Lucy's Blade

by John Lambshead

Walsingham chaired a war council. He sat at the head of the table; Simon, William, and the Constable of London sat along the sides.

  "Two girls killed last night," said the Constable. "One was just a whore but the other was a merchant's wife. God knows what she was up to, wandering around the streets in the dark. A lover, I suppose." The Constable shook his head. "No matter. The guilds are screaming for action. There were riots in London again. The people are scared. Vigilantes were out again. They hanged a Jew down by the Fleet."

  "The Jews get the blame for everything," said Walsingham. "Put guards on the Jewish quarters and warn them to stay inside at night. We need the Jews. The capital to fund our naval enterprises evaporates if the Jews flee the city, then. Hang anyone trying to whip up a riot against them and display the bodies on New Gate. That should focus a few minds."

  "The Watch is only so big," said the Constable. "I can only cover the main streets if I concentrate them to fight this monster. Sending them in against a demon in ones and twos is sheer murder. I suppose it is a demon?"

  Walsingham shrugged. "Possibly. It is very dangerous whatever it is. I don't want the word demon used outside this room." He looked sharply around. "Is that understood? There is enough panic abroad already."

  "It's too late for bland reassurance," said the Constable. "We have to kill it."

  "Agreed," said Walsingham. "That is where you come in, Captain. I want you to spread the Watch thinly in twos, Constable. They are not to engage this thing but to detect it and sound the alarm. Captain Hawkins will lead a mounted detachment that will run it down and kill it with force of numbers. Your men can ride, Captain?"

  "Well enough," said William. "Where will we get the horses?"

  "I will arrange that," said Walsingham. "Get your men in the barracks here in the Tower today. Let them rest up so they will be fresh tonight."

  "I like this not," said the Constable. "Too much can go wrong. My men have to detect this thing without getting noticed and killed. Then they have to send a runner for help. The monster has to stay put while the runner finds the captain and he comes. Is all this likely?"

  "If anyone has a better plan then now is the time to voice it," said Walsingham, "No?" He tapped his pen on the desk. "Look, gentlemen. The creature stays with his victim to feed. He sucks their blood. That must take time. I realise the chance of us taking the beast on any one night is low but this plan has two advantages. Firstly, it shows the people of London that action is being taken. That alone will calm things down. The host body will be decaying fast, if it is a demon. We may just have to outlast it. The second advantage of the plan is that even long odds come up if one plays them enough. The monster has to be lucky every night. We only have to get lucky once."

  The men talked further as men, as men will. But no one had anything useful or new to contribute. Eventually, they agreed with Walsingham's strategy. Simon threw the window open to let some fresh air in.

  Lucy was sitting outside the window reading. She was far enough away that a normal person would not have been able to eavesdrop, but Lucy was possessed.

  'What do you think of Uncle's plan?' thought Lucy.

  'It has merit,' thought Lilith. 'But I can envisage distinct problems. The Constable mentioned some but I foresee one other major issue."

  'Oh yes?' thought Lucy.

  'The captain and his men may not be able to kill it. It may escape or even worse.'

  'Worse?' thought Lucy.

  'It may kill them,' thought Lilith, simply.

  Lucy wandered aimlessly around the grounds. 'Then I will have to kill it. Can I kill it, Lilith?'

  'I think we can together. I believe I can meld with your body, boosting its performance beyond the improvements that you already have,' thought Lilith.

  'But I stay in control, demon?'

  'You stay in control. I have some other tricks, too. I can energise your knife, making it a much more dangerous cutting weapon. I can also energise your body. You will have your own personal force field.'

  'Force field?' thought Lucy.

  'It's like armour,' thought Lilith. 'But it weighs nothing and is transparent, like glass.'

  'So how do we do this?' asked Lucy.

  'Our problem breaks down then as follows. We have to find the monster, reach it and kill it. First things first. To locate the monster, I will need a more precise spell than last time. I need a diamond to focus the energy. Lucy, you will have to get me a decent sized stone.'

  'I will search my uncle's chests and try to borrow one,' thought Lucy.

  'The next problem is how to reach the monster. We will need to be fast. You could run through the streets but it would attract attention. Let me think about it.'

