Opening Acts

by SFnovelists

  *** ***

  The Goblin Market, Onyx Hall: March 2, 1884

  With a clicking of toenails upon cracked black stone, the dog trotted into the room of cages. A half-dozen lined the narrow chamber, three on a side, mostly full with sleeping humans. In the nearest, a young girl lay alone on a floor of filthy straw, curled in upon herself. The dog drew nearer, sniffing. His nose brushed her hair, close by the cage's wooden bars, and she jerked awake with a cry of fear.

  The dog sat down on his haunches and studied her, tongue lolling just a little. It was as close to an appealing look as a scruffy thing like him could come; his black fur was untidy and matted, and a chunk had been torn from his left ear. But when he made no threatening move-merely sat and watched-the girl moved hesitantly from the corner where she'd retreated. Holding one hand out, she inched closer, until her hand was near enough to the bars for the dog to extend his nose and sniff politely. He even licked her dirty fingers, a brief, warm caress.

  At that touch of kindness, the girl burst into tears.

  "Oi there!"

  The dog rose in a swift turn. A squat, ugly figure stood in the doorway, scratching the wiry hairs of his beard. "Get off it," the goblin said, scowling at him. "'E wants to see you, and not on four feet."

  In the cage, the girl had retreated once more. The dog cast a brief glance over his shoulder at her, then sighed, a peculiarly human sound. Bending his head, he concentrated, and his body began to shift.

  He heard a faint whimper from behind him as the transformation finished. However little reassurance his dog form had offered, as a man he was worse; Dead Rick knew that all too well. Ragged trousers stopped short of his bare feet, whose toenails curved thick and filthy to the floor. On his body he wore only a torn waistcoat, scavenged off a dead mortal; he hated the confining feel of sleeves on his arms. His hair was as dirty and matted as it had been when it was fur, and as for his face…he didn't turn around. He might not be a barguest, with a devil's flaming eyes, but he'd seen himself in a mirror; the hard slash of his mouth wouldn't reassure anyone.

  He could have changed elsewhere, out of sight of the girl. But she was better off learning this now, that even the friendliest creature down here couldn't be trusted.

  Gresh's toothy smile would never be mistaken for friendly. "She's a fine bit, ain't she?" he asked as Dead Rick came toward him. "Bit old to be stealing out of a cradle, but 'er mother kept 'er there anyway, as they didn't 'ave nowhere else to put 'er. Living sixteen to a room they was; now it's just fifteen, and she gets this whole cage to 'erself. Better for everyone!"

  Dead Rick doubted the girl would agree, or her mother. Then again, what did he know? Perhaps her mother was a gin-soaked whore, and would be glad enough for one less mouth to feed. The girl might be bought by some kind faerie, who wanted a human child to play with like a doll.

  Or angels might fly out of your arse, whelp. But she wouldn't age here, and disease would never touch her, which was more than anyone could say for life in the streets above.

  "Come on," he said, pushing by Gresh. "You said 'e wants to see me."

  "You don't need me to guide you," the goblin said.

  Dead Rick paused in the corridor and glanced back. Gresh was standing in the doorway still, shoulders hunched with eagerness. "Don't," Dead Rick warned him. "You spoil 'er, and it'll be your hide."

  The goblin glared back. "I don't need no dog telling me what to do."

  He said dog like it was an insult-like Dead Rick should be ashamed of being a skriker. A habit he picked up from their mutual master. But there were advantages to being a dog; Dead Rick growled low in his throat, holding Gresh's eyes, and sure enough the goblin backed down first. With grumbling complaints, but he came with Dead Rick, and left the girl to what peace she could find.

  Laughter echoed off the stone around them as they went along, its source impossible to determine. The warren of the Goblin Market was packed full, fae and the human creatures they kept for entertainment or use; they crowded almost as close as the East End poor that girl came from. For every faerie that flitted, going in search of a passage beyond the mortal world, another came here to London. To the Onyx Hall, twisted reflection of the City above, the palace that had once been the glory of faerie England-and now was their crumbling refuge against the progress of humankind.

  Traces of that glory were still visible, in the sculpted columns and corner-posts, the arches spanning high-ceilinged chambers, the occasional mosaic laid into the black stone of a wall. It had all seen hard use these centuries past, though. Much was cracked, or stained, or half-hidden behind the clutter of the refugees. Curtains strung on cord divided larger rooms into smaller, giving the illusion of privacy; fae defended treasured belongings or mortal pets against the greedy hands of their neighbors. But anything could be sold, if the price was good enough: a human child bargained for mortal bread, an enchanted mirror traded for drugs that could make even a faerie forget his troubles.

  Gresh was right; Dead Rick didn't need the goblin to tell him where to go. He knew his way through the warren blindfolded. The room he headed for had a broken floor, scuffed stone giving way to bare earth, into which someone had dug a pit; down at the bottom, a red-eared faerie hound, his muzzle stained with blood, seized a rat and shook the rodent until its back broke. The observers-mostly fae, a few mortals-roared him on. Dead Rick shoved through the crowd, making his way toward the short staircase that curved at the far end. By the time he reached it, Gresh had disappeared, into the wagering mass.

