The Iron Bells

by Jeanette Battista

  ****

  I wake up to someone shaking my shoulders insistently. I open sleep-blurred eyes and see Auntie hovering over me, face anxious. I sit up from the floor, rubbing my eyes with the back of my hand. "What is it?" I whisper. I look past her to check on Trick, still asleep on my bed.

  "It's a raid." Her eyes dart out my open door, checking the hallway. "The Inquisition. You need to go."

  The Inquisition is here? How? I don't have time to think because Auntie is throwing my clothes at me. I shrug into them, noting that my shirt is on backwards and grab the pouch with my rosary. I hang it around my neck, tucking it inside my backwards shirt. I pull up the floorboard to get out the book and other papers. I grab my pack and begin to shove my things into it while Auntie stuffs the warded blanket roll that contains my blades into the sleeping bag holder.

  I wake Trick. His eyes open instantly, so fast that I wonder if he was sleeping at all. “Trouble,” I tell him.

  “Of course,” he practically sighs. He accepts the fresh clothes from Auntie and shrugs into them. She’s got a pack ready for him too. She’s probably been preparing for a possible raid since we walked in the door. I could kiss her.

  “This is not coincidence, Amaranth. They’re after you now. You and the rest need to get out of London, out of England. Put as much distance as possible between you and them.” Auntie’s breath comes fast, but her voice is calm. "Get out to the garden and take whoever is out there. Get them someplace safe. I'll get the rest out."

  I hear banging on the front door. "They've probably got the whole building watched."

  Auntie shoves a packet at me and pushes me down the stairs. "The buildings around here will block the view from the garden for a little while. You remember where the brick is that's stamped with a compass rose? On the wall?"

  "Yes." I tuck the packet into my pack.

  "Press it and follow the path." She shoves me down the stairs. "Don't wait for me. I'll be right behind you."

  Trick and I race down them as she follows at a slower pace. I can hear raised voices ordering someone to open the door. I duck into Dham's room and use his back door to let myself out into the garden.

  Dham, Cat, and a few others are waiting for us. I don't wait to see if they follow, instead making my way straight to the wall where the special brick that Auntie mentioned is. I feel around in the dark for the outline carved into the brick, going by touch since I don't dare use a torch. Finally, my fingers find it and I press my whole hand against it. The brick moves inward and an ivy-covered door slides back. I pull Dham after me, trying not to listen to the shouts and crashing coming from inside the boarding house.

  I swing the door shut behind us and lead the way by feel. My hands touch both sides of brick walls. A bit of light from the stars filters down through green growth overhead, but it is still too dark to see more than vague shapes. I follow the turns of the passageway, moving as fast as I dare. I'm not sure where this will let us out, but hopefully it will be far enough away from the Inquisition.

  I can hear Dham and the rest shuffling behind me. None of us speak, afraid of being overheard. My breath sounds shaky to my ears, but I concentrate on putting distance between us and the Inquisition. I can worry about everyone else later. I move forward on quick feet, hoping I don't smash face first into a wall.

  I stop abruptly, my nose inches from a wooden door. I lay my hands flat on the wood, feeling for a catch or latch of some kind. I can feel tendrils of something overgrowing the wood and then my fingers glide across something cold and metal. I fumble with the latch in the dark, then slowly open the door.

  I'm in another garden. It is overgrown with weeds and other grasses. A large tree drapes over most of the left side of the yard. I look up at the house and see it is in disrepair. No one probably lives in it but beggars looking for a place to get out of the rain. A few windows are busted in, but other than not being kept up, it doesn't look too bad from the back.

  I ease out of the passage cautiously, motioning for everyone to stay where they are. I do a circuit of the garden, then wave them through when I find nothing but trash and overgrown vegetation. I climb the three steps to the back door and turn the knob. It opens silently beneath my hand.

  I step inside carefully, mindful of any alarms or home-rigged booby traps. The inside is remarkably clean; no trash, freshly swept, and no smells of decay or garbage. Odd. I'd have thought squatters would have set up shop in here long ago. I poke my head into the rooms as I pass. No furniture, not even found objects that could be turned into chairs or beds.

  I do a quick check of the upstairs to find more of the same. Abandoned but not inhabited. Clean but no signs of anyone living here. I go back downstairs and beckon for everyone to come in. I lead them all to one of the back rooms with no windows so we can't be seen from the street. I'm unsure just how far away from Auntie's house we are, but if the Inquisition is patrolling the streets, I don't want them finding us.

  I wait for the group to settle. "Looks like we've been caught out." I look at the expressions on all of their faces: shock, fear, anger, resignation. "I don't know—"

  "What do we do now?" someone asks in a whisper. Nods come from all around.

  I look at Cat and Dham and Trick. Most of the people here weren’t involved in the Gate raid. I have no idea what to tell them. I don’t know where to send them. Auntie’s place used to be safe; who’s to say the other safehouse haven’t been compromised as well? "Lay low," I begin. "The Underground has been breached, so stay away from the tunnels."

  "What about safehouses?" a young man asks.

  "I don't know," I answer, dread making my stomach clench. "Some may have been discovered or everything may be okay." I think for a moment. "If there's anywhere else for you to go, try that first. Avoid anything to do with the Resistance, at least for a while. And stay out of sight until morning."

  I gesture for Dham, Trick, and Cat to follow me. When we are in a different room, away from the others, we hunker down. We drop our packs. I'm glad to see everyone’s seems to be full. Auntie had been busy.

  "So Inquisition raid?" Dham asks.

  I nod. " They must have been tipped off somehow. Auntie didn't tell you?"