  'We will have to lose Gwilym,' thought Lucy. The bodyguard was never very far from Lucy. Walsingham had ordered him to watch the girl even in the Tower, since the monster had proved it could climb fortified walls.

  Lucy wandered over to the man. "I am a little fatigued, Gwilym. I intend to rest in my chamber. Why not take a break yourself?"

  "I will wait outside, 'ighness."

  "As you wish. I will have my maid bring you refreshment."

  Lucy walked back to Walsingham's apartments.

  "Millie!"

  "Yes, ma'am." Her maid appeared and curtseyed.

  "Would you take some bread and beer to Gwilym outside? Then I wish to rest in quiet, so you may have the rest of the afternoon off. You might want to keep Gwilym company."

  The maid looked pleased. 'She favours Gwilym,' thought Lilith, surprised.

  'Of course,' thought Lucy. 'Haven't you noticed? You are very bad at reading people, demon. I expect this to keep both of them busy.'

  Lucy went from her chamber into Walsingham's. Voices indicated that the attached offices were still occupied, so she took care to be quiet as she searched Walsingham's possessions. Her uncle favoured austere clothes so after half an hour she had turned up nothing. Lucy was starting to despair when she found a velvet cloak at the bottom of a trunk. It was held at the shoulder by a silver clasp. The clasp boasted a decently sized diamond. Lucy started to unclip it.

  'No, leave the clasp. Just take the diamond. Then your uncle will not know when it disappeared. It could have fallen out anytime.'

  'And how do I get the diamond out of its setting without jeweller's tools, Lilith?'

  'You can do it, Lucy. I am going to meld with you.'

  Lucy's skin glowed, as if it was internally lit. 'Come, Lucy, believe in yourself. You can do it,' said Lilith.

  The girl took a deep breath and grasped the diamond between her thumb and forefinger and twisted. The silver setting broke and the diamond came free.

  'Sweet Jesu, I did it. I did it.'

  'Told you, girl. Right now, you are probably the strongest human on earth,' thought Lilith.

  The glow dimmed from Lucy's skin.

  'Can you do that to me anytime, demon?' asked Lucy.

  'More or less,' thought Lilith. 'But it puts a great strain on your body so I shouldn't do it too long or too often.'

  Lucy put the room back exactly as she found it and sneaked back to her chamber. She lay on the bed looking at the diamond.

  'Now we work magic,' thought Lilith. She had discovered that Lucy responded better to that word than a complex explanation of gravitonic theory. Viewed from Lucy's perspective, maybe magic was the most accurate word for what they were about to do.

  "Hold the diamond in front of your face and sing.'

  Lucy was feeling tired so she simply hummed a hymn that she was fond of. The diamond seemed to vibrate in front of her eyes.

  Lilith projected Agas's map of London onto Lucy's optic system. Lilith drew the results of her earlier search spell out of her records and ran it as a video clip. Purple dots and tracers spread across the map then the whirlpool formed again and shot a purple tentacle out. Lilith captured it in the diamond. The video clip ended and the map faded out. Lucy examined the diamond. It had been clear, now it had a distinct purple tinge.


  'What happens next?' thought Lucy 'Isn't the diamond supposed to do something?'

  'The monster must be quiescent during the day. It kills at night, remember. When it awakes, the diamond will glow and point the way.'

  'Have you worked out how we will get at the monster?' thought Lucy.

  'I suggest that we use Captain Hawkins and his men. They expect one of your uncle's people to guide them to the monster, correct?'

  'Yes,' thought Lucy.

  'So you will be the guide. Hawkins will carry you to the monster on his horse and give you support if things go badly for us.'

  'The captain will never agree to me going with him, Lilith. He has seen me, remember. He will recognise me at once.'

  'He did observe you carefully, that's true,' thought Liliith, and was delighted when Lucy blushed.

  'I suppose I could disguise myself as a boy,' thought Lucy.

  'That only works in plays,' thought Lilith. 'You seriously underestimate yourself if you think that any man is likely to confuse you with a boy.'

  'So what do you suggest?' thought Lucy, a little waspishly.

