Midnight's Choice (15 page)

There seemed to be nothing else to do. Even if she deserted the rat legions and went out on to the surface she would still be helpless. She had long since ruled out the possibility of releasing the phoenix on her own, since there was no way of getting into the exhibition hall apart from this underground route. The only thing she could do was to be there when the final confrontation happened, and to pray that the vampire was wrong about the weakness of the phoenix power. She could hardly stand to think about what would happen if he wasn't.

The going became more difficult as the tunnellers began to bore into the heavy rubble foundations of the building. Reports were coming in from various separate reconnaissance teams. There were two men in the building, apparently, keeping watch on the phoenix. Of the several dozen tunnels that were under construction, eight of them were on target, right beneath the phoenix's cage.

The rats abandoned the useless tunnels and gathered where they would be ready to pour into the good ones as they were completed. The ground beneath the glass cage babbled with images as the rats reported their progress to each other, their vivid communications passing easily through mud, stone or concrete. But above their heads, where Jeff Maloney sat playing cards with a highly-paid guard from a security company, there was no way of knowing that anything was going on.

Extra workers were drafted in to dig holes in the tunnel walls so that large stones being moved out of the foundations could be lodged instead of being dragged all the way out. The lead tunnellers, Tess among them, wove their way around the biggest stones, loosening the smaller rubble and shoving it back to the next in line. Then, suddenly, the leading rat froze as a tiny shower of loose sand and earth dropped down on to her nose.

Jeff Maloney turned his head at the sound of a few white quartz pebbles moving in the phoenix's cage. The lights were turned off so that the bird could sleep, and the only illumination in the building came from a small lamp on the table where the two men were playing their game. The phoenix was on its perch, high above the potted shrubs, sleeping soundly. Only the dimmest radiance gleamed from its feathers.

‘Probably a mouse,' said Jeff.

‘What was?'

‘That noise. Didn't you hear it?'

The security guard shook his head. ‘You keep mice as well?'

‘They keep themselves. And rats. The animal food attracts them, and all the rubbish the visitors leave. Nothing you can do about them.'

There was a dozy pause, then Jeff said, ‘Whose go is it?'

Beneath their feet, Tess and her team were waiting for the other tunnels to be ready. To be sure of working, the attack had to be coordinated properly. A constant stream of visual messages passed between the members of the rodent army. They were almost ready.

Jeff and the guard swung round, instantly alert, as a half-dozen holes opened in the ground beneath the phoenix and pebbles began to pour into them. Jeff leapt to his feet and jumped for the main light switch. Cards fluttered across empty space as the guard threw down his hand and grabbed for the pistol he carried beneath his jacket.

Then the floor of the cage disappeared as a flood of rats welled up like a spring from below. Before Jeff could disentangle the key of the cage from the handkerchief in his pocket, the rats had streamed up the foliage and were beginning to take leaps at the perch where the phoenix still sat. In the nick of time he spread his wings, rose into the air and hovered there, just below the ceiling.

‘Get help!' yelled Jeff.

The security guard, who had become glued to the floor at the sight of so many rats, needed no second bidding to get out. He raced for the main door, threw the bolt, and disappeared into the darkness outside.

Against the glass wall of the cage, Tess sat and watched as Jeff Maloney unlocked the door and slid it open. He was the one who had caught the magnificent bird, and despite his horror of the swarming rats, he had no hesitation in going to its rescue. He strode into the cage, oblivious to the outraged squeaks of the rats beneath his feet and, kicking clear a space for himself, stood on the edge of the tallest plant pot. From there he took a lunge at the perch, making it swing so violently that it dislodged the rats who were squirrelling up its suspension chains in their efforts to get at the floating phoenix.

The bird was still too high for Jeff to reach. With a Tarzan-like leap, he grabbed the perch and swung himself up, grabbing the phoenix by its three-toed foot before the chain links snapped and he dropped back to his feet on the carpet of rats, breaking several backbones.

Tess pushed her way through the throng as Jeff leapt out of the cage and raced across the building. She was at his heels, but others were there before her, climbing up his clothes, swarming all over his body and up the arm he was holding above his head with the phoenix at the end of it.

