This time she thought she did detect the tiniest flicker around his eyes. It felt like winning. ‘And you know she is still in London.’
He inclined his head.
‘You also know that she is no longer taking your calls. Does that make you nervous?’
‘Not particularly.’
Lydia gave him a long look. ‘It should.’
The car was moving smoothly through traffic along the embankment. This being London, they still weren’t moving particularly fast and Lydia could see the large plane trees, benches, and statues which lined the route. She watched the scenery and waited. Back when she was playing this game with Mr Smith before, she had no idea how far he was playing her. Now, she still wasn’t entirely certain, but she felt more prepared. And, ultimately, compared to the raw terror of Maddie, he no longer felt like a threat. The goons in the front were no doubt highly trained killers and carrying firearms, but Lydia felt her Crow power around her like a cloak. Next to Mr Smith, she felt invincible. She wondered if this was how Maddie felt all the time.
‘Why don’t you tell me what you want?’
‘What did you do to Maddie? I know she went through training, but I think there was more.’
‘She is very talented. It was more a case of honing what was already there.’
‘There is something wrong with her, now. Something is missing.’
‘I didn’t do anything,’ Mr Smith said, his voice dripping with faux concern. ‘I think there was always something missing. That kind of asset, they’re all the same. Damaged. It makes them mouldable. You take the broken pieces and you put them together however you want.’
Lydia felt a flare of anger. It was a strange, almost protective, feeling. Not that Maddie needed her defence. She squeezed her coin.
He smiled at her, clearly aware that he had hit a nerve. ‘Don’t be offended. She’s a good one. Most of the assets aren’t too bright. Doesn’t matter what the films would have you believe most hired killers don’t need that much spark. Up here.’ He tapped his temple. ‘They just need to be able to pull a trigger.’
‘Plenty of military types can do that. And you must know hundreds in your line of work.’
‘Killing from a distance. Or in self-defence. Or in service of an ideal. Protection of a country or leader. Something. It’s actually harder than you think to find someone who will stab a stranger for money. More than once, anyway.’
‘I would say I’m sorry for your inconvenience.’
‘But that would be a lie.’
Lydia didn’t reply. Then, after the thoughts kept swirling, she did. What did it matter, now? Mr Smith wasn’t getting out of his alive. And she wasn’t, either. ‘Maddie wasn’t entirely all right, I can accept that, but she wasn’t broken. She used to be a Crow.’
‘She’s still got that dubious honour.’
‘I’m not so sure,’ Lydia said. ‘I can tell what Family people are from, and whether they are packing any power. She has lost that signature. If I wasn’t looking right at her, I wouldn’t know she was a Crow.’
‘They say that you lose a part of your soul every time you take a life.’
‘That’s it? That’s your answer?’
He shrugged. ‘She’s taken a lot of lives.’
* * *
Lydia directed them to Highgate. It was the only entrance to the Pearls’ domain that she knew of, although no doubt there were many more.
Once the car was parked in the road between Highgate and Queenswood, Mr Smith turned slightly in his seat. ‘Tell me why I would go with you?’
‘I’m unarmed,’ Lydia said. ‘And your large friends can come with us. You’ll be perfectly safe.’
‘I’m not concerned for my safety,’ Mr Smith said. ‘But I’m a busy man. You made it abundantly clear that you are not interested in working with me so, I ask again, why would I go anywhere with you?’
‘I’m meeting Maddie. Thought you might want to tag along. You two can catch up.’
He went still. Well, more still. It was subtle but the tension in the car increased sharply. ‘You are hoping I will kill her?’
‘Before she kills me. Yes.’
‘And if I fail, she’ll probably kill me.’
Lydia nodded cheerfully. ‘That’s about the size of it. It seemed like a neat solution.’
‘Why are you telling me?’ Mr Smith sounded genuinely curious, and it was nice to have surprised him.
‘I’m not a killer. If you come with me, I want you to know what you’re getting into. It’s your choice.’
‘Well, then,’ Mr Smith settled back in the soft leather. ‘I choose not.’
