by John Booth
“What we are doing is incredibly dangerous,” Daisy pointed out unnecessarily. “We have no one guarding our backs if anything goes wrong. The only person Trelawney gave us to go to in an emergency was Saunders, and he is up to his neck in this whole thing.”
“We could go directly to Trelawney,” Arnold suggested. “Tell him about Saunders and then let MM3 take over.”
“We’ve been through this,” Cam said wearily. “If we go to Trelawney, he will not believe us. He will go straight to Saunders and Saunders will cover up all his traces. If we’re lucky, he won’t make an attempt to kill us for a year or two.”
“Saunders will almost certainly leave MM3 tonight and call a cab. Do we hire another and instruct the driver to follow that cab?” Daisy asked. “The driver would probably laugh in our faces.”
“Don’t come up with problems, come up with solutions.” Arnold quoted one of their headmaster’s favorite lines. Dr Fines had been man replaced with a doppelganger some time ago, so he might well have been quoting the words of an enemy. Arnold found himself lost in this strange train of thought and ignored the girls who were glaring at him.
“Well my answer is to get down to the Embankment and watch the Ministry doors,” Cam said decisively. “Is anybody else coming with me?”
Arnold groaned and Daisy rose to her feet wearily. They followed Cam out of the hostelry and down to the imposing stone buildings that housed the Ministry of War and all its many departments.
Tom and Laura reached the Storage Room without incident. Tom turned to take them outside the house when Laura stopped and looked around the room as if searching for something.
“It’s this way,” Tom said in exasperation when it became clear that Laura was not about to follow him. “I thought you wanted us to get to the children as soon as possible?”
“I do,” Laura replied patiently, “However, more haste often means less speed, as my grandmother used to say.”
“My grandmother used to say ‘never bet on a black horse until May is out’, but I have not made much use of it.”
“Aha! “ Laura said in triumph. She had found a porcelain candle holder with the stub of a candle in it. She pulled the candle out of the holder and cleaned the wax off the hole before putting the holder in her pocket. “Now we need to go to the library.”
“And what exactly is it that we are doing?” Tom asked in a strained whisper. He had set himself the objective of reaching the children and healing them and that was a risky enough task without Laura’s detours and desire for candle holders.
“We are preparing a weapon,” Laura told him, “The kind of weapon I can wield.”
Tom sighed and followed Laura across to the library. As he closed the library door behind them, Laura began looking through the books.
“Maybe this one, or this,” she said to herself as she pulled the books off the shelf and placed them on a reading table. If Tom didn’t know better, he would have suspected she was trying to locate a book on escapes.
Laura opened the first book in its middle and then discarded it. Having nothing more constructive to do, Tom replaced it on the shelf from which it had come. The Works of Euclid was its title, which meant exactly nothing to Tom.
“This one will do,” Laura informed the world in general. She rifled through the book and found what she was looking for on the last page, which she carefully tore out.
“I thought you couldn’t use paper that has been written on?”
“It’s not considered advisable, but this particular page is blank,” Laura told him absently as she examined another book. “However, I am beginning to wonder about the foundations of military magic. According to Newton, not one of those children should be capable of doing what they do. On top of that I have already broken several of the rules of Spellbinding all on my own.”
“You mean like the drawings you did of the two of us?” Tom asked and Laura nodded. Laura had drawn their likenesses using her Spellbinding power before they left for Hobsgate. The drawing of Tom seemed to have significantly increased his powers as a Healer, among other things.
“Spellbinding works by modifying the foundations of reality. Newton said that words must be written on paper and when someone like me writes them, we imbue the word with our magic to bind the change.”
“I’ve never really understood that.”
“Think of the ink on the paper as if it were a water pipe. Only imagine the pipe carries power instead of water. I write the words ‘Tom Merlin Carter will become a frog’ and I imagine you changing into a frog as I write. My power locks your transformation into the words on the paper.”
“I thought that you always had to write your spells in Latin?”
Laura sighed, sometimes boys were not very bright.
“That’s how I was taught to do things, but I know I can make a bind work in any language. The point is that the universe does not like things to be changed by Spellbinders and it objects most strongly to a human being transformed into a frog.”
“The initial change requires no power at all, but holding the change in place, even for a fraction of a second requires a lot. That power is contained in the ink on the paper. The more powerful the Spellbinder is, the easier the power runs through the ink.”
Tom thought about it. It seemed closer to how electricity worked than water.
“I see. Eventually the ink gets so hot from the power running through it that the paper bursts into flames and the transformation is undone.”
Laura grinned in delight. “That’s right. Using stronger paper and ink made from metallic salts gives the bind a considerable advantage. That’s why I am looking through these books for the ones made from vellum and I’m tearing out any blank sheets.”
“It makes me feel queasy when you do that to books,” Tom muttered. “It is as if you are desecrating a grave or something.” He winced as Laura casually tore out another sheet from a leather bound volume.
“That should be enough,” Laura said with satisfaction. “The point I am trying to get into your head is that, according to Newton, my drawings shouldn’t work. I have used them to do the opposite of what Newton claimed a Spellbinder does. I have used my power to keep things as they are, rather than change them. I suspect those drawings of you and I have lasted this long because I have been working with the universe rather than against it.”
