The Stolen Child (26 page)

She saw how the man's knuckles tightened as she said this.  It felt good, knowing she'd hit a nerve.

“Rachael, I understand that you're upset.  I'd expect as much, given how we've treated you.  What Ilona did was
completely
unacceptable.  But I hope you can see that we were working with a very limited set of options.  You were in danger, and we had to get you out of there as quickly as possible.”

Rachael felt
her hackles rising
as she took a quick step forward, fists clenched at her sides.

“Oh right, great job there.  You tried to kill the only person who'd ever really looked out for me, just as we were about to...”  She stopped herself
in time
, some fragment of her rational self quietly reminding her that it might not be good to let on exactly what Justin's plan had been.

“Just about to...
W
hat?”
t
he professor replied, his voice as sharp as a whip-crack.  “Burn the whole city to the ground?”

Rachael's eyes narrowed.
 

“We had a plan.  We were going... Somewhere safe.  Somewhere we'd be alone.  We didn't need you.”

“You had a plan?  Rachael, do you have the slightest notion of what you and your friend have unleashed on that city you called home?  Should I suppose that you already know what kind of monstrosity has taken root there?  Did you perhaps consider how many millions would die and decide that you found that cost acceptable?”

His voice was icy cold.  He did not shout, but the steel in his words told her he was deadly serious.  Her head span, and she took a faltering step backwards.

“
Bullshit,” she spat.  “You're just making that up.”
 

“He's not,” Arsha said, her voice seeming very small.  “Rachael, he knows about this stuff.  He really does.”

“What stuff?”

“The
Seed,” the Professor said.
  “I suppose that boy told you it would take you
somewhere else
.  That it was a way out.”  

The venom had gone from his tone, and he suddenly seemed tired, sad
dened
even.

“Yeah.  That's
what Justin said alright
.  So what did you mean about... People dying?”

The professor pressed the tips of his fingers together, and closed his eyes.

“I'm sorry.  I shouldn't have...”  He paused, and Rachael felt the tension singing in the air like a plucked string.  “There are things you wouldn't have... Couldn't have known.  You had no way of understanding the consequences of your actions, and you should never have had this kind of responsibility forced
up
on you.”

“Responsibility?  For what?  What is this about?”

“The
rift that the Seed opened
.  The... The gateway, that your friend no doubt tried to take you t
hrough
.”

“It was a way out of there.”

“
Or a way in
.  
Rachael, w
hat you did created a connection between your world and the deepest
and
most chaotic
parts of the
Dreaming
.  You weren't to know.  You
were like a child playing with a gun.  No one's surprised that it went off in your hands.
”

Rachael stepped closer,
fists clenched at her sides
.  She could feel herself shaking.

“What?  What did I do?”

“You
opened a rift between your world and the Deep Wild.  A place of chaos and power.  Untamed, uncontrollable, unimaginable.  The rift will strengthen, and the influence of the Dreaming will continue to spread around it
.  It will grow, unchecked, unless we can find a way to stop it,
and it will transform or destroy everything it touches.
”

She said nothing.  There didn't seem to be any
thing left
to say.

“I
truly
don't blame you for what you did, Rachael.  You were lost, alone, and frightened.  You acted out of desperation and fear.  Someone offered you a way out and you clung to it, because you had nothing else.  For that smallest of sins you now carry an appalling responsibility.  It isn't fair, and it is precisely what I had hoped to protect you from.”

She shook her head, horrified at what she was hearing.

“You don't blame me?  You don't blame me for being run down like I was some kind of animal.  For being chased by
killers and
monsters
?  Everything I been through, and the best you can say is you don't blame me?
”

She stared at them both with a look of absolute disgust.
 

“Screw you,”
she said
, before she turned and stormed out of the room.

She took the stairs two at a time, heading down, and then kept on walking until she
found herself standing at the door to her room again.  She slipped inside and closed the door behind herself.  She fell down onto the bed and rolled onto her back, propping her feet up against the wall.  Staring up at the thin sliver of blue sky that she could make out through the porthole, she silently wished for a glimpse of dark wings
in the distance
.  For some tiny clue that he was still out there, searching for her.
 

Hours passed as she lay on the narrow bed, staring up at the ceiling, anger churning her insides.  She couldn't say for sure how long it had been when there was a sharp tap on the door.  As it opened she looked
up
to see Ilona step into the room.
  Watching her dispassionately, the woman didn't say a word
as she set herself down in the chair beside
the bed, legs crossed, hands folded on her knee.
 

Rachael's eyes narrowed as she studied the gaunt figure.  Ilona's hair was tied back
in a loose knot
, but a few strands had come loose.  Her eyes
still
looked sunken and bloodshot.  Her skin was almost unnaturally pale.

“Alright, what?  You come to have a go at me as well.”

“
I am told I owe you an apology,” Ilona replied, with no sign of emotion.
 

“
Right.  This oughta be good.
”

“It's hardly an everyday occurrence, I assure you.”

“Do you always talk like you've got a stick up your a
rse
?”  
Rachael snarled.
 

Strangely, Ilona smiled, just for a moment.

“So what do I do?  To make it up to you.  Let you hit me?  Hurt me like I hurt you?”

“
You know you don't exactly sound very sorry.”
 

“
Should I be?” Ilona replied, calmly.  “You attacked someone I care about.  I stopped you.  Was that wrong?  Are you upset because I cared less about your safety than Micah's?  Because you are less valuable to me than he is?
”

“
Right.  I get the blame for everything that happened down there, but you get to smile and say you done nothing wrong.”
 

The woman made a tutting sound.
 