‘Fair enough,’ Lydia said, and grabbed the door handle. She had barely made it out of the car when doors opened behind her and she found herself being forcibly detained by one of the large men, while the other gave her a professional and thorough pat-down.
‘She’s clean,’ the man that Lydia privately named ‘Handsy’ called to Smith.
He emerged from the car, shooting his cuffs.
The other man, the one who had grabbed her, and who was still gripping her shoulders with meaty hands, suddenly let her go. Lydia stumbled forward but regained her balance before she did anything too embarrassing.
‘Uhhh,’ Meat Hands was saying. It wasn’t coherent, but it got the gist across. Something unexpected and unpleasant had just happened.
‘Let’s go for a little walk,’ Maddie’s voice. Bright and chirpy like a talk-show host, emanated from behind Meat Hands.
‘We…’ Meat Hands began, in a triumph of hope over experience, before finishing with another involuntary noise as Maddie punched him in the kidneys. ‘Uhung.’
‘No talking, please, children,’ Maddie said.
‘What makes you think I’m going to come with you?’ Mr Smith asked, not unreasonably. The plan had been for Lydia to lead Mr Smith into the woods to meet Maddie and for her to ambush them under cover of the trees.
‘You still want them, don’t you?’ Maddie said and winked at him.
‘Wait,’ Lydia said. ‘What?’
Maddie cocked her head. ‘I made a little deal with our mutual friend Gale, here. Amnesty from the service and maybe a few contacts. Just a little retirement package that will help me set up on my own.’
‘And in return?’
‘The Silver cup,’ Maddie said, still hidden behind the massive bulk of Meat Hands.
‘And me,’ Lydia said, the truth dropping like a stone.
‘And you. Sorry, cuz.’
Chapter Twenty-Six
Maddie did not sound sorry. Lydia wasn’t exactly surprised that Maddie was double-crossing her, but she was weirdly disappointed. She had known it was a possibility, but Maddie’s attention had felt like affection in some way and that had clouded her view. And it had all seemed different, then. She had been running terrifying scenarios in her mind as a theoretical exercise. Now one of those terrifying scenarios was actually happening, Lydia wanted to go back in time and deliver a swift kick to her past self. ‘So, why would I come with you, now?’
‘Because I’m asking nicely.’ Mr Smith had produced a gun while they had been speaking. The sight of it made Lydia’s insides go liquid. She wasn’t experienced with firearms and wasn’t used to seeing them anywhere except the TV screen. ‘We’ll all go in a happy little party. Once I’ve got the cup, I’ll transfer the money and the contacts and we’ll be done.’
‘That’s the deal,’ Maddie said.
The liquid fear was tinged with anger. Lydia focused on the anger, using it to keep herself together. ‘You duplicitous little…’
‘Careful, now,’ Maddie peered around Meat Hands to wink at Lydia. ‘Don’t say anything you’ll regret.’
* * *
Walking through Highgate Woods had never been Lydia’s favourite activity and doing so with a gun held against the base of her spine did nothing to improve the experience. She concentrated on watching her feet and making sure she didn’t trip over a stray root.
It wouldn’t do to get shot by Mr Smith just for falling over.
As they moved further from the main path and the trees got closer together, Lydia could taste the Pearl magic. It was dark green leaves, buds bursting on the branch and youth and beauty reflected in a thousand shining surfaces. Not exactly a chatty party to begin with, the group had gone utterly silent. Something pale slipped through the trees to their right, keeping pace. It was a small figure and Lydia assumed it would be the girl the Pearls used as one of their emissaries in the aboveground world.
‘Why did you stash it out here?’ Mr Smith said, his voice slightly strained.
Maddie was walking behind them, covering Meat Hands and Handsy with her own gun. ‘I needed somewhere you weren’t going to wander past. Coincidences do happen, but I knew you avoided this place.’
‘What makes you say that?’
‘Don’t be coy,’ Maddie said. ‘It really doesn’t suit you.’
Mr Smith shook his head. ‘I don’t know what you mean.’
