The Stolen Child (9 page)

She wasn't sure if it was her heart
or Justin's that
she felt pounding
at her chest
, as the
wild haired creature
took another look around, sniffing the air.  
Then he fell to the ground,
curled up into a ball and began to whimper.

“Lost it,”
t
he gravel voiced
commander
said.

“C
ommander
Korban,”
o
ne of the tall men began.  The
younger and leaner
of the two, she suspected, by the
tenor
of his voice.  “This had better not be all that our money is worth.”

“He's lost the trail.  Don't know how, but it happens.  We'll try again tomorrow,
Mi'lord
.  That's all we can do.  He'll be useless like this.”

“
A hunting dog that can't hunt should be put down,
”
the older brother growled, his voice deep and fierce.
 

“Good hollow men are a tricky catch.  This one's done well so far.  It's just a hiccup.”

“Korban, my brother and I do not expect 'hiccups' from a man of your reputation,”
t
he
younger
man
said, smoothly
.  Rachael desperately wished they would just move on.  All it would take was for one of the group to look a little
too
closely into the darkness where she and Justin were hidden.

“
Mi'Lord Bhandari
, I have my reputation because I know exactly how things work out here in the field.  If you can find a man who'll promise you
a job will
never go awry, then I'll show you a man who's never been near a real job in his life.  Get used to it.  
Sir.
”

“Yes, I see it certainly wasn't for your courtly manners that you were recommended,”
the younger man sneered.
 

“You don't pay me for courtesy
,
”
Korban
growled.

The argument seemed settled.  With another swift kick,
Korban
got the
ir
'
hunting dog
' moving and the group turned away, disappearing into the night.

Slowly exhaling, Justin took a step away, glancing to either side.  At first she didn't even feel as if she could move.  She
still seemed
to
be pinned to the wall by
the
ghost of him.

“Justin... What just...?”

He nodded to their left.  It took her a moment to realise he
was looking a low windowsill that would make a good foothold
.

“Rooftop.  Come on.”

“Justin, wait,”
s
he hissed.  “What the hell just happened back there.  What was that... What was wrong with that man?  And the thing you drew...”

She reached up to touch the mark on her forehead, but before her hand was even close, he caught her
by the
wrist.  
She'd forgotten how fast he was.
 

“Don't touch it.  Not yet.”

He let go
and
she snatched her hand away.  
She stared at him, furious.
 

“
You know, any time you'd like to start making sense, be fine with me.  How did they even find us?  It was like that old guy was... Sniffing us out or something.
”

“
That's what a hollow man does,” Justin said with a sigh.  “You… You take a person and you clear out what's inside.  It leaves a space where you can put the thing you want.  And then
they search for that thing.  They follow it anywhere, because it's the only thing they have left.  They're used for tracking.  It works best on people who are already a little... Gone.  Closer to the Dream.  But it makes them dangerous.  By the time the change sets in, they're more like animals than people.”
 

She stared at him, her mouth open in astonishment.
 

“
Justin, what the hell does any of that mean?”
 

“It doesn't matter.”

“What do you mean, it don't matter?”
 

“I mean you won't even believe me if I tell you, so what's the point?  Come on, we should get off the street.”
 

He turned away, testing the
windowsill
to make sure it would hold his weight.

“
Come on.  They can't track you any more, but they'll still catch us out here if they double back.”
 

He began to climb, and Rachael had no choice but to follow him up.  At the top he turned to give her a hand over the parapet.  Exhausted, she dropped down against the nearest chimney, drawing deep breaths.
 

“
Will they come back?” she gasped.
 

“
They can't track you now.  That ward will hold for a while.”
 

“
That what?  What are you even on about?” she said, as he slumped against the parapet.
  “
None of this makes any sense man.  It's just…”
 

“Crazy, right?”
he said, glumly.
 

“You're not funny.”

“
I wasn't
trying to be.”
 

“
So just tell me what's going on already?”
 

Justin just gave her an exhausted shrug.

“What do you want me to tell you?  
I tried telling you the truth, and you told me I was nuts.
”

“Telling me a bunch of stories
ain't
the truth.”

He held out his hands,
palms open and empty
.

“Then I've got nothing left.”

“How do I even know you're not with them?”
s
he said,
starting to get to her feet
.

“Because I had a knife at your throat down there, and I didn't give you up to them.  Seems like that would have been the easy thing.  Rachael, I'm on your side here.  If you believe nothing else, believe that.”

Eyes narrow
ing
, she regarded him carefully, but it was hard to argue.

“Fine.  You're with me.  So what do we do now?”

“Now?  We get some sleep,
I suppose
.  
We'll have to get moving in the morning.  I can keep refreshing the ward, but they'll find other ways to track us.
”

She said nothing.  She felt as if she had used up all the words.  Justin was right.
 
F
or now, sleep was all she had left.  On the cold rooftop, torn by the wind, she
pulled her knees up to her chest
and closed her eyes.
 

With her father's sending stone held loosely in one hand, Arsha paused at the foot of the stairs and took a breath.  
Once again she repeated the lie that she'd been carefully rehearsing; that
s
he'd found her father's stone where he'd left it on the bathroom sink.  Just an absent minded mistake.  It wasn't her fault.  She had to keep telling herself that, but the thought just wouldn't seem to stick.  She could feel her hands trembling.

She looked up the stairwell, towards the bridge, and reached out one hand to grip the railing.  Then she heard
a door opening, and
the sound of voices
from above.  She
froze, one foot on the bottom step.  
Her father and the others must have just stepped out of the Captain's ready room and onto the bridge.
 