  'Humans see with their minds not their eyes, which means that they see what they expect to see. Consider Lucy, it will be dark, human vision doesn't work well at night, and you will wear the clothes of a servant girl with a hood over your head. Millie is the same size as you. Captain Hawkins won't get a good look at you and why would he connect a secret service girl in working clothes with the great lady in court dress that he met earlier?'

  'My voice and accent, for one thing, demon,' thought Lucy. 'Or do you suggest that I communicate with hand gestures?'

  'I can disguise your voice. I will alter the muscle tension in your neck,' thought Lilith.

  Lilith went over her plan at length with Lucy, until she was sure that the girl had grasped it.

  'You need to rest now. With your permission, I will take over your body and watch the diamond while you sleep. I will wake you when it activates.'

  'I don't know, Lilith. I don't like losing control but I suppose it makes sense. Wake me if anything at all happens. I don't want you pretending to be me if someone comes in.'

  'As you say, Lucy. Sleep well.'

  'I'll try Lilith. But . . .'

  'Yes, Lucy?'

  'I'm frightened.'

  'So am I,' thought Lilith. 'Try to sleep.'

  Lilith turned off Lucy's access to her senses and gave her perfect darkness and silence. The girl's brain slipped gently into alpha rhythms and she began to dream. Lilith found Lucy's dreams fascinating so she watched with part of her mind. The People did not sleep, so they did not dream. Lucy floated for a while through the rooms of Barn Elms then she was at dinner with her uncle. They had a long rambling conversation about eels. Walsingham kept complaining that his eels were too small and Elizabeth wouldn't eat them.

  Lucy's brain went back in alpha rhythm and the dream faded. Then a new dream started. Lucy was in a room but the ceiling was infinitely high. The furniture was huge. Lilith could see the underside of tables and even chairs. Lucy was saying something unintelligible. It sounded like "mumah" repeated over and over again. Lucy whirled up into the air until she could look down on the room. She was enclosed in warmth and safety. She could smell hot food. A woman sang "Hush, little Lucy, don't you cry, Mumah's going to make you an apple pie." The voice faded again and Lucy was on her own in the cold and dark. In her dream, the girl wept.

  Lilith retreated from Lucy's mind. She felt like she was intruding, spying on a friend. The girl was dreaming of her lost mother. Lilith had never had a mother but Lucy's sense of loss was painful to contemplate. How could the stupid Elder of the People think that these were shadow creatures of no consequence? Their short lives were so rich and emotional. Their triumphs were ecstatic and their sorrows unbearable. Lilith spent the rest of the afternoon contemplating her host and the human condition, while Lucy slept.

  The sun set over London. Lilith watched the light dim from yellow into pastel pink and finally deep blue. It was beautiful. As darkness fell, the diamond pulsed shiny purple light. The monster was stirring. Lilith pumped energy into the crystal and a bright purple line shot from it in the direction of London. Lilith had her magic compass. She woke Lucy up.

  William watched the sun fall behind the curtain wall.

  "Should I tell the men to stay awake, sir?" asked the boatswain.

  "No, tell them to turn in. I suspect we will be here for weeks before we get a request for help. I am going to get some sleep myself."

  Before sleeping, William decided to write a report to Cousin John. He hoped that if he explained the pointlessness of their situation then the Swallow might be recalled to Plymouth. He had only written a few paragraphs when there was a knock. He picked up the lantern and opened the door. A woman stood there. She held her head down deliberately so that the cloak hood concealed her face. No doubt she was one of Walsingham's spies so would not want her identity known.

  "Wake your men, Captain. The beast has been spotted."

  Her voice had a strange foreign accent and was throaty, almost masculine. It reminded him of someone but he could not quite put his finger on it. William went over to the barrack room to wake the men. Sea dogs are used to being rousted out at a moments notice so they were soon up and mustered. "Cutlasses only, mind," said the boatswain. "I don't want one of you shooting his dick off in the dark or worse still shooting mine off." Coarse laughter greeted the sally so clearly morale was good.

