Kitty remained looking at the wall. “Nor we you,” she said levelly. “Nevertheless, we have taken precautions, too.”
The voice grunted. “Which are?”
“A colleague of mine waits outside the theater. She carries a small leather bag. Within it are six small demons trapped in an explosive gel. It is, I believe, an effective weapon of war and can level a whole building. We stole it recently from a Ministry of Defense storehouse. I mention this to impress you: we are capable of remarkable acts. But also because, if I do not return within fifteen minutes, my friend will activate the imps and toss them into the theater.” Kitty’s face was expressionless. This was a complete lie.
A chuckle. “Nicely put, my dear. Well then, we must hurry. As Mr. Hopkins no doubt told you, I am a gentleman of leisure with many contacts among the magicians; I have even dabbled in the art myself upon occasion. However, like you I am sick of their rule!” A note of anger entered the voice. “Owing to a small financial disagreement, the government has robbed me of my wealth and my estates! I am now a pauper, where once I slept on Tashkent silks! It is an intolerable situation. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to see the magicians fall. That is why I will help your cause.”
These remarks had been spoken with great emotion; at each emphasis, the stiletto point jabbed the back of Kitty’s neck. She moistened her lips. “Mr. Hopkins said you had valuable information for us.”
“I do indeed. You must understand, I have no sympathy for the commoners whose cause you serve. But your activities unsettle the great ones of the government, and that pleases me. So, to business. Hopkins has explained the nature of the proposition?” Kitty nodded carefully. “Well now, through my connections, I have had access to Gladstone’s papers and have made some small study of them. By deciphering certain codes, I discovered details of the Pestilence he left guarding his remains.”
“That seems a meager defense, for one of his power,” Kitty said. “If I may say so.”
“You are an intelligent, opinionated girl,” the voice said approvingly. “When he died, Gladstone was old and weak, a spindly husk, capable of nothing more than that simple spell. Even so, it has done its job. No one has disturbed it, for fear of being raddled by the Pestilence. However, it can be bypassed, if you bring proper precautions. I can give you that information.”
“Why should we trust you?” Kitty said. “I don’t understand. What’s in this for you?”
The voice did not seem to resent the questions. “If I wished to destroy your group,” it said peaceably, “you would have been in police custody the moment you poked your head through this curtain. Besides, I have already told you that I wish to see the magicians fall. But you are right, of course. There is something else in it for me. When I scoured Gladstone’s archive, I discovered the list of his grave goods. It contains objects to interest both you and me.”
Kitty shifted a little in the broad gold chair. “It will take me at least two minutes to leave the building,” she said. “I assure you, my friend is very punctual.”
“I will be brief. Mr. Hopkins will have told you of the wonders the crypt contains—you may have them, magical weapons and all. I do not need them; I am a man of peace. But I do collect unusual objects, and I would be grateful to have Gladstone’s cloak, which was folded and placed upon his sarcophagus. It has no magical properties, so it is of no use to you. Oh, and if his oaken staff has survived, I would like that, too. It is of negligible magical value—I believe he charged it with a small hex for keeping away insects—but I would be pleased to see it in my humble collection.”
“If we get the other treasures,” Kitty said, “we will be glad to give those to you.”
“Very well, we have an agreement. We will both prosper by it. Here is the equipment you need.” With a slight rustling, a small black bag was pushed along the carpet into view. “Do not touch it yet. The bag contains a casket and hammer. These will protect you from the Pestilence. Full instructions are included. Obey them, and you will live. Listen carefully,” the voice continued. “Tonight, at eleven-thirty, the curators of the abbey will depart. Go to the cloisters door: I will arrange for it to be left open. A second door bars the way to the abbey itself; ordinarily it is secured by two medieval deadlocks and a drawbar. I will leave this unlocked, too. Find your way to the north transept and locate Gladstone’s statue. Behind it, set in a pillar, is the entrance to the tomb. To gain entry, you merely have to turn the key.”
Kitty stirred. “The key?”
Something small and glinting fell through the air to land beside the bag. “Guard it well,” the voice said, “and do remember to cloak yourself in my magic before opening the tomb, or all this tiresome subterfuge will have been for nothing.”
