by John Booth
Checking that the corridor was clear of people Tom burst from behind the curtain and ran as fast as he could for the library door, pushing it open with considerable force. He was breathing heavily with his heart pulsing as he gratefully shut the door behind him.
“I suppose you think that was funny?” a voice asked from the library floor. Tom spotted the girl, who might be thirteen or so, sprawled on her back on the polished parquet flooring some distance away. Her legs were spread wide and she wore the sort of clothes poor people use in the cities, worn and faded. For some unknown reason she looked angry with him.
“Think what was funny?” Tom asked as he realized that she must be Alice, the girl Tricky had been going on about.
“I had me face against that door, keeping an eye out for Smee and his thugs when you just thrust it open,” the girl complained bitterly. “Now here I am; all of a fluster with me legs wide open on a cold wooden floor and a man staring down at me smalls.”
Tom found his face turning red, not least because there was some truth in her words.
“I can assure you I have not been looking at your … well I certainly wouldn’t, and have absolutely no desire to,” Tom said, hastily averting his eyes. “Let me help you to your feet”
“Keep yer soft white hands to yerself. Me mam’s told me all about what young gentlemen do to girls, if you give ‘em ‘alf a chance. Ebb! Get ‘ere and give a girl a ‘and to get up.”
A small boy, wearing clothes in much worse condition than Alice’s, appeared from where he had been hiding behind a bookshelf. He looked to be no older than ten. He wiped his dripping nose with the back of his hand before offering the hand to Alice, who took it without hesitation. As she pulled herself to her feet, the library door opened and Tricky and Laura burst through it.
“We could hear you two yelling at each other from behind the curtain,” Tricky complained. “This ain’t a trip to the circus you know. They’ll beat us black and blue if they find us out of our rooms.”
“It was his fault, blundering in like that,” Alice whispered loudly at Tricky. “Might be coming up for a bruise on me face I shouldn’t wonder.”
“Won’t show under all that dirt,” Tricky replied angrily and for a second it looked as though Tricky and Alice might be about to fight. They clenched their fists in preparation and began to circle each other.
“We don’t have the time for this,” Laura pointed out in a schoolmistress sort of voice and the children reluctantly dropped their arms though fists remained clenched.
“Introductions all round first, I think,” Tom said quickly. “I’m Tom Carter and this is Laura Young. You two must be Alice and Ebenezer.”
“Ebb,” the little boy said and wiped his nose on the back of his hand again. Laura winced in disgust.
“Alice Short and Ebb Sweetin’,” Alice replied, voice full of scorn. “Just because we don’t talk all fancy an’ come from ‘umble families don’t mean you can treat us like we is servants. We got last names too.”
“I humbly beg your pardon, Alice Short,” Tom said in a solemn tone, giving the girl a small bow. “We would be in our rooms locked up as prisoners if you and your companions had not rescued us.”
Alice sniffed in a manner that was remarkably similar to the sniff Laura had given earlier. Tom considered that all females have a sniff of distain built into them from birth. His mother used it often.
“Tom has told me that you have remarkable magical gifts,” Laura said to Alice. “I can scarcely believe the things he has told me about you.”
“Not so ‘markable.”
“Can you project your thoughts into my mind?” Laura asked the girl with genuine interest. Telepaths were rare and they always came in pairs, usually identical twins. If Tricky had really been hearing Alice’s thoughts and they were not related to each other that would be a remarkable talent indeed.
“OF COURSE I CAN!” A voice shouted inside Laura’s mind, almost knocking her off her feet with its intensity. “ONCE I’VE SEEN SOMEONE. IT’S EASY”
“Have you told your parents you are a prisoner here?” Laura asked, while Tom looked on baffled. As far as he was concerned, Alice had said nothing, though he had seen Laura wince and put a hand to her head.
“Too far away,” Alice said miserably.
“That’s strange too,” Laura told her. “Normally, it doesn’t matter how far telepaths are from each other, they can still send messages. That’s what makes them so valuable.”
“Laura, we should be making an escape plan, not discussing magical philosophy,” Tom pointed out. He was getting nervous that they would be discovered, even though the youngsters seemed relaxed about it.
Laura looked sternly at Ebb and he staggered back from her, holding his cheek.
“I only thought about slapping you,” Laura said in astonishment. “To see if you really can see the future.”
Ebb took his hand from his cheek. The cheek looked just as red as if someone had slapped it hard.
“Still ‘urts,” Ebb told her. “Don’t need to happen, though it don’t hurt as much as when it do.”
“Quite remarkable,” Laura said.
“Laura,” Tom complained.
“You don’t understand, Tom,” Laura said excitedly. “These kids are breaking Newton’s Principles of Magic. It means the whole science of Military Magic must be built on at least one lie.”
“That and tuppence will buy me tuppence worth of butter,” Tom pointed out.
“Philistine,” Laura said jokingly, hitting him hard on the arm.
“Don’t care what ‘is religion is,” Tricky said. “We’ve been ‘oping you would get us out of ‘ere and that’s all we cares about. Can you help?”
“Can you get me some paper and ink?” Laura asked.
