Belonging

by P M Cole

  “He will never stop coming for me, Lucas. We will look for this council and hope that it will give us some answers as to how to defeat him.”

  “And if they want to hunt us as well?”

  “Then maybe we will leave.” It was a lie, but I needed him to have some kind of hope. There had to be answers in Edinburgh.

  Lucas nodded. What he saw in the hallway, I could tell shook him to his core. We had seen Hades in his truest form, and I now realised I was not just fighting for my own survival but for everyone’s.

  “I’m sorry about what happened to your home…”

  He sighed again. “It’s just a house…”

  I looked at him and smiled. “Once this is over, I will help you rebuild.”

  He smiled too then looked out of the window. “We are landing soon?”

  “What? No, we have hours of flying left.” I looked out of the window on my side. The occasional huddle of orange glows appeared to be nearer. We were also no longer in the clouds and appeared to be descending. “Take the wheel,” I said to Lucas, then stepped back between the seats and pushed the cabin door open. The rush of wind woke the other two.

  “What’s going on,” said Colin.

  I looked down at some streets lit by gas lanterns. We were definitely about to land whether we wanted to or not. I held onto the door frame and leaned out, looking up at the large envelope, but it was so dark I couldn’t see any damage. “Hand me a lantern,” I said to Daniel who was seated next to one of four sources of light in the cabin.

  He did and I leaned out once more and held it aloft. I swore on seeing a piece of fabric flapping about ten feet away from me. I leaned back in handing the light back to Daniel. “One of the bullets must have pierced the envelope.”

  “Are we going to crash?” said Colin.

  “Land yes, Crash, not if I control our descent.” A number of lights were now visible below. We were moving across a town.

  “Umm… Cog… you see that correct?” said Lucas pointing towards the spear like shadow directly aligned with our flight path.

  I looked at the cathedral spire coming towards us. “Perfect…” I said under my breath. I got back in my seat and throttled back the fans, slowing our forward momentum. We drifted forward towards the top of the ancient building. I looked over my shoulder. “I’m going to need someone to climb down the ladder, with the rope at the back of the cabin, and grab hold of the spire as we pass it.”

  There was silence.

  “Now! Before we miss it! Or we’ll end up in the trees or in someone’s back yard!”

  Lucas went to get up, as did Colin, but Daniel had already got the door open. He pulled on the lever releasing the ladder which dropped, then climbed down onto it.

  “Colin, feed him the rope! We’re almost upon the spire!”

  Colin picked up the heap of rope and dropped it out of the doorway, into the howling wind.

  The iron spike at the top of the spire was now only yards below us. I heard a muffled shout.

  “More to our right!” shouted Colin.

  I made the appropriate correction on the wheel.

  “That’s it! Stay there…”

  We jolted forward but continued to fall gently through the air. The green iron roof of the cathedral rose up towards us.

  “Colin, let go of the rope or we’ll tilt, and tell—” I didn’t need to finish as Daniel scrambled back through the doorway. There was a loud bump as the cabin landed, then after some rocking came to a rest.

  I blew my cheeks out with a breath. “Well done everyone.”

  “Where the hell are we?” said Daniel.

  “We’ve been flying for around three hours, somewhere in the midlands I think.” I reached into my coat and pulled out my pocket watch, the hands said 11:14 p.m. “We need to find a tailor.”

  “There won’t be any open at this time,” said Lucas.

  “I’m afraid we are going to have to convince one to open,” I said. “Once dawn breaks, we will be a little conspicuous on this roof…”

  I lifted Auto up from the foot well and looked into his gemstone eyes. “Find me a tailor.”

  With a chirp I handed him back to Daniel who let him fly free, out into the night.

  “I wonder if they are looking for us here as well… wherever ‘here’ is…” said Daniel.