‘So, you’re not shaking like a tiny little leaf?’ Maddie’s tone was teasing.
‘Shut up.’
That surprised Lydia. Mr Smith had never been anything other than coldly superior with her, except when he had been laying on the false concern. Hearing him snap made her like him a great deal more than she had and guilt stabbed her in the stomach. He prodded the gun a little harder into her back and she stopped feeling bad.
‘What’s that?’ Meat Hands stopped walking. He was looking around at the trees which had been groaning for a while.
‘Nearly there,’ Maddie said. ‘Keep moving.’
‘Do as she says,’ Mr Smith said.
Lydia couldn’t remember the route through the woods very well, but she knew they were almost at the entrance. She could taste it. And the trees were leaning down, branches twisting and writhing. The inky sky was no longer visible, replaced with an impossibly thick canopy of green leaves. It was how the forest must have looked to Londoners hundreds of years ago, back before the roads and pollution and city sprawl had got in on the act. The Pearls probably considered the change a travesty. If Lydia had her way, the whole lot would have been bulldozed to make way for a nice cheerful shopping centre. Maybe a Nando’s.
The small girl with the long dirty blonde hair stepped out from the undergrowth. ‘Shiny?’
‘Not today, kiddo,’ Lydia said. ‘Sorry.’
‘I brought you something pretty,’ Maddie said, showing her teeth in what she probably thought was a friendly smile. ‘It’s over there.’
The girl was no idiot, and she hesitated.
‘It’s really pretty,’ Maddie said.
The girl tilted her head, considering. ‘Is there glitter? I like glitter.’
‘So much glitter,’ Maddie said. She was visibly confused at the child’s total lack of fear.
‘They aren’t expecting you.’ The girl pulled at a thick strand of her tangled hair and began winding it around her fingers.
‘That’s all right,’ Maddie said. ‘Help yourself to your gift, anyway.’
The girl stepped over to a hillock of moss and stones. A red leather purse on a braided cord had joined the variety of rainbow plastic beads hanging around her neck and it swung forward as she leaned down to peer under the leaves and stones.
‘Where is it?’ Mr Smith said. He sounded agitated and Lydia hoped he didn’t slip and shoot her accidentally. How much field time did Smith have? She was used to seeing him on the other side of a table or leaning back against the leather seats of his car.
‘Don’t worry, it’s here,’ Lydia said, as the Silver tang hit her nostrils and the back of her throat. It was bright and clean and cold and it cut through the choking taste of foliage.
‘Bring it to me-’ Mr Smith was saying, his voice urgent with need, when he was interrupted.
The sound of the gun was so loud and sudden that Lydia let out an involuntary noise. One she wasn’t proud of making. On the plus side, she managed not to wet herself. Small mercies.
Meat Hands toppled like a tree.
Handsy had spun around at the sound, his own weapon rising to fire, but Maddie was too quick. Faster than a blink, she was behind the man and drawing a knife across his throat. He fell to his knees, blood flowing. His expression was so surprised it was almost comical. Almost.
‘There was no need for that,’ Mr Smith said and wrapped an arm around Lydia, pulling her up against his front. He was surprisingly strong and Lydia found she was up on tiptoe. She tried to move and couldn’t.
With his signature mixing with the Pearl magic and the Silver rolling off the hidden cup, Lydia was finding it difficult to stay conscious. She was glad she had spent so much time training and she used that focus, now, finding the quiet space in the centre of it all and drawing her wings around her like a shield.
‘Time to go.’ Lydia could dimly hear Maddie’s voice but it seemed to be coming from a great distance. ‘You give me Lydia and the contact list and my new friend here will bring you the cup.’
‘That’s not what we agreed. I get Lydia and the cup.’
‘Deals change. Just ask your friends.’ She waved at the bodies on the ground. ‘The cup is fair payment for the contact list. And Lydia will be more trouble than she’s worth.’
‘Maybe you’re right. Maybe I’ll just kill your cousin here, leave her body for the birds.’
Don’t try to bluff the psychopath, Lydia thought, wondering how he could possibly still be underestimating Maddie.