“‘Spect so,” Tricky agreed. “But I can’t see what good that’ll do.”
“Laura is a Spellbinder,” Tom explained to them. “She is a Class A, if you know what that means.”
The children’s mouths dropped open in surprise. They were in the presence of one of the rarest and most dangerous people on the planet. Worth more than an army in battle and more powerful than a battle fleet of the navy when used correctly, Class A Spellbinders were more important to the Empire than any other magical talent. Other countries would kill to get their hands on one. Tricky gulped in shock.
“I thinks I’ll get that pen and paper now,” he replied weakly.
7. Bertram Smee
“Are you really Class A?” Alice asked after Tricky had disappeared out of the door. “I thought there were only four in the world.”
Laura looked uncomfortable. Being a Class A was not something she would have chosen for herself.
“There are six Class A’s in the world, not counting Laura,” Tom explained. “Four of them are British. There may be others, but no more have been discovered.”
“I’ll bet the Americans want one,” Ebb butted in. “They’re still after takin’ New York back from us. Me dad fought them in the war.”
“The trouble for them is that they killed their magically talented people thinking they were witches,” Laura said grimly. “And I have recently encountered the worst of Americans and have no desire to meet one ever again.”
“Bet they’re ‘spectin’ to get a lot of money for you t’nite,” Alice said speculatively. “Old Bertie must be wetting ‘imself at the thought.”
“Bertie?” Tom asked.
“Bertram Smee, the bastard what owns this ‘ouse. Calls ‘imself Lord Smee, but ‘e’s as much a lord as my fat arse,” Alice explained. Tom was shocked to hear such language from a young child while Laura worked on hiding her smile.
“The auction is taking place tonight?” Laura asked. That didn’t give them much time to escape.
“Like as not,” Alice explained. “I’ve ‘eard a couple of the servants sayin’ as ‘ow they was only waitin’ for the Spellbinder. Seems everthin’s been ‘eld up for you. They’s bin waitin’ ages.”
Tom couldn’t help noticing that Alice’s English deteriorated as she became excited. He was finding it difficult to understand her.
“They must have been waiting for us since before we went to Hobsgate,” Laura mused. “Snood must have planned to kidnap me.”
“Hide behind the curtains,” Ebb said urgently and pushed Laura and Tom across the room as if their lives depended on it. Laura understood at once and pulled a confused Tom after her. They only had seconds left. Ebb spun around on completing his task.
The library door crashed open, slamming against the wall. Tricky was then propelled into the room, running straight into Alice and knocking her over. Bertram Smee and his butler stamped into the room after him.
“He said we’d find you here and here you are,” Smee said gloatingly. “The mice have fled their nest and now they pay the price.”
Ebb joined Tricky and Alice and they huddled together for protection, moving across the room. As if by chance, their little group blocked the way to where Laura and Tom stood hiding behind the curtain.
Bertram Smee was a large man, almost round in aspect with a fat pudgy face that was almost currently comically red with his unconcealed rage. He wore a tweed jacket that barely contained his frame; the buttons of his shirt straining to keep his stomach inside it and which looked ready to loose the battle. He carried a riding crop that he swung convulsively into his hand.
Smee’s butler, Calder Smith, stood behind his master, blocking the door. Smith grinned with anticipation. He enjoyed punishing children. They screamed so much more satisfyingly than the maids.
“I don’t know how you got out of your rooms and frankly I couldn’t care less,” Smee growled. “There’s no escape from these grounds for such as you. But I won’t have it while I have expensive property in the house, so Calder here is going to teach you a lesson in etiquette and no mistake. Take them away, Calder.”
“It will be a pleasure, my lord,” Calder said unctuously. “Should I check the room first, to make sure the mice have done no damage?”
Ebb broke free of Alice, who was clinging to him and Tricky. He ran across the room heading towards the door, weaving from side to side as he ran. Both men tried to catch him, but he ducked past their attempts without slowing down. He was always somewhere else when they grabbed. He ran out of the room with Smith following in hot pursuit. Smith yelled loudly for someone to catch the boy.
Smee grinned at Alice and Tricky and swung his riding crop in front of them.
“Am I going to have any trouble from you two?” he asked. It sounded as if he would welcome them trying.
“No, sir,” Alice replied in a tiny voice. “We’ll come quietly, sir.”
Grabbing hold of Tricky in a manner that suggested she was going to have strong words with him later, she dragged the boy out of the room with Smee following behind them.
“We’ve got to do something, Tom,” Laura said urgently as soon as the door was closed.
“Yes, we have to get back to our rooms as quickly as possible.”
“I meant that we have to help the children. They are going to be beaten for sure.”
“Ebb went to a lot of trouble to keep us from being seen,” Tom pointed out. “If they discover we can get out of our rooms they will bind us or have guards watching our every move. You are far too valuable to be given any opportunity to escape. If we get back to our rooms without detection now, I will be able to heal the kids later.”
“That won’t stop them from feeling the pain now.”
“Laura, there is nothing we can do,” Tom pleaded. “Even if you had pen and parchment what would you do with them?”
“I would turn Smee and his butler into pigs and kick them around this house for a start,” Laura replied angrily.