  The cabin fell silent as each of us were taken by our memories back to what transpired just a few hours earlier. A question came to me, but one that seemed pointless. I went to ask if Charlotte could have survived in that horrible place, but instead there was a clattering of metal wings and Auto flew into the cabin, landing on the back of one of the empty seats.

  ’T…a…i…l…o…r…N…o…r…t…h.’

  I climbed between the seats. “Someone needs to stay with the dirigible.”

  “I’ll stay,” said Daniel. “I’m quite exhausted.” He briefly smiled. I had no idea how his powers worked, but after what he did for Lucas, I had the feeling that healing took its toll on him.

  “Good. We shouldn’t be more than an hour.”

  “What do I do if someone sees this craft and tries to talk to me?”

  “Tell them that we are part of a local travelling fair, and this is one of the attractions.”

  He smiled again. “OK.”

  “Auto, go back out and keep watch around the dirigible, if you see anyone coming, warn Daniel.”

  Auto flew back out into the night.

  Soon, Lucas, Colin, and I were scrambling across the roof, then onto a lower one, then dropped the eight or so feet to a frost-covered muddy path. We did our best to keep the flame from our single lantern covered so as not to alert any onlookers nearby, and we hurried between gravestones, and out onto a pavement which had a light dusting of snow.

  A single gas lamp lit the entire street, illuminating a series of shops but none were what we needed.

  “Next street along,” I said, and we made haste past the shop windows, some of which already had some Christmas displays. We came across a shadow laden alley, but it was heading north so I moved up it quickly, the others following. It widened and a number of shops became apparent. Within them a wooden sign proudly announced. ‘Frimley & Son’s, Leicester. Tailors. Est. 1845’.

  I looked at the second-floor windows of the Georgian building, none of which were lit.

  “We should go around the back,” said Colin.

  “No,” said Lucas. “That will alarm them even more.”

  As he and Colin argued over the best way to wake up Mr Frimley or his son, I knocked as heavily as I could on the front door. A light almost immediately came on in the second-floor window.

  I suddenly realised I had no money. I looked back at Lucas as sounds came from the other side of the door. “Have you got any—”

  The door swung open. A diminutive man with small round glasses and wearing sleeping attire looked at me through the flame of a candle. “What do you want?”

  “Umm… I am in need of a tailor,” I said.

  He still look confused then looked at the door, which had the opening times clearly painted on the surface. “At this hour?”

  “It’s an emergency!” said Colin, not helping.

  Lucas stepped forward. “What my children are trying to say, is that we are in need of some leather hides, and we will pay handsomely for them. We are passing through your town, and unfortunately cannot wait until morning. We apologise for the inconvenience and will reflect that in our recompense.”

  It was an eloquent request, despite the fact that he looked like he had been dragged from a pile of rubble, which he had.

  The man rubbed his chin. “Pay handsomely eh…”

  I still had no idea if Lucas had any money on him. Looking at the state of his pockets I couldn’t imagine he did.

  The man looked at all of us once again. “All I got is five hides out back. Ten shillings. Half the money up front. Then you get them.”

  It was enough to pay for twenty hides, but we all nodded
anyway.

  “Thank you, sir. Please allow my children and I, to go collect the required payment and we will return shortly.”

  The man frowned and closed the door.

  We had only walked away ten or so feet, when I turned to Lucas. “You don’t have ten shillings!”

  “No, but… I noticed what looked like a safe in the back of his shop…”

  “You want me to pay him with his own money!” I said, trying not to shout.

  “What choice have we got?”

  I sighed then quietly walked back to the tailors. Luckily, he seemed to have returned to the upstairs, but the light from the second floor gave me just enough of a view of the black and green iron safe where Lucas said it was. I shook my head and focused on the door of the small secure box. It resisted my efforts until I realised, I needed to feel the mechanism, rather than trying to force it. I quietened my thoughts and felt the bolts in the door and one by one slid them back, then rotated the outside handle. The safe door then promptly sprung open. I couldn’t see what was on the shelf, but I could feel the weight of some metal. I pulled it free, floating it across the shop floor and closed the safe, when the shop door opened.