“We’ll remember,” Kitty said.
“Good.” She heard the sound of someone rising from the chair. The voice spoke above her, close behind. “Then that is all. I wish you well. Do not turn around.”
The sharp sensation in the back of her neck lessened, but so softly, so stealthily, that Kitty at first was hardly able to detect that it had gone. She waited a full minute, motionless, eyes wide and staring in her head.
Finally, she lost patience.
She turned in a single fluid motion, her knife already in her hand.
The box was empty. And when she ducked out into the silent corridor, key and bag safely in her grasp, she saw no trace of anyone in the vicinity.
26
At some time in the distant past, long before the first magicians arrived in London, the great church of Westminster Abbey had exerted considerable power and influence on the surrounding town. Built over centuries by a dynasty of forgotten kings, the abbey and its grounds extended over a wide area, with a population of scholarly monks conducting its services, studying in its library, and working in its fields. The main church rose more than a hundred feet into the air, with snub-nosed towers rising at the west end and at the center of the building, high above the sanctuary. The building was constructed of a strong white stone, which gradually became discolored with the smoke and magical effusions emanating from the growing city.
Years passed; the kings fell from power, to be replaced by a succession of parliaments, which met at Westminster Hall, not far from the abbey. The influence of the church slowly reduced, as did the waistlines of the surviving monks, who now fell on hard times. Many of the abbey outbuildings deteriorated, and only the cloisters—four broad, enclosed walkways around a central open square of grass—remained in good condition. When Parliament was itself taken over by a new authority—a group of powerful magicians, who had little time for the traditions of the Church—it seemed as if the ancient abbey itself might soon fall into ruin.
But one tradition saved the building. The greatest leaders of the country, whether kings or parliamentary ministers, had long been buried in the abbey crypts. Countless tombs and memorials already clustered among the pillars of the nave, while the ground below was honeycombed with crypts and sepulchres. The magicians, who courted eternal renown as much as any king before them, decided to continue this practice; it became a matter of great honor for any individual to be interred within the church.
The remaining monks were cast out, a small clergy installed to conduct occasional services, and the abbey survived into the modern age as little more than a gigantic tomb. Few commoners went there by day, and by night, even its perimeter was shunned. It had an unhealthy reputation.
Security on the building was, therefore, comparatively weak. There was really no likelihood of the company meeting any kind of guard, when, at 11:30 precisely, the first of them arrived at the unlocked door of the cloisters outhouse, and noiselessly slipped inside.
Kitty had wanted to visit the abbey during its opening hours to do a proper reconnaissance and to view the exterior of Gladstone’s tomb. But Mr. Pennyfeather had forbidden her. “We must arouse no suspicions,” he said.
In fact, Kitty need not have worried. Mr. Hopkins had been his normal us
eful self during the course of that long and nervous day, rustling up numerous maps of the abbey and its environs. He showed them the layout of the transept, below which most of the tombs were hidden; he showed them the covered cloisters, where once the monks had sat to read or, in bad weather, taken their constitutionals. He showed them the surrounding roads, highlighting guardhouses of the Night Police and known routes of the vigilance spheres. He pointed out the doors that would be unlocked, and suggested, in case of random patrols, that they assemble at the abbey one by one. It was all very well organized by Mr. Hopkins.
“I only wish I had resilience like you,” he said sadly. “Then I could take part in the mission myself.”
Mr. Pennyfeather was supervising Stanley, who was laboring under a box of weapons taken from the cellar. “Now, now, Clem,” he cried. “You have done your part! Leave the rest to us. We are the professionals at theft and stealth.”
“Pardon me, sir,” Kitty said. “Are you coming, too?”
The old man’s face mottled with fury. “Of course! This will be the crowning moment of my life! How dare you suggest otherwise? You think I am too weak?”
“No, no, sir. Of course not.” Kitty bent to the abbey maps again.
