The Stolen Child (40 page)

She watched for what seemed like a long time, until he finally noticed her.  He seemed surprised but she just smiled, tugging the coat tighter about herself.

“It's OK.  Keep going,”
s
he tried to yell over the wind, but standing out in the centre of the deck there was no way he could hear her.  He started walking her way, just as the door swung open beside her.

Arsha came out, bracing against the headwind and looking up
at
both
of them
in surprise.  Then the girl gestured for them to follow her around the bridge tower.  With a shrug, Rachael let her lead on.  In the lee of the tower, shielded from the wind, they could just about talk
normally
.

“So, Dad says we're about three days out from Cauldron now.”

“
Cauldron... You said that's where your old house is, right?”
 

“Yeah, that's right,” Arsha shrugged, the movement mostly lost under the heavy coat.

Rachael was pondering
this
when Justin gestured at something in the distance.  A slim object was emerging fr
om
the
clouds.  It was a ship, s
mall
and
sleek
, painted
jet black
with stripes of green
and silver
.

“That's an
Inquisition
ship,” Arsha said,
eyes widening
.  
Rachael felt a cold sensation in her stomach.
 

The ship seemed to
be
getting closer, its trajectory bringing it towards that of the Triskelion.  Then she noticed something else.  The sound of the
ir
propellers was descending, from a high
pitched
humming
to a bass roar, the sound of each rotation becoming more distinct.

“We're slowing
down,
”
s
he said.  Arsha nodded.

“Come on,”
t
he girl said, gesturing inside.

As they heaved the inner door open and burst through into the corridor they found the professor waiting for them.

“
Daddy, what's going on?” Arsha said.
 

They all saw him pause before answering.

“It's the
Inquisition
.  Sir
Reuben
Ben Mahir.”

“Who?” Arsha said.

“From that town with the waterfall, remember?” Rachael said, recognising the name.

Arsha's eyes widened in alarm.

“But, you said they
weren't going to do anything.  That Lord Bhandari had covered it all up.
”  The words jumbled as they spilled out of Arsha's mouth, nervous panic widening the girl's eyes.  Her father stepped forward and put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“Things have changed, love.”

“So, what's... What's happening?”

“They're demanding we allow
Sir Ben Mahir
and his men to come aboard.  He's going to speak to m
yself and Abasi
.  For now, I want all of you to stay out of the way.  Head on up to the bridge where the others are.”

He turned to look at Justin.

“If they find out you're aboard... If they have even the slightest idea of what you are...”
h
e said, his expression hard edged.

Justin nodded, calmly.

“I can be invisible.”

“I'd imagine so,”
t
he professor said.

They all watched as h
e slowly dissolved
,
the dense black smoke coalescing
down into the tiny form of a rat, which scurried away, disappearing from sight.

“Yeuch,” Arsha muttered under her breath.

“It's OK,”
Rachael
shrugged.  “Takes getting used to.”

“OK, both of you get out of here,”
t
he professor said, gesturing towards the stairs up to the bridge.  Rachael went as instructed, but Arsha stopped to put her arms around her father, pulling herself tightly to him.

“I'll be OK, love,”
h
e whispered, stroking back her hair.

She nodded, not looking up.  As Arsha broke away to follow her up the stairs, Rachael saw that there were tears in the corners of her eyes.

The slender
black
skiff touched down lightly on the deck.  They watched from the windows of the bridge as four guards disembarked and took up positions.  Then Re
uben
climbed down, followed by the same collection of porcelain figures that she had seen following him in Westfall.  His automs.  She shuddered at the sight of the
mask-like
faces.  
T
he figures moved with a stead
y
and unnatural grace.

Below,
Rachael
could hear the inner door open.  The professor
and the captain
were
there to greet Sir Ben Mahir, all polite deference and custom.  Rachael wondered how
they
could stand it.  The
procession
soon made its way below decks
.

Not a lot was said on the bridge.  People moved about, looking awkward and uncomfortable.  
Micah
fiddled with some charts.  Arsha sat to one side of the room, eyes downcast, looking nervous.  After what seemed like an age, Re
uben
finally
left, taking his dolls and his men with him.  
Not long afterwards, Abasi appeared on the stairway, regarding them all with a sour expression.
 

“
We should head to down to the mess.  Come on,” he said.
 

Rishi looked up from the head of the table as she came in.  She was the last to arrive.  Everyone else was either sat at the table, or, in Micah and Abasi's case, leaning against the walls.

“Where's Justin?”

“Hiding,” Rachael said, with a shrug.  “Like you asked him to.  You want to try to find him, go ahead.”

The professor shook his head in dismay.

“Right.  Wonderful.  Well, if he's listening, he's listening,”
h
e said, with obvious frustration.

“What's all this about?”
s
he said.

“Have a seat,”
h
e replied, somewhat testily.  His sour mood seemed to be reflected by the whole room.  She stepped inside the doorway and leaned back against the frame with her arms crossed.  The professor's attention returned to those at the table around him.

“Abasi and I have been summoned to appear before a
n Inquisitorial hearing
, to investigate our crossing of the veil and the events in London which followed.”

Around the room, a breath seemed to be let out.  Not of relief, but a sense of something expected, and feared.  Even Ilona's
eyes
seemed downcast.

“
Sir Reuben Ben Mahir is bringing this case on behalf of the Inquisition and the Chamber of Foresight.  
I am given to understand that Rakesh and Naveen Bhandari have likewise been called to give witness and stand against charges,” Rishi continued, his tone calmly matter of fact.  It was only the
tightness
of his knuckles that revealed the tension in his body.

