by P M Cole
I went to turn back to the wardrobe, thinking what I would need to pull it apart when I thought about the other floors. The one above was mostly used for storage of clock parts, but the attic room I had never even seen during my six years there.
I walked out into the hall and continued up to the next floor, then stopped again before the door at the top of the final set of stairs. Whatever was beyond was covered in darkness as no light seeped beneath the door. Not being entirely sure of why I felt the need to, I leaned in closer to the paneling and listened. There was a slight howling of wind on the other side…
Chirping erupted just behind my head making me jump an inch or two in the air. Auto was hovering.
“You almost frightened me to death! No, I do not know what is in there that’s what I’m trying to find out!”
Auto chirped and then landed on the banister, perching awkwardly.
“I’m just going to try the handle.”
To my surprise it opened upon its first turn. A musky smell escaped out of the shadow-encrusted space beyond. I waved the cobwebs from my path and stepped up into the confined space. Tea chests, most empty but some filled to the brim with what appeared to be clock parts, surrounded me. I wasn’t sure what I expected in the only room I had never stepped foot in, but it was more than this.
“Hmm maybe I can break these up, and use them to cover the windows,” I said to Auto who appeared to be making coughing noises due to the thick layer of dust everything was covered in.
The howl made itself heard once again but louder and I realised the sound was coming from the room's only window, which had a slight cracked glass panel. I started to walk to it when my foot walked across a particularly creaky floorboard. I stopped, then rocked back on my heel reproducing the sound.
“Hmm…”
Seeing the board was not as aligned as the others around it, I leaned down and pressed my fingers on the wood. It rattled not wanting to lay flat. It was also without a nail. I slid the thinnest of my fingers along the edge and pulled it up, hoping to see what the obstruction was.
“What…”
Auto chirped.
“I don’t know what that is… no, probably not treasure…”
In the small space beneath the board some fabric could be seen. I reached down and allowed my fingers to feel into the darkness. The fabric was covering something rolled up. I pulled the bag towards me, and then let it drop as I pulled the scroll from it.
“S...p…e…l…l,” chirped Auto.
I briefly looked at the bird. “I don’t know…”
I untied the string holding it together, then laid the parchment out in front of me. A blank page looked back at me. I turned it over. It was the same on the other side.
“M…a…p.”
I frowned at the bird. “No, not a map. It’s nothing, there’s nothing here.”
Auto flew and landed nearby.
“M…a…p.”
I ignored the mechanical bird, and rolled the paper up, tied it back together, and placed it back in its bag. “Maybe Lucas or Charlotte can make sense of it.”
I looked at the tea chests. Holding my arm out, I let the blade held within the forearm section of my suit eject, and with a bit of concentration made the edge serrated.
“Let’s get started.”
*****
I had a quick look down below into the snow-covered street, it was empty. I was two floors up, balancing precariously at the top of Mr Gladwell’s ladder. Turning back to the final strip of wood, I produced a brass nail from a basket hanging from my arm. I had fashioned around thirty of them with some effort twenty minutes before.
‘M…o…r…e.’
“No, I have enough,” I said to Auto on a ledge above me.
I held the nail against the wood, my fingers now almost completely without feeling and went to concentrate my thoughts to drive it into the board when a scream broke the silence somewhere behind me.
I spun around too quickly, my foot slipping from the step, but then grabbed hold of the sides of the ladder, regaining my balance. In the distance, I could hear the sound of horses and of men shouting. It appeared to be coming from the side street that ran alongside the inn.
I went to turn back to my work when the entrance of the inn flew open, and a man with a shovel ran out, disappearing around the corner.
“Go see what’s happening,” I said to Auto, who took to the air and followed the man into the alley. It was only a few seconds before he returned.
‘M…a…n…H…u…r…t.’
I climbed down as quickly as I could, dropped the basket and stomped my way through the snow, until I was level with the alleyway. About fifty yards away, a group of men were huddled around a large cart while others were attending to the horses. Two women, one of which I was sure was Mrs Ballingsworth, were standing nearby. I ran forward into the narrow road, trying not to slip on the icy cobbles. As I got closer to the commotion, it became obvious that someone was trapped between the back wheel and the chassis of the cart. At first, I wasn’t sure who, but then Mrs Ballingsworth sobs told me who it was. I rushed to her side.
“Oh Cog—” she sobbed. “Ivor is stuck underneath! The ice had frozen the underside, and he went in to clear it, but then something broke and now he’s—” She sobbed again.
I looked back at the men; they appeared to be at a loss as to how to help. “Why can’t you lift it off him?” I said to them.
“His arm is jammed in good. Every time we try to move the cart, it tears him up worse!” said one of the men, an older man with a greying beard. The two others, younger, nodded in agreement.
“Let me look,” I said walking forward through the sludge. The older man went to say something, but instead I brushed him aside and crouched to see better.
