The Road to Bedlam

by Mike Shevdon

  "I am involved. I was there!"

  "I need to know what happened so I can help her."

  "I thought she was dead. We had a service at school. You were there. Everyone was."

  I sighed. "I didn't know she was still alive then. I only found out later, by accident. Even I'm not supposed to know. I swear that's the truth."

  "How do you know she's alive?"

  I debated how much to say. I didn't like telling Kayleigh any more than I had to, but she had already proved that she could keep a secret. If I wanted her to trust me then I had to trust her.

  "I need you to swear the same to me as you did to Alex. You tell no one about this conversation, OK?"

  "Who will I tell? My best friend is, like, dead."

  "I need your promise, Kayleigh. This is serious."

  "OK, I promise. Hope to die."

  "Is that what you promised her?"

  "Mostly. Sort of."

  I put my hands in my lap. It was cold here, but I wanted to keep people away.

  "When I spoke to you through your mirror, a little while ago, that was how I found Alex. I could hear her, but I didn't know where she was. I think she was taken, somewhere safe but away, because of the accident. That's why I need to know what happened. I need to know what she did."

  "She didn't do it on purpose! She wasn't like that."

  "I know that. I'm her dad. I know what she's like, but I need to know what happened."

  "They were there. Tracy Welham and her lot. They were in the changing room."

  "Before that. You knew about it before that, didn't you?"

  "She made me promise."

  "Kayleigh?"

  There was a long pause. This time I won.

  "She came into school one day, really excited. She wouldn't tell me what it was about. We tell each other, like, everything. Everything about everything. Boys, even." She stopped.

  "Go on," I prodded gently.

  "She was really cagey. I kept asking her whether it was a boy, but she kept… evading me."

  "OK."

  "It wasn't like her to be so cagey, but when school finished we went back to mine. We shut the bedroom door and put the stereo on, and I made her tell me. She swore me to secrecy, but I made her."

  "What, Kayleigh? What did she say?"

  "She didn't say anything. She got my water glass and emptied it on to my table. I was like, hey, pack that in, but she just carried on. The water stayed on the table, though. It shoulda run on to the floor, but it didn't. It all gathered in the middle, in a circle, like mercury, waiting for her."

  "Waiting?"

  "She goes, watch this. She puts a finger out and draws a K for Kayleigh, and the water does it too. It made a K, right there, I swear. Then she drew an A and it made an A, just like that. It was spooky."

  "Did she say how she did it?"

  "And then, like, she draws her finger in a circle and wobbles it towards the edge and all the water rolls to the edge, off the side and back into the glass, just like that. I swear."

  "How did she explain it?"

  "She said she had cramps in the night, you know, like… girl cramps?"

  "I know what periods are, Kayleigh."

  "Yeah, well. When she woke up, she was different. She said the water obeyed her. It wanted to do what she wanted. She said she thought she was a witch."

  "A witch?" The irony of that remark wasn't lost on me.

  "Yeah, we thought she might be able to do spells and stuff, but it was just water. She could do some cool things, though. Dry her hair by making all the water drop out, stir her tea without a spoon. It was pretty neat."

  "And she could control it?"

  "Yeah, mostly. It was getting stronger, though. She said… it was like it was calling to her and she didn't know what it wanted."

  "But she had it under control."

  "She wouldn't go near the river, and the swimming pool was right out. She said it was too strong. There was too much of it. She was frightened about what it would do."

  "Was that when she had the accident?"

  Kayleigh went quiet. She sat, pulling her cardie around her.

  "I need to know, Kayleigh. I can't help her until I know."

  The silence persisted. Then there was a snuffle.

  "You could just tell me. I'm her dad. I'll understand."

  "Yeah, but…" she snuffled.

  "Yes, but what?"

  "The accident." She sniffed.

  "What about it? What happened?"

  "It wasn't an accident, was it? She did it. She killed them." The tears overflowed and I found myself holding her as she wailed into my shoulder. I drew concealment closer around us, so as not to attract attention. Kayleigh shook, convulsing with great heaving sobs as it all spilled out. Between heaving gulps of air she told me.

  "She didn't mean it. She never meant it. It was too strong. It got loose. They were trying to hurt her. Trying to dunk her – in the toilets. They hurt her – they were shoving her – into the water. They put her – in the water – don't you see? They put her in it!"

  I hugged her to me. "It's OK. I think I do see."

  She gulped and hiccoughed in my armpit and I held her until the sobbing subsided. I passed her my hanky and she dabbed her eyes and then blew her nose. The mascara around her eyes had run and stained it. She offered me back the hanky.