  The tailor stepped out onto the cold slabs. “Back already?”

  “Err…” A small black velvet bag hung like Damocles sword above the tailor's head. I walked towards him, making him step backwards and pointed towards a dark grey suit on a peg just behind him. “Oh, that’s nice, how much is that?”

  He turned and I flung the bag through the air and into Lucas’s hands. “That’s not for sale, young lady.” He turned back to face me as Lucas pivoted away, no doubt pulling the necessary coins from our newly acquired horde.

  Lucas stepped forward with a small pile of silver coins. “Five Shillings as agreed.”

  “Hmm…” said the tailor still suspicious. “Wait here, I’ll go get them.”

  “And twine!” I shouted out as he went to walk away.

  “What?” he said, half turning back.

  “We also need twine. As much as you can spare.”

  He frowned. “I’ll see what I have.”

  A short while later we were back on the cathedral roof, a pile of hides at our feet. “Stand back, this shouldn’t take long,” I said, concentrating on the torn area.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  When dawn came, I resisted waking any of the others, wanting to enjoy the splendour myself as we floated just above the low-level clouds. At this height they looked pink and were a grand spectacle against the cobalt blue of the sky. The scene soothed my thoughts regardless of my anxiety and recent memories fighting for more attention.

  After another two hours I was ready to fall asleep, but my thoughts and growling stomach kept my eyes from closing. I started to descend. At the start of our journey I had calculated that at our rough rate of knots it would be ten or so hours before we reached Edinburgh, and we had just hit that mark.

  An expanse of sandstone buildings, and the sea further to the north told me we were in the right location. I steered us towards a forested area to the east of the city. There were also some small clearings at the base of a mountain ridge, which I hoped would provide good cover for the craft.

  I heard some yawns behind me as the tree tops grew closer. And I increased the power to the fans to slow the descent, steering us towards the nearest open area. It was only a few yards bigger than the craft, just what we needed to stay hidden, but landing was going to be difficult.

  “Anyone care to tell me how close we are to the trees at the back of the craft?” As I wondered who had heard me, I chastised myself for not putting in some kind of mirror system.

  Colin sheepishly moved the five or six feet to the back and looked out the small rear window. “You just cleared them, maybe a yard or two.”

  “Lots of room on the port side,” said Daniel.

  “A few feet on the starboard,” said Lucas.

  “I’m bringing him down,” I said. The fans rotated ninety degrees providing upwards thrust and we slowly drifted towards the ground, past ice-covered branches then trunks until I reversed the operation, and we bumped lightly on frosted grass and twigs.

  “I really need to eat,” said Daniel.

  “I think we all do,” I said. “Let’s find some branches and cover the craft with them, then we should find some lodgings.”

  “We ain’t going to this council thing?” said Colin.

  “The map just said this city, we have no idea where it is, or who to ask to find it,” said Lucas. “We should split up. Cog and Colin, find us somewhere to stay. Daniel and I will try to find others that may have useful information.” He went to step out, then stopped. “Oh, you’re going to need some money.” He opened the pouch and dropped half of its contents into my hand. “That’s a few half crowns and shillings. Get two rooms with multiple single beds for a week.”

  After tying the Chronus to the nearby trees and then an arduous time of pulling branches down and covering the envelope and cabin, we set out to west and the city beyond.

  We walked along country lanes, surrounded by fields and past the occasional huddle of sheep until we reached the edge of the city and a row of three-storey homes, each with triangular roofs. One of them though, the one on the end of the terrace was larger than the rest and had a sign out front.

  “I think that’s a lodging,” I said.

  “Good,” said Lucas. “Hopefully, they will have some rooms, but we will meet up back here when the sun is low on the horizon.”

  I looked at my pocket watch. “In about four hours.”

  He nodded and, with Daniel, marched off as we did the same towards the inn.