“
If you're referring to what happened with the Seed, I hardly think you are solely to blame for that.”
 

Rachael turned away, fixing her eyes on the wall.
 

“
I'm getting kind of sick of hearing that.  It's all my fault but no one blames me.  Like I'm supposed to feel better because I only went and killed a million people by accident.”
 

“
We all made choices down there.  Yours were only a tiny part of what occurred,” Ilona said.  She paused, as if considering something.  “But you do blame yourself, don't you?  Even though everything that happened was far beyond your control, you still blame yourself.  Not me, not Rishi, not the Bhandaris, or your shifter friend.  You somehow imagine it was all your fault.”
 

Rachael said nothing.
 

“
Believe me, Rachael, we all make mistakes enough to carry a lifetime of regrets.  Don't burden yourself with more.”
 

Slowly, she turned her head just enough to see the woman's face.  Ilona's expression was a mask, blank and unreadable.  It
struck her that the woman was much younger than she acted.  Probably even younger than Micah was.
 

“
I thought you weren't supposed to care about me?” Rachael snarled.  “You trying to be friends now or something?”
 

Another humourless smile flickered across the woman's lips as Ilona
leaned forward in the chair, pressing her hands together.

“I don't really do... Friends.  
But then
I don't really do
many
apologies, either.”

“So why are you
still
here?”

“
Because you still haven't told me what I should do to make it right.  Let me know when you decide,
”
Ilona said.  The
woman stood, brushed down her skirt, and
left
without another word
.

As the door closed, Rachael threw herself back down on the bed, fists clenched in empty frustration.  From the corridor she caught the muffled sound of voices.  Then the door opened again and Arsha leaned in, a nervous smile hovering on the girl's face.
 

“
Hey.  You should come upstairs.  Uncle Abasi has some news for everyone.”
 

Too tired to argue, Rachael rolled out of bed and followed the girl up to the mess hall.  They arrived to find everyone else already assembled.  Micah and Rishi were sat at the table, the professor drumming his fingers in agitation whilst Micah yawned and stretched.  Milima was sat across from them, sipping a cup of tea.  Ilona stood against the wall, arms folded, expressionless.  At the head of the table Abasi stood, leaning back against the wall.
 

The girls slipped into the room.  Arsha went to hover over her father's shoulder whilst Rachael stayed in the doorway, waiting to see what was going to happen next.

“Fates, Abasi, whatever this is, can we please hurry it up?”  
the professor
said, still drumming his fingers.

“Now that everyone's here,” Abasi nodded.  “
After we entered the Ways over London, I put out a call to an old friend of mine with a few connections among the Wardens, I just received his reply.  He tells me that a week ago three ships set sail, heading for the Hearth.  For London.  They were acting on intelligence received from the Chamber of Foresight, indicating an imminent event.  Something that would threaten the integrity of the Veil.  The Inquisition is directly involved in a massive control and containment operation.  This morning, the Wardens received the first report back from their people on the ground.  They know that a Seed has awakened.
”

Abasi paused, for a moment.
 

“
My friend was good enough to forward me a copy of this report.  It's dull reading, of course, but I think we're all more interested in what it didn't say.  Even though they've supposedly collected intel from several Guild agents stationed across England, there is no mention of either our ship, or the Jyoti.  None at all.”
 

“
What does that mean for us?
”  Micah said.  Beside him, the professor looked thoughtful.

“
It means,
” Rishi
replied,
“
that they're covering up any mention of our involvement or the Bhandaris'.  Manindra's work, I'm betting.”
 

“
Why?” Milima said.  “What does Manindra gain by keeping us out of this?”
 

“
Yeah,” Micah added, “I can't see a guy like him doing us any favours.”
 

“
Manindra's got enough pull on the council to have the Wardens turn a blind eye to this whole thing, but if we were brought up on charges then our version of the story would come out in the courts.  They'd have to bring a full case against us, and that would mean exposing all their intel to outside scrutiny.  It would soon become obvious that something else was being covered up.  If Manindra wants to keep his family out of this, he has to protect us at the same time,” Rishi said, his features twisting into a kind of mocking smile.  “Fates, that must burn.”
 

Abasi
simply
nodded.

“So that's it?” Micah said.  “We're in the clear?”

“It's not a definite yes, but...”  Abasi's smile grew.  Milima set her cup down and lowered her head until it touched the table.  Micah leaned back and breathed out a sigh as Arsha threw her arms around her father's neck with a squeal of delight.  Rishi
actually laughed
as he pulled his daughter into his lap and kissed her
hair
.  Rachael could even see Ilona's shoulder
s
settling a little, as if a weight had been lifted.  For a moment there seemed to be no thought on anyone's mind but sheer relief.

As the excitement settled, she was surprised to hear the words coming out of her own mouth.

“So what happens now?  What happens to me?”

Immediately, the room stilled.  The professor looked up at her with a saddened expression, Arsha's face still pressed close to his.

“I suppose that's what we have to decide now.  We
still
can't take you home, Rachael.  And you're not safe
here
.  Not yet.  Just because Manindra has decided that hiding what his men did in London is worth more than getting us in trouble, doesn't mean he won't come after you.  
And there's the Guild to consider.  They may not be coming after us directly, but if they find out that we have a refugee from the Hearth on board they can still take you into custody.  It's the Inquisition's role to see to the care and disposition of all Hearth refugees... Even those that don't very much want to find themselves in the Guild's care.  And after what happened in London, I imagine at least a few members of the Inquisition would be quite interested in learning more about you.
”

“
Right.  So I keep running.  Trust me, I'm good at that.
”