“You can look for your damn stone in a minute Rishi, this is important,” Milima said, her voice
clear
and sharp.

“Yes, Milima, I'm sure you think it is, but right now, I really don't...”

“Rishi, we'll be in London in a little over a day.  
Don't you think it's about time you told us just what in the Seven Names we're doing out here?”
 

“Rishi, she's right.”  
Abasi's voice, deep and gentle.
  “
When you told me where we were going, I didn't ask any questions, because I trusted that it was important, and that you'd tell me everything in good time.  But you can't ask me to take my ship into a situation like this without you at least telling me what
we're doing.
”

There was a long pause in the conversation.  She wondered what could be happening.  Then she heard her father's voice again, quieter this time.  He sounded tired, worn down.
 

“
There's... There's a girl.  She's in danger.  And I have to protect her.”
 

“Why?” Milima replied.  “Rishi, I don't mean to be cold, but there are millions of young girls out there that need protecting.  Are you going to go chasing
after
every single one of them?  Why is it so important that you save this one child?”

There was another long silence.  Arsha held her breath and pressed herself up against the wall, as she counted off the seconds.
 

“
Because if we don't,” her father said, heavily, “a Seed is going to open in London.”
 

“
Seven...” Milima gasped.
 

“
Rishi, you can't be serious,” Abasi said.
 

“
It'll tear the Veil apart.  The damage will be unimaginable,” her father continued.
 

“
And this girl, she's going to open it?” Abasi said.
 

“
That's right.  Unless we can get to her first.”
 

“
Fates, Rishi, you should have told us sooner.  We could have brought help, we could have warned the Guild, alerted the Wardens...”
 

“
Abasi, what makes you think they would listen?  If I, of all people, told them a Seed was going to awaken, and that somehow no one else, not even the Chamber of Foresight, knew a damn thing
about it?  Why would they believe me?”
 

“
So how did you find out?” Milima said, her tone taking on a razor fine edge.  “If even the Guild doesn't know yet...”
 

“
Or haven't admitted that they know,” Abasi interjected.  “If a Seed really is going to awaken, the Chamber would predict it.  They couldn't miss something like this.”
 

“
Which means someone in the Chamber...” Milima continued for him.  “Seven Names.  Rishi, if they find out.  Gaining access to a prediction.  Spying on the Chamber.  If they ever learn what you've done...”
 

“
Rishi, she's right.  You know the rules about the Chamber of Foresight.  This is incredibly dangerous.”
 

“
If they can prove it,” her father replied, curtly.  “Which they never will.”
 

“
Rishi, you can't know that,” Milima said.
 

“
Maybe not, but I trust my source.  And if I'm wrong, it's on my head.”
 

“
Seven Names it is.  Rishi, if they even suspect, they'll come after all of us with everything they have.  Even if they can't prove it, they'll find something.  We could be charged with trespassing the Veil, breach of the Accords...” Milima said, her voice rising like thunder.
 

“
Milima, love,” Abasi said, his voice soft, “it's done now.  And Rishi is right. If we let this happen...”
 

“
The damage this thing could cause, if it awakens,” her father added.
 

“
You really want to talk to me about damage?” Milima replied,
her voice a sharp hiss.
 

“
Fine.  So we turn around.  We walk away and do nothing.  Is that what you want?” her father said, sharply.
 

“
You know damn well I don't.  You're right, we're committed now.  But I don't like this one bit, and you had no right to lead us into this in the first place.  That's the thing about trust, Rishi.  You're supposed to earn it.”
 

When Arsha heard the sound of Milima's footsteps on the stairs, she barely had time to react.  Without even thinking about it she slipped her father's sending stone back into her pocket, just before Milima rounded the corner and saw her standing there.
 

“
Arsha?  What are you doing love?” Milima said, looking almost as shocked as Arsha felt.
 

“
I... Ummm... I was just coming up to ask if... If we'd be putting in any time soon,” she stammered.
 

“
Uh, yes, I imagine we'll need to stop to recharge soon.  We're coming up on an outpost in a few hours.”
 

“
Oh, OK,” Arsha said.
 

“
Listen, love, why don't you go down and check on the washing for me?”
 

Arsha nodded, feeling a wave of relief wash over her.  She turned and slipped back down below decks, taking the stairs two at a time, her heart still pounding.
 

The outpost was little more than a slender
spear of rock
thrusting up
out of
the water, surrounded by crashing foam.  At its peak a tower
had been built
,
scaffolds branching out
to form
piers
and lookouts.  
B
alconies and walkways surrounded tall windows that splashed bright sunlight
back at them in reflected sprays
.

She
was glad of the chance to get off the ship
and away from the tension that seemed to be hanging in the air, like a gathering storm
.  They had an hour before the lightning cages would be charged again, and
she wanted some time to herself
.  
She wandered through the silent galleria, past shops that were shuttered and empty.  The place would be busy enough when real trade came through, but right now they were the only ship around.  Hardly worth turning up the lights for.  It didn't matter.  She was glad to be alone.
 

Her thoughts tumbled over and over in her head, as she replayed the conversation she'd overheard on the bridge and the dream that the woman had described to her father.  As she tried to fit the pieces together.  It all seemed to come back to something called a seed, and to the girl.  A girl that she was connected to, somehow, though her father hadn't seemed eager to let Abasi or Milima know about that detail.