  Just before we reached the door, Colin leaned in closer to me. “Maybe we don’t need two single beds.”

  I rolled my eyes and pushed the door open to the sound of a bell above it. The interior was similar to other such establishments in London except this lobby had a large painting of a Scottish mountain behind the counter, and a brass plaque announcing the name of whoever owned the place.

  A red-faced portly woman appeared, her person covered in a black dress and a tartan shawl. “What can I do for you two fine young people?” she said in a strong Scottish accent.

  “I—”

  Colin grabbed at my shoulder, pulling me around to face him and away from the woman.

  I shrugged him off. “What is—” A poster, similar to the ones in London was pasted on the inside of the door we just came through.

  “Are ye be wanting a room?” said the woman from behind us.

  “We should leave,” whispered Colin.

  I turned and with a smile walked back to the counter. “Yes, please. I will need two rooms, with two single beds in each. Do you have that available?”

  She looked down, flipping a ledger open. “Indeed, we do. The Christmas rush hasn’t begun yet.” She then looked at Colin then back to me. “Two rooms with two single beds?”

  “Oh… yes, there are two more gentleman that will be accompanying us. The other room will be for them.” My heart should have been racing with fear of the possible exposure of who I really was, but I was too exhausted to care.

  She smiled. “Ah, I see.” She looked across the page below her. “There’s a room on the second floor and another on the third. Both have wash basins and running water although the tap in the top room is a bit stiff, but it does have an open fire whereas the other doesn’t. We also provide a simple breakfast at 8 a.m. each morning. How does that sound?”

  “Perfect.”

  “And how long will you be staying?”

  “A week.”

  *****

  A window rattled, waking me. I looked around at the sparse third floor room that I chose for us. Colin was nowhere to be seen. My body and mind still felt heavy, but I pushed myself up and looked at the window. The light was failing, meaning I needed to be outside ready to meet the others. Auto sat on the window frame.

  “How long ago did Colin leave?” I said to him
.

  He blinked a few times. ’S…o…o…n…A…f…t…e…r…S…l…e…e…p.’

  I groaned in frustration. I asked Colin not to go outside until we needed to, but he obviously ignored that request. I should have known.

  I stood and walked across the bare boards to the attic window and looked out at the mountain and forest being draped in shadow by the coming night. A spark of excitement wanted to grow within me at being in a new exotic place, but instead it was quickly extinguished by memories of recent events. I went to move away, when I noticed a woman standing on the pavement opposite, looking up at the inn. She was a striking individual with flowing blonde hair and a dark brown coat. I squinted to try and see her better. Was she looking up at…?

  The sounds of boots came from the stairs outside the door and I whipped around, wondering how I would escape if I needed to. There was a distinct lack of metal around me which would make any attempt difficult.

  The door swung open and Lucas, then Daniel, and finally Colin appeared, each of them carrying a small sack.

  Lucas dropped his on the bed. “Rested?”

  I nodded. “A little.”

  “Bread, eggs, cheese, vegetables, and even a leg of lamb and a half gallon jug of milk are in these sacks, as well as some new clothes for us.”

  “I’ll get the fire going.” Before I could take a step, Daniel was already kneeling then piling the small logs into the firebox.

  “I’ll take care of it,” he said.

  I took a look outside, but the lack of daylight was such that even if the enigmatic woman was still there, I wouldn’t have been able to see her. I walked and sat on the bed. “Did you find anything out about the location of the council?”

  He shook his head. “Nothing.” He held his hand up, showing me the ring I had seen him use at the museum. “Even my ring isn’t showing any sign of magical objects in the city. If the council is here, they are well hidden.”

  “Has anyone heard of the council?” I said.

  “Nobody willing to talk at least, even with monetary incentives. I couldn’t even locate any local warlocks or witches.” He looked at me more directly. “We saw the poster downstairs. It would seem there is no part of this land that is not under his influence…”