  The staircase still showed a touch of refinement, though the balustrade's carving had taken some beating over the ages. The room it led to showed a bit more than a touch, largely because the rat-fighting rabble weren't allowed in. If its chairs were mismatched, some were at least carved of exotic wood, and the carpet on the floor was still vibrant with color. Silks draped along the walls helped cover the cracks behind, the signs of inevitable decay.

  And there were only two people inside, one faerie and one mortal. The latter was dressed in a ridiculous parody of a footman's livery, styles that would have been old-fashioned fifty years before, but that hardly mattered; the more important thing was that he was there, uselessly, feeding the self-importance of his master.

  Who scowled at Dead Rick. Nadrett waited for the door to close, then said, "I expects you 'ere when I needs you. Not to 'ave to send my goblins searching for you all over the warren."

  He made an elegant figure, by Goblin Market standards. Not clad in patches and rags, nor parading around in a gaudy assortment of gypsy silks; his waistcoat might be red as children's blood, but it was restrained in its tailoring. One had to look closely to notice the buttons of bone, the cuff-links of knotted hair. He wore no coat, but did affect a gentleman's silk top hat, adorned with a large pin of crystalline starlight.

  None of which hid the fact that Nadrett had clawed his way to the top of the Goblin Market heap by a combination of cunning and brutality. Dead Rick was forced to lower his gaze. "Sorry. I was looking in on the cages-"

  "You better not 'ave been touching my property."

  Dead Rick was no good at lying. His hesitation told enough, and Nadrett spat a curse. "That one ain't 'ere to tithe bread. Got a buyer, wants a girl as stinks of mortality. You go licking 'er, she starts to smell of faerie instead, and then I don't get as good a price."

  He should keep his mouth shut, but the words came out anyway. "I ain't 'ere to help your coves in their perversions."

  Quick as a striking snake, Nadrett was there, inches from his face. "Yes, you are," the faerie spat. "Because you serve me. Those perversions are where I makes my profit, see, and if I don't profit, then I takes the difference out of your mangy hide. So it's in your best interests to make sure my customers ain't unhappy."

  Dead Rick opened his mouth to answer-stupid whelp; you never learn-and Nadrett's hand closed on his throat. He might weigh a stone less than the skriker, but his grip was iron. "Cross me," Nadrett hissed, "and I will destroy you. Ever
ything you used to be. You'll be like this forever, broken, crawling, serving whatever master whips you worst."

  Shame and fear twisted in his gut, like a worm, eating away at his pride. He felt a whine build, trapped under Nadrett's hand, and rolled his eyes in desperation. When Nadrett let go, Dead Rick turned his head to the side, casting his gaze down. "I won't cross you."

  His master laughed. "'Course not. You'll do exactly what I says. And you're in luck: I've got use for you today. Follow me."

  Hating himself for it, Dead Rick obeyed.

  Their path was a long one, weaving through the shabby clamor of the Goblin Market. The constant, encroaching decay made it almost impossible to go anywhere directly; too many chambers and connecting passages had vanished. Whole sections were almost completely cut off, their only access being through patches too unsafe to traverse. A faerie who set foot there was liable to come out somewhere else entirely-or not come out at all.

  London's foundation is rotting out from underneath it, Dead Rick thought. People still told tales of the glories of the Onyx Hall, but that was all that remained: tales, and these decaying fragments. And the Goblin Market's the most rotten of all.

  The place Nadrett led him wasn't quite Market territory, and wasn't quite not. The night garden didn't belong to anyone, except the refugees who slept on blankets beneath the overgrown trees. It lay in what had once been the heart of the Onyx Hall, and in past ages had been the favored haunt of courtiers. But now the Walbrook ran foul through its heart, and the flowers grew among choking weeds.

  A trio of goblins lounged on a chipped bench, and rose when Nadrett came through the entrance arch. Scots, and not familiar to Dead Rick; he would have wagered human bread, if he'd had any, that they were newcomers. Temporary residents of the night garden, who'd sold their services to the Goblin Market-to Nadrett-in exchange for a leg up. "We've cleared it," the leader said. "Got two fellows watching each of the other doors."

  Nadrett clapped him on the shoulder and turned to Dead Rick. "You knows your job. Get to it."

  He stared past his master, into the abandoned wilderness of the garden. "Who is it?"

  "What does that matter? Some mortal. She's none of your concern."

  Female, then. But not the little girl in the cage. Dead Rick swallowed, tasting bile. Not the little girl; just some other human who likely never did anything to bring this fate on herself.

  The mere drawing of Nadrett's breath was enough to prompt him. Grinding his teeth, Dead Rick shifted back to dog-form, and ran out into the night garden.

  A welter of smells filled his nose. The refugees might be gone for the moment, but their scents remained: hobs and goblins and pucks, courtly elves and nature-loving sprites, some so new they carried echoes of their homes with them. Cool soil, and the thick mat of vegetation that grew over it; once the garden had been planted with aromatic, night-blooming flowers-evening primrose, jasmine-and some of the hardier ones still survived. Up ahead lay the stinking Walbrook. The crumbling enchantments had mixed the buried river's reflection with its polluted reality, poisoning the earth around it.