A great expectancy and unease had stolen across the company that day; all of them, even the normally equable Anne, were tetchy and highly strung. During the morning, the equipment was doled out, and each person prepared their kit in silence. When Kitty returned with the benefactor’s gifts, Mr. Pennyfeather and Mr. Hopkins retired to the backroom of the shop to study the instructions. The others prowled among the paints and easels, saying little. Anne prepared sandwiches for lunch.
That afternoon, Kitty, Fred, Stanley, and Nick walked to the cellar to practice their skills. Fred and Stanley took turns throwing discs at a pitted beam, while Nick engaged Kitty in a mock knife fight. When they returned, they found Mr. Hopkins and Mr. Pennyfeather still locked in consultation. At 5:30, in a brittle atmosphere, Anne brought in trays of tea and almond biscuits. An hour later, Mr. Pennyfeather emerged from the backroom. With great deliberation, he poured lukewarm tea into a cup.
“We have deciphered the instructions,” he said. “Now we are truly ready.” He raised the cup in a solemn toast. “To whatever tonight may bring! We have righteousness on our side. Be confident and keen, my friends. If we are bold and do not falter, our lives will never be the same again!”
He drank, clicked his cup back decisively on its saucer.
The final discussions began.
Kitty was the second of the company to enter the abbey outhouse. Anne had preceded her less than a minute before. She stared into the darkness, hearing Anne’s breathing close by. “Shall we risk a light?” she whispered.
“Pencil torch,” Anne said. “I’ve got it.”
A thin beam lit the wall opposite, then, briefly, Kitty’s face. Kitty blinked and raised a hand. “Keep it low,” she said. “We don’t know about windows.”
Crouching down to the flagstoned floor, Anne swung the torch about her speculatively, casting fleeting light upon piles of paint pots, spades, garden forks, a shiny new lawn mower, and sundry other tools. Kitty shifted her rucksack from her back, plunked it down before her and checked her watch. “Next one’s due,” she said.
As if in answer, a faint scrabbling sounded somewhere outside, beyond the door. Anne turned off the torch. They crouched in darkness.
The door was opened and closed, accompanied by the sound of heavy breathing. Air drifted briefly through the room, bringing with it a powerful waft of aftershave.
Kitty relaxed. “Hello, Fred,” she said.
At five-minute intervals, the remainder of the company arrived. Last to appear was Mr. Pennyfeather himself, already weary and out of breath. He gave a wheezed command: “Frederick Stanley! Lanterns … on! There are—there are … no windows in this room. We have nothing to be afraid of.”
In the light of two powerful lanterns, the six of them stood revealed: all carrying rucksacks, all wearing black. Mr. Pennyfeather had even painted his stick black, and had muffled its tip with a plug of fabric. He leaned on it now, scanning the party one by one with slow deliberation, gathering his resources. “Very well,” he said, at last. “Anne—headgear, please.”
Dark woolen balaclavas were produced and distributed. Fred eyed his distrustfully. “I don’t like these things,” he growled. “They scratch.”
Mr. Pennyfeather clicked his tongue impatiently. “Blackheads alone will not be sufficient tonight, Frederick. It is too important. Put it on. Right—final check. Then cloisters. So, Nicholas—you have the casket with the Hermetic Mantle?”
“I do.”
“And the hammer with which to strike it?”
“That, too.”
“Frederick—you have the jimmy? Good. And your useful array of knives? Excellent. Stanley—rope and compass? Kitty—sticking plaster, bandages, and ointment? Good, and I have the key to the tomb. As for weapons—we should all have at least one mouler glass and an Elemental Sphere of some description. Very well.”
He took a moment to regain his breath. “A couple of things,” he added, “before we go through. The weapons are to be used only as a last resort, if we are disturbed. Otherwise, we must be subtle. Unseen. If the door to the abbey is locked, we retreat. In the tomb itself, we locate the treasures; I will divide them out among you. Fill your bags and return the way we came. We will meet back in this room. If anything should go wrong, at the first opportunity make your way to our cellar. Avoid the shop. If, for any reason, I am a casualty, Mr. Hopkins can advise you further. He will wait at Druid’s Coffeehouse tomorrow afternoon. Any questions? No? Nicholas—if you would …”
At the end of the outhouse was a second door. Nick passed to it silently and pushed. It swung open; beyond was the ink-blue darkness of the open air.