The bird flapped desperately as the rats reached it and the first set of teeth sank into its leg. Jeff struck out frantically with his free hand, but he was losing the battle. He was up to his knees in rats, wading through a sea of them, and as quickly as he could knock them from his clothes and face, they were being replaced by others.

Outside, the security man had failed to find help and was running back towards the building. He arrived just in time to see Jeff give in and let go of the phoenix in a desperate attempt to save himself. Through a gap in the clawing and clambering madness, Tess saw the phoenix dart out through the open door and soar away above the zoo.

Both Jeff and the guard were far too busy with the rats to notice a small, dark bird emerging from their midst and setting off in pursuit of the phoenix. They were thrashing and kicking around them like a pair of windmills. But to their surprise, as soon as the phoenix was out of sight, the rats did a complete about-face and vanished back into the ground, leaving the dead and the dying behind.

T
HE PHOENIX SWEPT UP
and out over the park, each beat of its small wings giving it height, so that it appeared to move in a series of great bounds. Tess's swallow wings worked at double speed as she tried to keep up. The easiest way would have been to become a phoenix herself, but the human part of her mind could see that would be a foolish move. The other bird had become dim enough by now to be difficult to see, even above the relative darkness of the park, but Tess assumed that if she became a phoenix she would be as bright as ever and would draw attention just when they needed to shake it off. The phoenix took another upward leap and the swallow flapped after it. A few minutes more would be enough. They were almost over the middle of the park now, and would soon be too high for anyone to see. Then Tess could Switch into phoenix form and become comfortable. After that, once they were safely clear of the city, they could rest and decide what the future might be.

Once more the phoenix leapt skyward. Once more, Tess drove her small wings to the limit. It was enough, surely. Below them, the park was a black island of emptiness in the middle of a lake of orange light. Even if someone down there did spot her now, they were surely beyond any danger.

But even as she prepared for the Switch, visualising the form she was about to take and remembering how it felt, a dark shape appeared out of nowhere and collided with the phoenix, knocking it off balance and sending it tumbling down towards the earth.

Tess closed her wings and dropped like a stone. Beneath her, the phoenix flapped and turned in the air, slowing its descent and finally recovering control. It began to climb again and Tess swooped beneath it, struggling to stay close. Out of the darkness the shadow reappeared and this time Tess could see that it was a huge bat, its wings stretched taut as it glided with deadly accuracy straight into the phoenix.

Again the phoenix fell, righted itself, began to ascend. Again the huge bat took aim and slammed into it. Tess fluttered wildly, first up and then down, her only objective being to stay as close to the phoenix as she could.

The battle was hopeless. Each time the bat hit the phoenix, the bird lost more height and, Tess thought, as it got closer to the trees below, it seemed to lose heart as well. Eventually it gave up and spread its wings to glide down between the branches and come to rest, sitting on the air a few feet above the ground.

Tess plunged after the phoenix, banking and twisting through the trees. Even before she had quite landed, she Switched back into human form, desperate for the full use of her human mind to work out what was going on. She stumbled as she landed, and found herself face down in the cool, damp grass. The wind was still waffling round in the trees and for a long moment Tess lay still where she had fallen, breathing in the damp scent of the earth and wishing she could stay there for ever. But out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of movement as the dark shape of the bat flitted into the copse, its leathery wings purring through the air. As it landed, it seemed to expand, and by the time Tess stood up it was the vampire that stood there, pale face set into a grin of satisfaction.

‘He's a pushover,' he said.

‘No!' Tess found herself standing between the two adversaries, just a few feet from each of them. The phoenix made no further attempt to escape, but hung in the air, his feathers casting a pale glow over the group.

‘No?' said the vampire. ‘But why not? You were so certain that Humpty Dumpty could put himself back together again. Are you not so sure now?'

‘Of course I am! That's not the point.'

‘What is the point then, Tess?'

