?”

Lucrecia stooped to help me into my smart leather boots. “We are going to have a picnic!”

“On the river!” her sister said.

“There will be musicians,” Lucrecia went on. “It will be such a beautiful occasion. We all must look our very best.”

“For Gideon, I'm guessing.” When they didn't bite I tried again. “He will be there, won't he? I mean, you wouldn't waste all this dressing up on just anyone.”

“Of course he will be with us,” said Lucrecia, lacing my boots with such ferocity I was very glad she wasn't doing my hair. “Everything we do is for him. All for him. Always.”

I studied Florencia's expression. She was working hard to give nothing away, but clearly all was not happiness and rainbows among the weird little trio. I felt my heart beating hard against the unyielding corset. I would have to time any attempt at an escape very carefully. If I was going to be out in daylight on a riverboat, by the sounds of it, my magic would start to return, assuming Gideon did nothing to subdue it again by using a spell of his own. As soon as I felt I had enough strength I would have to seize my chance. No doubt Gideon would be expecting me to try something. I had to play any advantage I could find, and Florencia might just make the crucial difference.

“You were right about that blue,” I whispered to her. “It really suits you.”

She gave a shy smile. Lucrecia snatched the brush out of her hand.

“That will have to do, or we shall be late. Now,” she said, giving me a seriously haughty look, “I do hope you will behave properly. It won't do any good at all if you cause a fuss or commotion. Just do as you are told and it will all be much easier.”

“For who?” I asked. “For Gideon, certainly. For you two, possibly. But I doubt it will be good for me, will it? Whatever he has planned, he doesn't care about what happens to any of us.”

“Hush, now. You don't know what you are talking about. Gideon rewards loyalty.”

“Perhaps. For as long as it suits him. And anyway, he will never give you what you're hoping for. He will never love you, Lucrecia.”

“Be quiet! It is not for us to think such things. He will do what he wishes…”

“And what about what you wish for? Because the truth is you are waiting for him to choose you, over everyone else. But why would he? Really, think about it. He wanted Elizabeth and when she rejected him it drove him half mad. He pretended to want me. Whatever he has in store for me, it's not happily ever after with him! He could have taken you as his bride or his lover any time he wanted, but he hasn't. Why is that, d'you think? Maybe he prefers someone else, and when the time is right, he'll just get rid of you without a second thought.”

“Shut up! Shut up!” Lucrecia shrieked, and coiled her hair into a thick rope, which she used to whip me hard across my face.

The pain was intense, and I clutched at my cheek. The skin was not broken, but I could feel an angry welt forming.

“Lucrecia!” Her sister put a restraining hand on her shoulder. “You shouldn't have done that! Look at her face now. He told us she must be perfect. He will be angry with you.”

“I will tell him she attacked me! That I was forced to defend myself.”

Florencia replied in a small, calm voice, “But that is not what happened, is it?”

There was a moment when the air crackled between the girls. Lucrecia's hair began to coil and twist like a nest of serpents about to be let loose. She seemed to be weighing her options. At last she marched toward the door, saying, “We have not time for disagreement. Come now, bring her along quickly.”

I felt real excitement as they took me out of my grotty prison. I discovered that on the other side of the door lay a series of tunnels, still giving me no clue as to where we were. We needed a lamp to be able to see and walked for a full fifteen minutes before some chinks of daylight began to appear, falling through high windows set at what must have been street level. Soon after that I could hear noises from outside; shouts from barrow boys, horses' hooves, carriage wheels, but no cars. Given the style of the clothes and the complete lack of the internal combustion engine I guessed we were in a city somewhere around the middle of the nineteenth century.

The tunnel began to slope upward, and the girls now walked one on either side of me. We reached an exit with a heavy iron gate, which was guarded by a man who appeared to be expecting us. As we approached he unlocked the gate, and I felt long tendrils of the girls' hair twist itself around my wrists, holding me firmly both by the strength of their ropelike tresses and by the toxic magic that they held. My skin burned a little beneath the contact, and my arms soon ached as if they were holding up great weights. It was an effective system of manacling me.

We stepped onto the pavement and I felt the glorious heat of the sun! I turned my face up to it, already aware of its strength entering my body, but within seconds I was pulled forward and bundled into a waiting covered carriage, with all its windows blacked out by heavy blinds.

“Good morning, Tegan.” Gideon tipped his hat at me. He had chosen to sit opposite me in the carriage, with the twins still flanking me. It was just like him, to let them do the undignified work of restraining me, leaving his hands clean. Not that they ever truly could be. The driver had clearly been instructed to go quickly, and we sped through the streets, with me unable to get even a glimpse of where we were going. Gideon noticed the mark on my face and glared at Lucrecia but said nothing.

“An auspicious day,” he said to me.

“I heard we are going on a picnic,” I said, keeping my tone neutral in an attempt to hide how keyed up I was. “Is it someone's birthday?”

“Not exactly, though it is a day where you get to be center stage, my dear. This is your day.”

“So do I get a say in what we do? Choice of music? Food? Freedom? That sort of thing?”

“I'm afraid you must be content to put your destiny in the hands of others,” he said.

“Now, why does that not surprise me?”

The carriage swerved to avoid something in the road, causing us all to fall sideways on the leather bench seats. With my hands bound I couldn't save myself and struggled to get up. Lucrecia instinctively tightened her grip on me, but Florencia quite gently helped me to sit up again. “Thanks,” I said, and put my hand to the sore stripe on my cheek. “At least you know how to treat a person in your care. Not like some.” I looked pointedly at her sister.

“I told you to behave,” she snapped. “It's not my fault if I have to teach you a lesson when you try to do something you shouldn't.”

“But she wasn't doing anything when you…” Florencia started.

“Be quiet, you silly girl!” Lucrecia spat. “Can't you see what she is trying to do?”

“I am not silly!”

The two fell to bickering and I allowed myself to hope that I really did stand a chance of escaping. Gideon seemed unbothered by their squabbling and just sat there, staring at me, watching me. At last, the carriage stopped. I could hear lots of voices. It sounded like people on a day out, with something of a carnival atmosphere. I couldn't imagine what event Gideon would want to be a part of that involved so many people, and in broad daylight.

The girls led me out of the carriage. Each one held my arm and hand in an apparently friendly way, so that it was hard to spot their hair wrapped tight around my wrists. To anyone watching, we were just three young ladies out for a stroll in the sunshine.

And what sunshine it was! After so long in the dark it hurt my eyes. As I couldn't put my hands up to shield them, I just had to squint and blink as my vision adjusted to the brightness. The twins' magic was the only thing holding me now, and as soon as the warm sunbeams started to wash over me I felt my own energy returning. It was like I was being recharged. I had no way of telling how long it would take before I could effectively use my own craft. I just had to wait.

I was bustled along the street and onto what I recognized as the embankment that ran along the Thames. London! Somehow that gave me more hope. Elizabeth had lived here for years. She knew the place. Surely that would go some way to making it easier for her to find me. So long as she had time to do so.

“Look!” exclaimed Lucrecia, “there it is!”

“Oh, how pretty!” said her sister, all quarreling suddenly forgotten.

And she was right, it was quite something. About twenty-feet long, with six men sitting at oars to one end to power the thing, it was a beautiful boat. It looked like it was made of some exotic hardwood which gleamed in the summer sunshine, and the whole thing was covered in flowers. There were flowers on the prow and strung along the sides, and garlands of roses and lilies festooning the area over the seats in the middle. At the front there were the promised musicians, a string quartet no less, all dressed in red and gold like the rowers, and wearing elaborate masks. It was like something out of a Venetian carnival.