‘You want the cup and I want the contact list.’ Maddie’s gun was steady in her hand and she looked relaxed. She could have been discussing the purchase of a loaf of bread. ‘All we have to do is swap. Don’t make this more complicated than it has to be.’
Lydia felt Mr Smith’s body relax slightly, even though his grip on her remained firm.
She was still concentrating on staying conscious, but it was much easier. She could feel strong wings wrapped tightly and taste soft feathers. Whether it was the training under stress or the siphoning of her power into the bracelet or a combination of the two, Lydia definitely felt more in control. She could still sense the bright Silver from the cup but it was no longer blinding.
She blinked and focused on the scene. Maddie was holding the little girl who was holding the silver cup and looking pissed off. The trees seemed even closer than before. The small clearing they had been standing in was now a tangled mass of roots and trunks and foliage. A branch the thickness of a body builder’s thigh was snaking down behind Maddie’s head. It had a cruel intent, like it was sentient, and it made Lydia’s stomach flip over.
‘Watch out!’ Lydia shouted.
Maddie ducked, narrowly missing the sudden swipe. The branch plunged into the ground with a sickening crack and leaves rained down. The other trees had awoken, too, and there were more branches moving in unnatural ways. There was one to Lydia’s left that she would have sworn was staring at her.
‘We need to go if we’re still going,’ Lydia said, speaking to Maddie, and trying to stay calm.
‘You’re not going anywhere,’ Mr Smith said and then he was maybe going to say something else but Lydia would never know because the next sound out of his mouth was a kind of ‘mnumph’ and he let her go.
Lydia knew that Maddie was back on plan and was now controlling Mr Smith. She glanced back at him, stock still and with his eyes bulging. His jaw was working but his lips were clamped shut. Even though it was something she had signed off on, it was still a freaky sight. She turned away and climbed over the tree roots to get closer to the girl. She crouched down as best she could and looked into her pale blue eyes. ‘We humbly request an audience with the King. We bring a gift of great value.’
The girl sucked on the end of a piece of hair and regarded Lydia balefully.
‘You can keep the shiny cup, kid,’ Maddie said.
The girl brightened and hugged it closer.
And then the ground opened up.
Chapter T
wenty-Seven
The last time Lydia had entered the Pearl court, there had been a black door covered in a mosaic of mother-of-pearl hidden in the basement of a ten-million-pound house. This time, it was an archway of twisted tree roots lifted to reveal steps roughly cut from black earth.
The girl twisted away from Maddie and skipped down, her blonde hair a beacon in the dark.
‘You first,’ Maddie said, pushing Lydia in the shoulder. ‘Then you,’ she added to Mr Smith.
Lydia was concentrating on the steps and heard the sounds of Mr Smith stumbling over the uneven ground. He was making a low moaning sound which made the hairs on her neck stand up. She knew what it was like to have your body controlled by Maddie and she could empathise with the sound effects.
The air was dank and cold and the earth seemed to press in from both sides. Stray roots poked through the packed soil walls. They were a stark reminder that this wasn’t a carefully engineered structure and Lydia could feel her heartrate kicking up. She wasn’t a fan of going underground at the best of times and at this moment it was extremely hard not to picture the metres of heavy earth and rock above her head.
Finally the steps ended and a short passage led to a door. Lydia recognised it as the same kind she had seen in the mansion. Shiny black lacquer which seemed to be catching the light, even though there wasn’t any. No candles. No lightbulbs. No torches. Trying not to think too hard about how little sense it made, Lydia put her hand to the door. The blonde girl had no doubt already gone through and she had left the door ajar.
The court was as Lydia remembered. The magic was thick in the air as a group of beautiful young things danced to a pounding bass rhythm. Music which clearly should have been audible in the passageway they had just walked along. Lydia swallowed down the urge to be sick. That was the problem when things didn’t obey the laws of physics, the human brain rebelled and that made a person mighty queasy. No wonder most people just decided they weren’t seeing what they were seeing or hearing what they were hearing. It was easier on the gut.
The Shadow Wing Page 19