Mr Ballingsworth was unconscious. The arm of his coat was now a deep red. The same colour of the snow beneath him. I was no doctor, but he was obviously losing a good amount of blood. As I examined the cart's chassis, in my head I pulled apart the various supports and pins, but each solution required me to use my powers.
The older man placed his hand on my shoulder. “Get back child, you—”
I threw him a fierce look, and he let go as if he had seen the devil. “I know machines and how things are put together, I can help him. Just give me a moment.”
The men looked at each other.
I saw a possible way to get Ivor free, but it was going to need the help of the men. I looked back at them. “Each of you take a side, when I say, lift as much as you can, and I will try to pull him out.”
They moved forward and took hold of the side of the cart.
I spotted where a large pin had broken, trapping Ivor’s arm between a series of bars. There was no obvious way to get him out. I moved further underneath and placed my hand on Ivor’s arm.
“Lift now!”
The men heaved while I focused on the remaining metal that was in the supports. The wood creaked and started to splinter, but it moved free of his arm. I pulled him back with as much strength as I could muster, and he groaned in response.
“Someone help me pull him out!”
One of the younger men ducked under, grabbing Ivor by the shoulders, and pulled him clear. Ivor’s eyes flickered as he mumbled something about his arm, and Mrs Ballingsworth ran to him.
They carried him inside while Mrs Ballingsworth mouthed a silent ‘thank you’ to me then followed her husband.
The lane had returned to silence, and I realised for that short moment I was helping Mr Ballingsworth, I had forgotten my own drama.
I looked back to the edge of the shop in the distance and started back to the ladder.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
I descended the stairs into the Ratters village. As I walked through the cavernous space, I heard whispers from the shadows. A young boy ran past and ahead, moving into Colin’s hut. Colin then appeared with two of the larger young people.
I slowed my approach as I walked into the square. Other R
atters emerged from their own canvas-covered homes.
Colin puffed out his chest. “You’re not welcome here.”
The remark momentarily shocked me. “What?”
He sniffed. “We talked about it, and that’s what we decided.”
I shook my head in disbelief, then went to take a step forward. The two tall young men crossed their arms. “Colin it’s me, Cog. I’ve come here to tell you, you need to prepare.” I looked around. “Where’s Arges?”
“Gone. I told him he had to leave.”
Anger bubbled inside me. “What is this all about? Why are you doing this? Where’s Olivia?” I caught sight of the blanket covering the door of her hut shake, but there was no sign of her.
“This ain’t nothing to do with her. I’m in charge of the Ratters and this place, and I don’t think it’s good for us to keep on being part of…”
“What? Part of me?”
“Magic, monsters… everything! It’s not the world we live in!”
I pointed to the network of vibrating pipes across the far walls. “Magic did that! Now you don’t have to travel the tunnels to get water!”
He looked off to the side, rubbing his neck. “Yeah, well we appreciated what you done, but we have to look out for ourselves from now on.”
I took a step back, feeling as if my strength had left me.
“Jim and Larkin 'ere will see you out.”
They walked to me and held my arms. “But… there’s so much you don’t know. So much—” They started walking me through the village. “—you need to know! They will be coming here, you have to protect yourselves!” The last part I had to shout as I was now already in the stairwell.
I angrily pushed off the hands that were leading me further out. “I know which way to go!” I said. They nodded, turned, and headed back.
I couldn’t believe what had just happened. How could he be so… so… agh!
I arrived at the top of the small set of stairs and went to walk along the tunnel but I heard steps behind me. A flickering candle appeared with Olivia behind it.
“What’s going on?” I said.
She stood close, looking behind her. “He’s angry you have been keeping your distance from him. He loves you, Cog, and he feels you used him.”
“What!?”
“Shh… I have to go back, but just give him time.”
“He doesn’t have time! That’s why I came here. Hades, the six, they know the Ratters are their enemy, and they might be coming here!”
“OK… I’ll tell him. But he’s too angry to listen to you right now.”
“He would put all of you in danger, just because… of feelings?”
Olivia smiled, placing her hand on my cheek. “He’s young, Cog. I’ll do my best to make him see sense.”
I let out a heavy breath. “Fine. But they are coming, and without magic, I don’t know what any of you can do to stop them from destroying this place and worse.” I thought about telling Olivia what my mother had said but decided against it.
She nodded, turned, and disappeared back down the stairs.
Shaking my head, I marched away.
*****
I navigated through the tunnels, my anger being expressed to the damp walls around me.
“Stupid…”
Muffled chirps came from inside my coat.
“Stupid means cretin… I think.”
More chirps.
“I don’t know why… OK… I do… but it doesn’t make it any less stupid.”
I had already moved past my basement home some time before and was at the ladder which emerged at the bottom of Bernard’s garden. I ascended and, with some effort, pushed the cover up and to the side. I climbed out. It was 9:31 a.m. Hopefully he had not left for Battersea yet.