  "No, keep it."

  She stuffed it into the sleeve of her cardie.

  "She wouldn't have done it on purpose, would she?" she asked.

  "No. If they were putting her into water and hurting her then they probably brought it on themselves. I don't think she meant it to happen." The truth of that statement rankled with me. I wasn't a hundred per cent sure it was true, but speculation was not what Kayleigh needed to hear.

  "I tried to get them to stop. They wouldn't listen. She knew it was bad." She sniffed. "We were supposed to meet. She wasn't there. I knew something was wrong."

  "How did you find her?"

  "You can't get out the front. There are the offices and they watch the gates like hawks. I went out the back, where the playing fields are. I thought she might be there. I heard her. She was in the toilets in the changing block. I think she was hiding. Welham and her mates went in there, smoking."

  "So you followed her."

  "I tried to warn them, but they wouldn't believe me. They were gonna get me too. I ran out into the corridor and closed the door so they couldn't get me. It was me. I trapped them in there with her." She took out that hanky again and mopped at her nose.

  "No, you didn't."

  "I did. If I had been with her she might not have lost it. They wouldn't have done much. I've had worse. They're all mouth, that lot. They were. They're all dead now. All of them." She started crying again and I hugged her close.

  "It was an accident, Kayleigh. You didn't know what would happen. You did the best you could. You ran for help, didn't you?"

  She calmed a little and snuffled into the hanky. "It was too late. The water was filthy. It went everywhere. It was streaming out the windows. Where? Where did it all come from?"

  "She called it, I think. She panicked when they tried to drown her. She lost control. Someone once told me that magic responds to need. They must have been hurting her pretty badly."

  "Not that badly. Not to deserve to drown. Not in that. There was stuff in it, ugh, it was horrible. The smell was awful. It's taken them weeks just to clean it up."

  "Who cleaned it up?"

  "Workmen. They all came in suits with plastic masks on. The smell was atrocious. You weren't there."

  "Was there a big truck? Really new, like an American one. All white and shiny?"

  "No. I don't remember a truck. Why?"

  "Just something I saw somewhere. I thought it might be a clue."

  "No. They had a van, but it was a beaten-up old thing."

  "Did they say anything?"

  "To me? We weren't allowed anywhere near it. The whole area has been off limits for weeks.
It still is. You can understand why."

  "Is there anything else, Kayleigh? Anything you remember? Anything that might help me find her?"

  "No, I don't remember. It all happened so fast. I wake up nights. Mum says I'm dreaming. I can hear them in there, screaming, clawing at the door to get out." She shuddered.

  "OK. Thank you. I think you've been very brave. I'm sorry I had to trick you to get you out here."

  "It's OK. I feel better. I couldn't, like, tell anyone. Not even Mum. I daren't."

  "You'd better get back before you're missed."

  "I left my radio on. They think I'm doing my homework."

  "Best go and do some, then."

  She handed me the hanky back. "You better have that, otherwise I'll have to say where I got it."

  I took it from her.

  She turned and walked three paces and then stopped and turned around.

  "Remembered something?"

  "No," she said. "No, but I need to know. What is it? What is it with you and her? How is it possible? I mean, I've seen it and I don't believe it. I'm sure it was a trick." She watched me. "Is it? Is it a trick?"

  "No. It isn't a trick. You mustn't tell, though. They will be watching you."

  "Who's they? Who is it that's watching?"

  "That's the question I'm trying to answer. I'm just a man looking for answers. You should go."

  She sighed and nodded, acknowledging that it was true and walked back towards the road. I watched her check for cars before crossing and then I stood and walked across the park to the swings, so that when she turned back the bench was bare and she could not see me in the gloom. She scanned the area from the far side of the road, then shook her head, wrapped her cardie tighter and headed for home. I followed discreetly until she went inside, and then waited until she appeared at her bedroom window. She looked out on the empty street and I think she knew I was there somewhere, even though she couldn't pick me out. She drew her curtains closed against the dark, but couldn't resist a last peek through the crack.

  I found myself hoping that she would sleep better from now on, now that she had been able to share her burden.

  I left the cul-de-sac and turned away from Katherine's house, heading for the Tube station. I set a strong pace, knowing that the walk would take me half an hour and that if I lingered I would miss the last tube and end up waiting for a night bus.

  The walk gave me chance to think. If Kayleigh was right and Alex had drowned the other girls, then it would make sense that the authorities had acted to take her out of circulation. She was a danger to others, but where would be safe? Blackbird had once told me that there were places for people like Alex, who couldn't control their gifts. She'd never said where any of them were, though. I made a mental note to ask her later.