  William led them over to the stable where Walsingham had horses ready. "Come on, look lively," said the boatswain. A few well-aimed kicks woke the stable lads, who bunked down with their charges. The animals were quickly saddled and bridled, and the sailors mounted. None of them could be said to have the seat of a cavalryman but they could ride from one point to another with reasonable facility. Raids inland often involved horses.

  "A moment," said William. "Where's the guide we were promised?"

  "That's me," said the woman. William had forgotten she was there. "I will ride pillion behind you."

  He hadn't noticed in the dark but his saddle had a lady's pillion seat added. Oh terrific, William thought. Now he had to play nursemaid as well. He had no faith at all in this mission. He doubted whether they would get anywhere near the maniac who was killing whores. It would be a miracle if they all made it back without someone falling off in the dark and breaking bones.

  He put down his left arm to haul her up but she leapt lithely onto the horse, using his hand mainly to steady herself. She sat sidesaddle with her feet down the left flank of the horse and her right arm about his waist.

  The postern into London was closed for the nightly curfew so they left the Tower by the east gate and made their way north across the fields to Whitechapel Street

  . The road was lined with three- and four-storey houses so they actually had to move away from London to find a route onto it. William thought that the city would soon become unmanageably large if the Queen did not do something soon to stop ribbon development along its access roads. Once on Whitechapel Street

  , it was a short ride down to Aldgate.

  The gate was an imposing building that straddled the road. In the centre was an arch blocked by heavy oak doors and a portcullis. A sergeant of the watch came out to meet them.

  "The city is locked for the curfew," he said.

  "I have a permit signed by Sir Francis Walsingham," said William. He showed it to the man who gazed at it doubtfully. "Come on, come on, man. We are in a hurry." William had a horrible feeling that maybe the man could not read. This was the sort of stupid detail that wrecked too-elaborate plans.

  The girl slipped off the saddle beside him. She went over to the sergeant and showed him a ring on her hand. He straightened up immediately. "Open the gates, look lively there."

  "Thank you, Sergeant," said Lucy. She bounced back to William's horse. He lowered his arm to help her back into the saddle. The portcullis rose, oh so slowly.

>   The diamond nestled in a purse slung round her neck. Lilith opened a window on the left side of Lucy's vision and painted in a map of London. A flashing white light showed her position and a purple arrow showed the direction of the monster. It was still somewhere in northwest London.

  'Ready, Lucy?' asked Lilith. 'I will drop a gravitonic shield in front of your eyes now. It will slow down light, increasing its frequency, so you will see heat. You will see in the dark but it will look odd.'

  Lilith placed the shield. 'Well,' she thought. 'Can you see?'

  'Yes,' thought Lucy. 'But it's really peculiar. People's faces and torches are bright white but the sky is black. Everything else is in shades of grey.'

  'The hotter something is the brighter it is,' said Lilith.

  'I know you have to disguise my voice, Lilith, but whatever you are doing to my throat is becoming painful.'

  'Sorry, Lucy, I'll relax the muscles a fraction and block any pain,' thought Lilith.

  The way was finally clear and the party rode off at the trot. It wasn't possible to go any faster. William diverted to avoid the body of a criminal hanging from the gate. The body was well tarred to preserve it but, even so, there was always the fear that something would drop off as one passed underneath. The streets were mostly dark but the riders carried torches with them. They came to a fork in the road. Lucy checked the arrow. "Right, into Aldgate Street

  ," she said to William.

  They trotted past the Leadenhall Market and down Corn Hill. The sound of the horses' hooves echoed between the buildings. Lights appeared at some windows, indicating that there were a few people curious about a party of mounted men, but mostly Londoners kept their head down and minded their own business. Experience had taught them the benefit of that. Past the Royal Exchange, the party reached Stocks Market, the heart of the city where five roads met. The purple arrow still pointed to northwest London.

  "Straight on," urged Lucy. "Go up Cheapside."

  As they passed Milk Street

  the arrow swung abruptly to the right. "Next right," Lucy said, urgently, and the party turned north into Wood Street

  . "Faster," she urged. The arrow swung right as they went up the street. To the left was a prosperous area with guildhalls, the saddlers', the goldsmiths', and the haberdashers'. But to the right between Wood Street