The lawn looked as if a thick white blanket had been draped across it, and all the flowers and shrubs were frozen in place. I kept to the edge so as not to make it obvious that someone had walked across their garden and walked down the steps to the basement kitchen. Hessie was sitting at the table, drinking from a mug. She frowned on seeing me, then got to her feet, and opened the door.
“He’s not here,” she said.
“How long ago did he leave?”
A shrill voice came from behind the maid, and she tensed. “I have to go! And… you. You go!”
“How long?” I whispered as the door began to close.
“He just left in a carriage.”
I quickly turned and ran up the steps. On reaching the top, I pulled Auto from my coat and threw him into the air. “Find Bernard. He will be in a carriage. Try to get him to stop!”
As the metal bird took to the white sky, I chastised myself for not leaving earlier and jogged as quickly as I could to the road at the front of the property. The streets were dead, which I was thankful for, but the foot-high snow made any kind of walking difficult. After a few moments, chirping came from above me and Auto swooped down and landed on my arm.
’N…o…t…F…a…r.’
He took to the air once more, and I kept on shuffling along the pavement until I arrived at a junction. Bernard was waiting in the next street, standing next to a black carriage.
“You can’t go to the acid works,” I said out of breath.
“Good morning to you too. That mechanical bird really is—” He frowned. “Why can I not go to the Acid works? What did you do?”
“I went there yesterday evening.”
“Why did you go alone?” He looked away. “Why am I even asking that? It’s you, that’s why you went alone.”
“I couldn’t wait! I had to know what they were doing there. And now I do.”
He looked back at the carriage. “I know you have a dislike for this mode of travel, but are you amenable to sitting inside so we don’t freeze to death?”
I looked at the small door and the two padded seats opposite each other inside the cabin and nodded.
I climbed inside while he told the driver to give us a moment, then climbed in as well, closing the door. For a moment I felt trapped, but then the burning in my nose and lungs reminded me of how cold it was outside.
“Now tell me what you found there.”
A short while later I had done, but not without a few shakes of head from the man opposite. I then went on to tell him about Daniel’s visit and finally the situation with the Ratters.
“We appear to be losing allies just when we need them most,” said Bernard.
I nodded.
He smiled. “But you appear to be getting more confident in your abilities.”
“Because I have to…”
He nodded. “And your mechanical bird can talk?”
“Err… yes, how do you know that?”
“Because it talks in Morse code!”
For some reason I thought I was the only one able to understand Auto.
I nodded, then my thoughts became grave once again. “You may not be safe Bernard. After what happened at Byron's birthday it appeared Hades and his followers were keeping their distance, but now I fear… my efforts have put an end to that.”
“Yes, perhaps I should return and make preparations. I should also contact some of those that I know in the government. They need to be made aware of what Hades is doing. I can ask the driver to take you to anywhere you so wish, although it will be slower than the usual journey because of the conditions.”
I looked around the plush fabrics and the low roof, waiting for a rush of emotion to overwhelm me, but instead I only felt warm from being inside. “Yes, that would be kind of you. Could I be taken to the Factory?”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
I looked out the frosted window as I had done seventeen years before at the streets of London rolling by, covered in snow and ice. Flakes were falling again, only adding to the struggle the citizens were having getting to work or their homes. The capital was grinding to a halt. As we moved past the rows of small houses and factories of Southwark, I thought of Colin. Had I treated him poorly? The image of
him falling to the ground dead was the only remaining memory from Byron's birthday, and each time it flashed into my mind I felt nauseous. Perhaps him hating me was for the best, but it would not help him if Byron, the Furies, or another mythological monster should appear in his underground refuge.
We moved onto London Bridge, with hardly a person or carriage in sight. The appropriately named ‘White Tower’ and surrounding stone walls stood proud on the far bank, looking like a fairytale castle with all the snow mounted on its battlements and spires. The river below had now been confined to a few narrow channels, with the rest consisting of ice.
I was glad when we were back on a main road heading east. The warehouses of the docks loomed high into the sky on our right while shops and residences crowded the street to the left, almost as tall.
Auto suddenly appeared outside the left window, manically flapping to keep up.
‘D…a…n…g…e…r.’
He chirped over and over.
Before I questioned why, the carriage jolted then picked up speed, forcing me back in my seat.
Faster and faster the buildings passed by, Auto now being left behind. I went to sit forward when there was a bump, causing me to hit the ceiling before falling back to the space between the seats. I staggered forward, looking out of the window, just in time to see the driver jump off and roll into the snow.
Forcing the door open, I leaned out. There was something at the front of the horses, a ghostly blur, leading them forward. We skidded around a corner, throwing me back inside, then just as suddenly slowed and I flew into the seat and wall behind it.