“It’s all completely over my head,” Tom admitted. “However, if you have finished now, can we go to help the children?”
“Of course,” Laura said cheerfully, giving Tom a somber look. She was well aware that Healing took immense power and that he would be weak when he had healed the children.
They made their way out of the library without any trouble. They saw no one as they returned to the storage room and went through it to get outside.
It was late in the afternoon as they stepped out of the house and into a farmyard. They kept close to the crudely constructed brick outbuildings leading away from the house. Stables gave way to poultry huts and storage sheds. When they came to the end of the row, they saw a large clear area of grass with a duck pond at its centre and low buildings on the far side.
The pigpens were on the other side of the pond. They were going to have to go around the pond to get to them and hope that nobody spotted them while they were out in the open on the grass.
“Ready?” Tom asked and Laura nodded. Tom started running.
Tom reached the far side of the pond and ran over to a low brick wall where he could hide. He was breathing heavily from his exertions and it took him a moment to realize he was on his own. Tom felt panic rising in his chest. Laura had been right behind him a few seconds ago.
Trying to control his breathing to the point where he wouldn’t be heard a hundred feet away, Tom edged around the wall until he could see back towards the pond.
To his astonishment, Laura was walking around the pond looking down at the ground. Every so often, she bent down to look at something, before moving on again. He saw he
r pick something white from the grass and put it in her pocket before she strolled casually over to where he hid.
“What? Where? Why?” he spluttered as Laura stood close to him.
“Goose feathers, Tom,” she said, as if that explained everything. When he continued to look baffled, she decided to take pity on him.
“What are quill pens made from?”
“Goose feathers,” Tom admitted, feeling stupid. “But you could have been seen.”
“Anyone back at the house would need excellent eyesight to recognize me at that distance. Provided I didn’t look like a fugitive by running and diving for the nearest cover, they would assume that I was just another servant about her work.”
“Would you like to take over and lead this whole rescue thing?” Tom asked despairingly.
“But Tom, I thought I already was?”
It didn’t take long to find the children. They followed the sound of crying and moaning to their prison. The children were in a tiny red brick and lime mortar room. Someone had put thick iron bars across the glassless windows.
The door to the cell was made from planks of solid oak mounted on huge wrought iron hinges. The door was barred with a timber plank. It was the work of a moment for Tom to lift the bar so they could get inside.
The children lay on compacted dirt, face down and barely moving. Occasionally one of them would groan in pain. Stripes of blood had soaked through the back of their shirts and dried, gluing the material to their backs.
Tom reached over to touch Alice and Laura took his free hand in hers to give him what strength she could.
Healers were vital to the war efforts of the British Empire, and anyone showing the slightest Healer talent ended up in the army when they reached seventeen. That had been Tom’s fate when he first met Laura and only Trelawney’s position and authority had kept him from it. Since Laura had made her drawing, he had become the world’s most powerful Healer.
When Tom touched Alice, reality vanished around him. His consciousness slipped into Alice’s body in a manner that he could never describe. It seemed to him that Alice’s body became his universe. He could see the places in her body that pulsed red with damage, shone green with health and those that lay silent and black in decay.
Every other Healer in the world focused on a small chunk of someone’s body. The vast majority of Healers were limited to charming a wart off a nose or making a bunion lose its redness. The best Grade 1 Healer might cure consumption or cancer provided it was not too far-gone, but even they saw only the disease and not the patient.
For Tom, the patient and their ailments were one and the same. He had to cure everything that was wrong with them, because he could not truly distinguish one illness from another.
Alice sighed beneath his hand as he knitted flesh together, reduced her bruises to a little soreness, cured the bladder problem she was not aware she had, and removed the cataracts that were beginning to form in her eyes. Tom staggered slightly under the burden of using his power. It was harder healing this child than it had been to cure a gunshot wound in a soldier, because most soldiers were, apart from their wounds, fit and well.
“Are you going to be able to cure all three of them?” Laura asked as he staggered over to Tricky. He gave her a nod of reassurance and touched Tricky on the arm.
Tricky was much easier to cure, despite having been beaten as badly as Alice. This was because he was a fundamentally healthy child.
Laura was relieved that Tom was not looking as stressed as he had been when he cured Alice. She hoped Ebb would prove as easy for him to cure as Tricky.
When Tom touched Ebb, he felt dizzy and confused. It took him much longer than usual to find his way about the world he entered. There was a strange wrongness somewhere that Tom suspected was deep inside Ebb’s brain. It was as if part of Ebb was already dead but had not yet begun to decay. Tom fought to cure Ebb of his wrongness as all the other parts of Ebb’s body cleared of disease.
The boy had allergies that gave him a permanently running nose and Tom cured all of them he could find. He suspected that Ebb would become allergic to new things as soon as he let him go. It was as if the boy’s body was determined to self-destruct.
When Tom released Ebb he staggered back and fell to the floor in a faint. He knew that he had changed something fundamental in Ebb’s brain though he had no idea what. Tom hoped it would be a change for the better.