“We go,” Mr. Pennyfeather said.
This was the order they went in: Nick, followed by Kitty, then Fred, Anne, Stanley, and Mr. Pennyfeather bringing up the rear.
With the silence of bats they flitted through the cloisters, flecks of moving graininess against the wall of black. Faint slabs of a lighter shade marked out the arched windows to their right, but the inner court of the cloisters was invisible to them. There was no moon to show the way. Their sneakered feet scuffed the stone slabs with the gentle rustling of dead leaves nudged by the wind. Mr. Pennyfeather’s stick, muffled at its padded tip, tapped along behind. Up ahead, Nick’s covered lantern swung silently from its long chain, weaving its illumination close to the ground like a will-o’-the-wisp; he carried it low, below the level of the windowsills, for fear of watching eyes.
Kitty counted the arches as she went. After the eighth gray slab, the guide light darted to the right, around the corner of the cloisters. She ducked around, too, and continued on without breaking stride, counting the arches again. One, two … The weight of her rucksack pressed against her back; she heard its contents shifting. She devoutly hoped the spheres were properly protected in their wrapping cloth. Four, five … Automatically, she ran through the position of her other weapons: a knife in her belt, a throwing disc in her jacket. These gave her a much greater feeling of security than any magical weapon: they weren’t tainted with the touch of demons.
Six, seven … They were at the end of the northern side of the cloisters. The guide light jerked and slowed. Kitty nearly ran up against Nick’s back, but stopped herself in time. Behind, the rustling of feet continued for a moment, then ceased.
She sensed Nick turn his head. His voice carried in a half-whisper: “Nave door. Now we’ll see.”
He raised the lantern, sweeping it in front of him for an instant. Kitty glimpsed the black surface of an ancient door, heavily pitted and studded with giant nails, their shadows leaping and rotating as the illumination passed. The light was lowered. Darkness, silence, a faint scrabbling. Kitty waited, fingers brushing against the pendant in her pocket. She imagined Nick’s fingers running across the dark gra
in and the imbedded nails, searching for the giant metal latch. She heard a slight scuffle, and the sounds of sustained and suppressed exertion—little gasps and curses from Nick, the rustling of his jacket. He was evidently in difficulties.
“Come on.” A soft clink; dim light spread across the flagstones. Nick had lowered the lantern to the floor and was wrestling two-handed with the latch. Close behind, almost directly in her ear, Kitty heard Fred let out a muttered imprecation. She realized that in her tension, she was clamping her teeth together so hard that her jaw ached. Was the benefactor wrong? Was the door still locked? If so, they were stymied good and proper. It was their only way in and the door could not be destroyed. They couldn’t risk any kind of explosion.
Something brushed past her; from the scent, she knew it to be Fred.
“Let me. Shift over …” More rustling as Nick stood aside, a short burst of scrabbling, then a grunt from Fred. A loud crack and thud followed instantly, together with a squeal of rusted hinges. Fred’s voice held a note of satisfaction. “I thought there was a problem. That wasn’t even stiff.”
He returned to his position in the line; without further words, the company passed through the door and closed it behind them. With that, they were in the nave of Westminster Abbey.
Nick adjusted the cover on his lantern, restricting it to the smallest of circular glows. They waited a few moments, allowing their eyes to adjust. The church was not entirely dark: gradually Kitty began to glimpse the ghostly shadows of great arched windows opposite them, running along the north wall of the nave. Their outlines grew stronger, lit from outside by distant lights, including passing cars. Strange figures were depicted on the window glass—but the light was not strong enough to see them clearly. No sound came from the roads beyond; she felt as if she were enclosed in a giant cocoon.
Close beside her, Kitty made out a stone column, its upper regions lost in the arching shadows. Other pillars rose at intervals along the nave, surrounded near their bases by hulking patches of black, oddly proportioned and very numerous. The look of them gave her an aching feeling in her gut: they were all memorials and tombs.
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