“You could kill them, Laura. You could reduce this house to dust and all the people in it. However, that would kill the kids too. You don’t have the level of control of your powers to keep them safe. Tell me; are you ready to kill Smee if you have to?”
Laura stared at Tom bleakly and shook her head.
“No,” Laura admitted. “I won’t become that kind of weapon and we’ve been over this before, Thomas Merlin Carter. You are right, but it hurts to leave the children to be whipped. We must get back to our rooms. Can you work the door to the secret passage?”
“Stay close behind me.” Tom went over to the door and opened it a crack. The corridor and stairs outside appeared to be empty. “Come on,” he whispered and tiptoed down the corridor towards the curtain.
Laura followed close behind. When they reached the storage room, Tom worked the hidden switch that opened the panel.
As the panel swung open, they heard a youngster yell in agony. Laura turned to go back, but Tom grabbed her and forced her into the secret passage by brute force. When he swung the passage door closed, they could hear nothing from outside. A silence Tom regarded as a considerable blessing.
Laura glared in the dim light of the passage. She didn’t say another word to Tom as he led her back to her room. She fell onto her bed in despair the moment she was back in her room.
Tom spoke softly, but with conviction.
“They’ll survive. Smee wants to sell them and he cannot sell them dead.”
Laura turned her head away from him.
“Go away, Tom.”
Tom returned to his room, closing the hidden doors behind him.
He had barely sat down on his bed when his door opened and a surly looking male servant looked in to check he was there. The man closed the door as soon as he saw Tom sitting on his bed, bolting the door behind him.
The journey back to London was much quicker than Cam expected. She supposed this was because they were travelling in a straight line rather than the circuitous route with many changes that had been the method before. However, the friends still had many hours to find out what they had been given and discuss what they should do next.
They read the letters in their envelopes. Each had been given part of the puzzle by Trelawney. Arnold received a biography of Charles Drake and a brief report on what had been found at his flat. This included the driver’s address and they agreed that Drake’s flat was the place to start their investigation.
Cam had been given their money and a short note describing James Saunders so they might recognize him. Trelawney assured Cam that they could trust Saunders with their lives and that he was the only person in MM3 that they should trust.
The three agreed that Cam would act as their treasurer during the mission, though each took a large white five-pound note to hide about their person in case of emergency.
“Listen to this,” Daisy said as she looked at her letter. She read out the key part. “There is a criminal organization called the Brotherhood of Knights that may be behind Young and Carter’s disappearance. They owe no allegiance to any country, but work for the highest bidder.”
Arnold snorted. “Wonderful, we may not be facing spies at all, just common criminals.”
“Is there any more, Daisy?” Cam asked.
“All that is known about the Brotherhood is that it is a criminal organization that regards its own interests as more important than those of the Empire. Some bank robberies and theft of great works of art are thought to be their work.”
“If we see any bank robbers or art thieves, be sure to question them closely,” Cam said sarcastically. “How is that supposed to help us?”
Nobody answered, though Daisy looked remarkably cheerful.
It was the early afternoon when they travelled through Reading Station. Arnold knew enough of railway timetables to know that London was less than an hour away. They got their cases together and waited impatiently, panicking as they passed through each small station on the route without stopping.
Arnold saw a station sign and shot to his feet to lean out of the carriage window and open the door. The train slowed to a halt just passed Royal Oak Station and the driver blew the engine whistle. It was a long jump down to the gravel below.
Arnold went first and landed on all fours. He caught the girls’ cases and then the girls as they jumped down.
This only took a minute or less, but the train was already in motion again as Cam jumped. She swung the carriage door closed behind her as she fell. The door didn’t fully close, but caught on the outer of its two latched positions.
“Damn it!” Cam snarled in exasperation as she looked at the departing train. “Someone might see that door in Paddington and know we got off.”
“There are quite a few people who will tell them all about it if they come looking,” Daisy pointed out. Cam looked around her and saw what she meant. A number of people stood on the platform at Royal Oak station and were looking at them curiously. The train had stopped some way beyond the platform and the three companions had to walk back to it.
Once they were on the platform, Arnold led them confidently towards the exit. However, a ticket collector blocked their way at the turnstile.
“Tickets please,” he said amiably, but firmly.
Normally, they travelled with warrants issued by Military Magic. However, Trelawney had failed to provide them with tickets for this journey.
“We have come from Reading,” Cam told the man imperiously. “We were let through without buying a ticket to catch our train because we are on important business. If you will tell us the fare we owe, I shall be glad to reimburse the Great Western Railway.”
The ticket collector grinned at her humorlessly. “That’s three penalty fares, as Reading has a ticket office and you could have bought your tickets there. It will cost you a guinea each, I’m afraid.”
“That’s daylight robbery,” Arnold spluttered in protest. The fare from Reading should have been no more that three shillings. They would be paying seven times that rate.
“Suit yerselves,” the ticket collector said. “There’s a copper walks passed this entrance every ten minutes and I shall be happy to let him escort you to the nearest police station to sort it out.”
“Here’s your money,” Cam said, handing over a five pound note. “I trust you can make the appropriate change?”