“What’s your man rolling on the floor for?” Alice asked as she opened her eyes sleepily. “It was us who got beat, not ‘im”
Alice moved her hands across her body, feeling her back and buttocks in astonishment.
“That’s the kind of beating I could do with more often. I feels bloody marvelous.”
10. Lurking
Cam stopped suddenly as they reached the War Office causing Daisy and Arnold to run into her.
“What’s the problem?” Arnold enquired as he disentangled arms and legs from the girls.
“I’ve just realized that I have no idea what Saunders looks like,” Cam said ruefully.
“Oh,” Arnold said as he considered the matter. He quickly reached the conclusion that he had no idea either. As far as he was aware, Saunders had never been to Hobsgate, certainly not since Arnold had been at the school and he had not met him on his two visits to MM3.
“It’s lucky then, that I know exactly what he looks like,” Daisy said with a self-satisfied smirk on her face.
“When did you meet him?” Cam asked suspiciously.
Daisy’s grin grew wider. “I’ve never actually met him, but I would recognize him anywhere. I suppose that means that you will have to take a back seat as I take care of this little job.”
“But you’ve never even been to London and that’s where he’s stationed,” Cam complained. “This is not one of your Precog dreams is it? This mission is far too important to trust to one of those.”
Daisy flushed at Cam’s words. The Precogs of Hobsgate had gone through a year of distain with their warnings completely ignored. Now Cam was treating her abilities with that same contempt again.
“You were happy enough to rely on my gifts when you needed them against the Captain,” Daisy snapped back. The girls closed on each other angrily, ready to slap or punch one another.
Arnold stepped between them; hands raised and ready to ward off blows.
“Daisy has proved her worth as a Precog, Cam, so stop attacking her. She spotted the top hat in Manny’s room straight away, didn’t she?”
Cam shifted the weight on her feet and Arnold stepped back a pace.
“I would have noticed it eventually,” Cam said angrily. “It doesn’t mean she would recognize Saunders. Ask her how she knows what he looks like.”
Arnold turned, “Daisy…” He got no further as Daisy shoved him back towards Cam. Arnold was unprepared as Daisy was almost never violent.
“I happen to be standing not four feet away from you, Camilla Burns. You don’t need Arnold to relay your questions.”
Daisy breathed heavily, trying to compose herself. “And I’m not going to tell either of you how I know what he looks like. If we can’t trust each other, we might as well end this mission right here.”
Cam found it difficult to calm down. She was used to being in control and Daisy had dared to usurp her authority. Much worse than that was the fact that Daisy was proving to be a better agent than Cam. That really hurt her pride.
“Daisy’s right, Cam,” Arnold said unnecessarily, and very irritatingly as far as Cam was concerned. It was bad enough being about to eat humble pie without Arnold rubbing it in her face.
“You are quite right, Daisy,” Cam said through clenched teeth. “Of course I trust you and Arnold, but you have to understand how important it is that we rescue Tom and Laura. I need some reassurance.”
“And you will get it when I successfully identify Saunders,” Daisy replied smugly. It wasn’t often anybody managed to get Camilla to admit she was wrong and Daisy planned to make t
he most of it. “I would also remind you that Tom and Laura saved all of us the last time they were in trouble. Don’t think for a moment that they are sitting around waiting for us to rescue them.”
“You are quite right, Daisy,” Cam repeated as she stared down at the cobbled street. “Where do you think we should wait for Saunders?”
“I haven’t a clue,” Daisy admitted cheerfully. “After all, I’ve never been to London and I don’t even know which of these buildings is the War Office, let alone where MM3 is.”
Cam looked up at her and grinned. “I suppose we shall have to work as a team to succeed then?”
“Don’t we always?” Arnold said warmly as he put his arms around the girls and gave them a big hug.
“What ‘appened to us?” Tricky asked as he got unsteadily to his feet. “I was dying in me ‘urt and then it all went away as if be magic.”
“Tom is a Healer,” Laura said proudly as she helped Tom stand up. “Not just your common or garden variety Healer either.”
“I feel all of a dither,” Ebb said as he raised himself up to sit cross-legged on the floor. He wiped the back of his hand across his nose though he didn’t need to, the habit deeply ingrained.
“How are you?” Tom asked Ebb anxiously. “You are all right, aren’t you?”
“I feel all out of sorts,” Ebb told Tom. “Like me ‘ead aint on proper anymore. But I don’t ‘urt and I thanks you kindly for ‘ealing me.”
“Well I feel blooming marvelous,” Alice told them. She danced a little jig on the floor as if to prove the point. “I could do with a clean set of clothes though. Me bloomers are stuck ‘ard to me bum.”
“So are mine,” Tricky complained. “Not that I’m wearing bloomers,” he said hastily as he saw Laura’s grin at his words. “It’s just that me long-john’s are well stuck.”
“Perhaps we should throw the three of them into the pond?” Laura suggested. “It couldn’t make their clothes any dirtier and it might just wash some of the dirt off their faces.”