  The reality was that my daughter had killed three girls, however unintentionally. Garvin had said that was likely and Kayleigh's story confirmed it. They had tried to hurt her and she had drowned them in sewage. I thought I should feel bad about that, but my honest reaction was that they deserved it. They had been intent on hurting her when they should have left her alone. It was harsh, and sad that they had been caught up in it, but they weren't my daughters.

  I was beginning to understand why they had taken her, though. If she couldn't control her gifts then she was dangerous. They would act to protect other people and to prevent her harming herself. That didn't mean that I would leave her there, though. I was her father and I had got her into this mess. If anyone could look after her, it was me.

  I found the Tube station in time to get a ride into central London. The long ride lulled me, but I had too much still to do to allow myself to sleep. I used the Tube to get into the West End and then used one of the Warders' houses as a gateway to the Way. Using Raffmir's slingshot technique I was back in Yorkshire within two hours of meeting Kayleigh. When I stumbled out of the Way-node, it had mercifully stopped raining. The ground was sodden, and the grass squelched as I tramped down the bank into town.

  The lights were on in the church as I passed, but I ignored that and went straight down to the guest house. I still had my key, so I let myself in.

  "You're very late again, Mr Dobson." Martha was in the kitchen with the door open, sewing.

  "And it's late to be still sewing. It's bad for your eyes, you know."

  "I'm just doing some buttons, then I'll be retiring. You look like you should do the same, Mr Dobson."

  "I won't be up long, I assure you."

  "I'll wish you good night then."

  "Good night."

  I took the stairs up to my room and locked the door behind me, stowed my gear and sword and hung up my jacket. Then I sat on the end of the bed and collapsed backwards. What with the cumulative effect of the Ways, lack of sleep and a long, long day, I fought to keep my eyes open. I sat up. I needed a shower before bed anyway, so it was pointless getting comfortable.

  I stood in front of the chest and rested my hand on the face of the mirror.

  "Garvin?"

  The mirror misted gently and there was a muted thumping sound.

  "Niall, you're late. I was about to send out a search party." There was humour in his tone. He was obviously in a better mood than last time.

  "How are things at Court?"

  "They are progressing. Fellstamp is recovering from that scratch you gave him and between us we have been able to keep track of Altair. He hasn't brought any more over, so we are coping. Have you seen anything of Raffmir?"

  It was pointless lying to him as he would hear it immediately. "He came to the café. We talked. He said that you'd sent me here to keep me away from the negotiations."

  "He's right. I did."

  "He said it was because the High Court were negotiating for the fate of the half-breeds. He said you were keeping me away from it so I wouldn't prejudice the negotiations."

  "He's right about that too. If you cause an incident, the High Court might be less able to defend their position on the half-breeds. It would look as if you were undermining them."

  "I don't think that's what he meant."

  "I know exactly what he meant. He means to sow discord among us. You need to stay tight and not let him get under your skin."

  "He's already under my skin. I just want to tell him to get lost."

  "As long as he's with you, he's not somewhere else, Niall. Speaking of which, we've lost Blackbird again."

  "What do you mean lost?"

  "As in: we don't know where she is. She's hard to protect if we can't find her."

  "She's hard to hurt if Deefnir can't find her."

  "As long as they don't know where she is either, that's true. If they've followed her, then that could be trouble."

  "I don't know where she went either, if that's what you're asking."

  "Would you tell me if you found out?"

  "That would depend on her. I think I'd let her make that choice. It's her life."

  "That's a dangerous game, Niall."

  "They're all dangerous games until the Untainted take themselves back home and leave us in peace."

  "True. Talk to her, please. Try and persuade her to come back in."

  "I'll pass on your request, Garvin. She'll make her own mind up, you know that."

  "So I do. Very well."

  "Anything else to report?"

  This was the moment. I should tell Garvin about Raffmir's secret conversations. I should explain about the ability to make small jumps using magic. I should tell him Raffmir knew where my daughter was. But if I did, Raffmir said she would die. He had been straight about that, at least.

  "No, there's nothing else I want to tell you."

  "How are the missing girls?"

  "Some of them, fine. The others are still missing though, as in missing from the records. They don't appear as missing women anywhere in the archives, as far as I can tell. There's no local knowledge of lost women. I have thirty or forty skulls and no owners. I'll have to go to the Records Office at Northallerton to c
onfirm it, but that's the story here. If there were a string of murders, even over a timescale of hundreds of years, there would be something. Instead, it's a blank wall."

  "So what's your conclusion?"

  "I don't have a conclusion yet. I'm following the evidence."