The voice was soft as sleep, reaching out to her, drawing her in. With a tremendous effort of will she wrenched her attention away from it and fixed her eyes on the phoenix. It was still floating above the ground, unaffected by the strengthening gusts of wind that blew through the copse. Its eyes were on a level with hers, its gaze steady and fearless. Which way, Tess?'

Her eyelids drooped. Her gaze lost its focus, then shifted back to rest upon the vampire as he spoke. ‘You have to make up your mind, you know. Come with me willingly and I'll leave your friend alone to go back to the chicken coop. How's that for a deal?'

It seemed reasonable, especially when she looked into the deep, soulless eyes and remembered the night they had hunted together, the entire city theirs for the taking. She was tired of struggling for what seemed to be right all the time; There was no reward for that, in the end. She had lost her best friend, and the creature that hung in the air beside her wasn't him, even if it once had been. Why shouldn't she become a vampire? What was the point of resisting? But as she began to turn, her attention drifting towards that dark, eternal power, the phoenix seemed to brighten for a moment, and the glow which emanated from him was reflected in the vampire's eyes, which glowed like a cat's in a car's headlights. The connection broke. Tess gasped and turned back to the phoenix. It continued to hang on the air, silent and motionless. As Tess opened herself to its influence again she began to feel warmth and life flowing through her, as though some lost flame had been rekindled within. Without knowing why she did it, she lifted her right arm and stretched out her hand towards the phoenix.

‘No, Tess,' came the rich, silky voice of the vampire. ‘Think again. Is that really what you want? All that twinkle, twinkle, little star stuff? Come with me, come on. Before it's too late.'

He was holding out his hand. All she had to do was take it. Her left hand reached out.

The wind came straight at her like a slap in the face, sobering her, bringing her, for a moment, back to reality. She was standing in the woods like a scarecrow, one hand stretching towards a golden light, the other towards perpetual darkness. It was like a crazy dream, where the only thing that was real was the wind in her face, carrying the fresh flavours of all the places it had been, reminding her how alive she was right now.

To either side, eternities were pulling at her and she was stretched between them, standing on a razor's edge. She needed help, and cast around for some of those words of wisdom she was forever being crammed with in her religion classes. But the only words that came to her were Lizzie's.

‘Trust yourself, girl. You'll know what to do when the time comes.'

‘But I don't!' she yelled at her mind's image of the old woman. The two forces were working against each other now, so powerfully that Tess could no longer tell whether she were being torn apart or crushed between them. The dark shadow of the vampire was expanding, looming above her. On the other side, the phoenix was brightening, its light growing all around it until the two seemed about to meet over her head. And at that moment, Tess felt her left hand grasp the vampire's fingers and her right catch hold of the phoenix's three-toed foot.

A charge like an electric current went through her body and numbed her brain as the two forces met within her, on equal terms now, and began to do battle. Wild fantasies played through her mind as the protagonists took shapes for themselves, using the raw material of Tess's imagination. Angels and demons fought there, armies of light and dark, red and blue, good and evil. Characters came forward and spoke to her, each taking one side or the other, each as persuasive as the one before.

In the midst of it all, Tess swung from one allegiance to the other. One moment she was certain that the phoenix was the better choice and the next there seemed no doubt that the vampire was. What was it Lizzie had said about choice? ‘It's not always what we are that needs changing, but the way we thinks.' What was that supposed to mean? How on earth could it help her?

The struggle worsened. The opponents seemed to be tearing at her sense of herself, destroying her confidence. If she did not choose soon, one way or the other, she would surely be damaged by the conflict. But what could she do? What was wrong with the way she was thinking?

As if in reply, one strong, clear thought began to emerge. Throughout the whole of the struggle she had not once had the impression that either the vampire or phoenix cared about her; about Tess, the individual. All either of them wanted was to attain superiority, even if she was sacrificed in the process. Suddenly she knew what Lizzie meant. Tess was burdened by choice only because she felt that she must choose one or the other. But the truth was that she didn't have to be either. If she could just rise out of this turmoil and feel the wind on her face once again, it would be worth all the fears and the pains and the longings of being merely mortal.