  "She just came into my room, ordering me to get up and out to the back. Then she threw my pack at me." He jerks his head to those behind him. "I met up with all of these guys in the garden." He checks that his bells are safely stowed in his pack, then leans his head against the wall. "Now what?” He sounds worried.

  I open up my pack, pulling out the packet that Auntie gave me. "I'm not sure." I open up the brown paper to find a stack of Euros, fake passports, and a piece of paper. “Check your packs.” I dig around in my pack for the torch and begin to read.

  "It's a list of safehouses throughout Europe," I whisper as everyone roots around in their packs for a few moments. "Auntie told me we had to get out of England." I hand Dham the page so he can look.

  Cat holds up a stack of money. “I’ve got cash and a few passports.”

  Trick also has a roll of bills in his hand. “I’ve got some too.” He roots around. “Food and water too.”

  Dham’s eyes scan the entries quickly. "Wow."

  “I don’t recognize any of these from Ryland.” I lean closer. "These must be Auntie's personal contacts."

  "But why?" His eyes flick over the paper again.

  I sit back on my haunches and think. Auntie's no fool. She had a reason for preparing such a packet. Combined with the raid on the house, I think I can guess what it is. "In case we were found out." I tap the page in his hand. "She put this together in case the mission was compromised."

  "Exit strategy." Dham's voice sounds hollow.

  "Worst case scenario." I stare into his eyes. "A traitor. She was ready for it."

  Cat lets go a blistering curse. "We're done then." She shakes her head in resignation, her shoulders drooping.

  "Not necessarily." I'm formulating a plan on the fly now, talking through it as soon a
s ideas come into my head. "We leave. Get out of town, out of the country."

  “And go where?” Dham asks.

  I hold up the note Auntie packed for me. "With the names on this list we can go anywhere. I'm betting very few people know about these names. There's still a chance for us to get clear."

  “And do what, exactly? Hide until the Inquisition forgets all about you?” Trick asks, his voice mocking.

  “Don’t you mean us?” Cat shoots back so I don’t have to. I hide a grin. He waves a hand, dismissing her and I see her mouth purse tightly as she clamps down on angry words.

  “Rome,” I say, an idea forming in my head. “Vatican City.” I look around and see the blank faces of my companions. “The catacombs below Vatican City. They’re supposed to hold all kinds of arcane knowledge that the demons either can’t or won’t destroy.” I look a Trick and get an almost imperceptible nod. “The true location of the Gate could be there, along with a way to close it.” I stare at Trick. “Among other things.” I hope he understands what I mean. There’s a chance we could find a way to reverse the spell binding him to me there too.

  “You’ve gone soft in the head,” Cat scoffs. “There’s no way we could even get there, let alone break into Vatican City. I’m sure there are all kinds of wards and guards all over the place. We can’t just waltz in there with just a how-de-do and expect them to let us in!”

  “Have you got a better idea?” I challenge.

  Cat bristles. “Yes, as a matter of fact. I head back to my village.”

  “That’s fine for you, but it won’t work out so well for the rest of us.” Nice. Cat only thinking about herself. Why did she bother coming to London anyway? She should have just stayed in her manky village and rung her bell alone.

  "Oh, and haring off to Rome will work out better for you?" Cat begins to get up from her sit so she can pace. "I'm not crazy. Or suicidal."

  "I expect you to do whatever you like," I snap, worn down from the stress of the previous days. "But I wish you all of the luck in the world getting out of London with that bell on you without getting pinched by the Inquisitorial Guard." I fold my arms over my chest and lean back. "Without help you'd be nabbed as soon as you went a few blocks."

  "I don't need your help!"

  “Then don’t take it.” I get up. “I need some air.” I make for the back door and step out into the fresh night air of the garden.

  Dham follows me. For a while he just stands next to me as I breath in the scent of dead vegetation, then he turns me to face him. He stares into my eyes for a long time. I look at him, wondering what he's thinking. Maybe he's reconsidered everything. Maybe he'll want to leave. Maybe he'll think I'm insane. Finally, he blinks and relaxes. "Let's do it."

  I want to grin, but I fight the urge. Dham's coming with me. That's all that matters. I won't be going alone. “Are you sure?”

  “As sure as I’ve been of anything. Where you go, I go.” He bends his head down so his mouth is almost at my ear. I shiver runs through me at his nearness. He smells of clean soap and something more metallic, like his bells--a scent that is uniquely his. I want to stay like this forever.

  Then I remember something very important. If he’s coming with me, he needs to know everything."We've got one problem," I say to Dham.

  "Oh, just one?" His voice is husky. It makes me want to run my fingers through his hair and pull his mouth down to mine like I did in the alley.

  "It’s about Trick." My mouth is very close to his now.

  He pulls back."What about him?" Dham's brows draw down over his eyes, making him look angry.

  I look at him, trying to keep my voice steady. "The spell. We're bound to each other. If he dies, I do too. That’s the other reason I need to go to Rome. To see if there’s a way to break the binding."

  "Amaranth." Dham whispers it like a prayer.

  I smile tiredly at him. “I know. I was stupid.” He shakes his head, almost amused.

  The sound of a fire engine passing interrupts the moment. Noise from several streets over begins to filter to us. The smell of burning begins to fill the air. I peer up and see plumes of smoke and the flickering light of flames rising over the low roofs. I track the way we came back to the destination and suck in a deep breath. Auntie's is on fire.

  "No," Dham breathes beside me.

  I stand there, stricken. Auntie's is burning. I wonder if everyone got out, how the fire started, if Auntie is okay. I want to go back, to help. But Auntie got me—us—out for a reason. She thought it important for us to make our escape. I won't forget that. And I won't fail her.

  "Amaranth, we…"

  "Let's go." I shake off my paralysis and take a left. "We need to get the others and get moving.”