“
Sir Ben Mahir wished to inform me of my rights, and demanded to know what my involvement was in this matter.  Fortunately, I did not meet him empty handed.  The documents I... borrowed... from Manindra's estate will demonstrate that Lord Bhandari received communications from persons within the Chamber of
Foresight before dispatching his sons to London.  If we are very, very fortunate, we'll get to watch Manindra's allies throw him to the wolves, if only to keep themselves from getting dragged down with him.  And if we're even more fortunate, we'll get out without any of it falling down on us.”
 

There was a palpable sense of relief around the room, but Rachael couldn't help but notice the grimness of the professor's expression.  The tension had not left him.
 

“We are to make haste to the Citadel,”
he continued.
  “The Dawning Light has been commanded to escort us there without delay.  There will be no unplanned stops or deviations.  Abasi will lia
i
se with the captain of the Light to receive directions for our course.  Upon arrival at the Citadel, the Triskelion will be grounded until
further
notice and Abasi and myself will be placed in voluntary custody
for the duration of the hearing
.  They have called an emergency
court
, which should
should begin session as soon as we arrive.  If the winds favour us, the journey should be about five days.
”

He stopped, and looked around the room.

“Does anyone have any questions?”

There was a long silence, before Micah raised his hand.

“Voluntary?”
h
e said.

“Voluntary,” Abasi replied, “meaning 'Or you'll be in a whole lot more trouble if you don't.'”

“Right.  Got it,” Micah said, glumly.

After that, there were no more questions.  Slowly, people began to file out of the room.  
There as a tense, nervous feeling
in the air
.  She let most of them pass by, not meeting anyone's eyes
as
she tailed the others out of the room.

Standing at the top of the stairs, she looked back, and saw that Arsha was still in the mess
hall
with her father.  Through the narrow doorway she
could
make out the pair of them standing close together, and
could
just about overhear their conversation.

“
Daddy, what's going to happen to you?
”
Arsha
said, her voice so quiet that Rachael barely heard it.
 

“
I don't know sweetheart,
”
h
e said.  “
But with any luck this will all blow over in a few days, OK?”
 

“
And what if it doesn't?”
 

He paused, unable to answer for a moment.

“
We'll figure it out.
”

Arsha looked away.  
H
e reached out a hand to stroke her cheek, wiping away a dampness from around her eyes.

“
We're going to get through this sweetheart.  I just need you to be strong, for a little while.
”

Suddenly s
he threw her arms around him, and pressed her face into his chest.

“
I don't want to be strong.  I want my daddy,
”
Arsha
gasped, her voice muffled by his shirt.  
Rachael could hear her repeating the words like a charm.
 

He
pulled
her close, and for a moment neither of them moved.  His face was buried in her hair, and Rachael thought he might have been saying something, but it was too quiet for anyone but Arsha to hear.

He straightened up, resting his hands on her shoulders.

“I have to go make some preparations.  If you need me...”

Arsha nodded.  Her eyes were wet with tears.

“
I love you, and I'm proud of you,
”
h
e said, kissing her forehead.  The girl nodded, and
stepped
away.  Arsha's eyes were lowered as she walked out of the room,
as
Rachael found herself awkwardly caught looking on.  Arsha looked up as she passed Rachael on the stairs, with a sullen, hurt expression.  She passed by without a word.  Feeling as if she should apologise, or at least explain, Rachael followed just in time to hear Arsha's door slam.

For a while she stood by
Arsha's
room, hand half-raised to knock.  Finally she gritted her teeth and rapped on the
door
.

“Go away,”
c
ame the muted reply.

She sighed and turned to leave, but she couldn't seem to bring herself to walk away.  She turned back and tried the handle.  The door opened.  Steeling herself, she stepped into the room and closed the door behind her.

Arsha was sat on her bed, legs tucked up in front of herself, face hidden by her folded arms.  
From her perch on the dresser, Penelope looked up and gave a shrill chirp.
 

“I told you to go away,”
t
he girl mumbled.

“I know,” Rachael said, awkwardly.  “But... I wanted to say that I'm sorry.  For listening in there.  And... You know.  For everything.”

Arsha said nothing.  Not even a sign of acknowledgement.  Feeling deeply uncomfortable, but unable to bring herself to leave just yet, Rachael cleared a small space and sat down with her back against the
door
.

A long silence stretched between them, as Rachael waited for Arsha to make some sign of movement.  
After watching her for a while, Penelope fluttered down from the dresser and hopped across the floor towards her, her movements quick and cautious.  Gently, Rachael reached out to brush the little bird's feathers back.
 

“
You should hate me,” Rachael said, at last.  “All this... I've really mucked things up for you all.”
 

“It's not... It's not like that,” Arsha said, not
looking up.
 

“It's OK.  I'd hate me,”
she said, staring at her hands.  Arsha lifted her head, enough to look her in the eyes.  The girl looked furious.
 

“Why do you do that?”
Arsha snapped.
  “Why do you alwa
y
s try to make everything about you?”

“I didn't...”
Rachael barely had time to begin before Arsha cut across her.
 

“Your fault, your problems, you that's got it harder than anyone else,”
she thundered.
 

“I was trying to apologise,”
Rachael replied, sharply.
 

“Oh, good.  You're sorry.  I'll let everyone know, Rachael's sorry, so it's all OK now.  No problems.”

As Arsha threw up her hands in a gesture of frustration, Rachael was already on her feet.  She stormed out, Penelope's angry screeching following her down the corridor.