  Dead Rick paused near one of the stream's surviving footbridges, thinking he saw movement ahead. It proved to be just a faerie light, drifting aimlessly through the air. Most of them had abandoned the ceiling, where people said they used to form shifting constellations, but in the distance Dead Rick thought he saw a more solid glow.

  He padded toward it, keeping to the underbrush. Yes, there was light ahead, behind that cluster of sickly apple trees. He sank to his belly and crawled forward one paw at a time until he could see.

  The mortal was scarcely more than a girl, fifteen years old at most. She sat with her back to a stone plinth, knees pulled tight to her chest. Dead Rick wondered if she knew she was sitting on a grave. Her dress was reasonably fine; she ought to be able to read-but vines had grown over the inscription, making it easy to miss if she didn't look for it. And her attention was elsewhere, scouring the surrounding area for signs of a threat.

  Signs of him.

  Faerie lights floated about the small clearing, as if trying to comfort her. They had just enough awareness to respond to others' wishes; her fear might have drawn them. Or had she called them to her? Don't ask questions, Dead Rick growled to himself. Don't think of 'er as a person-just do your job.

  The growl escaped his muzzle, without him intending it. The mortal gasped, rising to a wary crouch.

  She shouldn't 'ave been sitting in the light. She'll be 'alf-blind once she runs.

  So much the better for him.

  Dead Rick growled again, this time with purpose. There was a gap in the hawthorn bushes; he snaked through it, making no sound, and snarled more sharply. Then circled further: another growl. To a frightened mind, it would sound like she was surrounded.

  In every direction except one: the overgrown path that led away from the grave. And sure enough, she bolted.

  He was running almost before she moved. She was human, and wearing a dress; he was a dog, and knew his way about the garden. A fallen tree had blocked the left-hand path years ago, so that even if she went that way-and he heard her try-in the end, she had to go right. And Dead Rick was there, waiting to harry her onward.

  Nadrett had sent him to do this so often that it was almost routine. But the girl surprised him; she plunged through an overgrown holly bush, hissing as it raked her, to take a less obvious path. Dead Rick cursed inwardly. Two fellows watching each of the other doors-but were they watching all of them? Or only the ones that led anywhere anymore? The arch ahead opened on a corridor that went about fifty feet before fading into a bad patch of the Onyx Hall.

  It had been fifty feet the last time he looked. It might be less now.

  Dead Rick put on a burst of speed. A dry fountain near the wall gave him an advantage; he leapt up the enormous grotesque at the center, toenails scrabbling on the twisted stone, and launched himself through the air toward the arch. He landed with an almighty crash, but that served him well enough: he heard the girl stumble and fall, then claw to her feet and run in the other direction, away from whatever huge monster was lurking by the arch.

  Huge, no. Monster, yes. That's what I've become.

  Dead Rick shook himself, as if his gloom could be shaken off like water. If he failed at this, Nadrett would see to it he was more than just gloomy.

  He trotted rapidly along the girl's trail, following her scent. His pause had given her time to get ahead, and in the absence of his snarls she'd gone quiet. The trail led him over the footbridge; he caught a whiff on the railing, as if she'd paused there, eyeing the filthy water. But for a girl in skirts, who likely couldn't swim, it would just be unpleasant suicide; in the end she'd gone on.

  Across an expanse of shaggy grass, almost as tall as he was. Dead Rick leapt over a fallen urn, hoping to cut her off. The gamble worked: she was coming down the path toward him. Renewed snarling sent her the other way, and now he knew how this would end. Normally he trapped them against the wall, but with a bit of herding…

  She was nearing the end of her strength. Dead Rick quickened his own pace, baying like a wolf, and burst into the open almost at her heels. The girl flung herself across the torn ground, up the steps of a ruined pavilion, and fell sprawling across the boards of its floor. Dead Rick leapt-

  Her scream tore through the air, and then stopped.

  Dead Rick's paws slammed down on her chest, and his jaws snapped shut just shy of her nose. The girl was rigid with terror beneath him, and her mouth gaped open, heaving again and again as if she were screaming still, but no sound came out.

  For a moment, the desire was there. To sink his teeth into that vulnerable throat, to tear the flesh and lap up the hot blood as it fountained out. Death was part of a skriker's nature. It would be easy, so long as he didn't see her as a person-just meat and fear and a voice to be stolen.

  But that was Nadrett's way, and the Goblin Market's. Clenching his muzzle until it hurt, Dead Rick backed off, slowly, st
epping with care so his rough toenails wouldn't scratch the girl through her dress.

  Nadrett was leaning against one of the pavilion's posts, tossing a small jar from hand to hand. "That's a good one," he said with a satisfied leer. "Prime stuff. That'll fetch a good price, it will. Maybe I'll even let you 'ave a bit of the profit, eh?"

  If he had any pride left, Dead Rick would refuse it. Since he didn't, he jumped down to the grass, passing Nadrett without so much as a snarl.

  His master laughed as he went. "Good dog."

  Coming from Nadrett's mouth, the word made Dead Rick ashamed.