by John Booth
“How far away do you think we will get?” Tom asked her in a whisper the children couldn’t hear.
“I don’t know. That ink is very poor, worse than a pencil drawing. But I can’t draw a spell because I don’t know how many people there are in the house or who they are. I suspect the house must be filled with people. My binds are usually strong and even with this ink I would have thought it would have lasted for at least a day if there were only six or seven people in there.”
“There are more than two dozen people in the ‘ouse,” Tricky told them, having overheard some of their whispering. “They ‘ave gathered for the auction. It was why I got caught. There were too many people wandering aroun’.”
“Then we had better get a move on then,” Laura suggested.
“I know they are still alive,” Daisy told Cam and Arnold, stopping their anxious conversation instantly.
“Precog’s sometimes get it wrong,” Cam reminded her.
“You are an Empath,” Daisy reminded Cam. “What would you say was Saunders emotion when he read that letter?”
Cam was a Grade 4 Empath, which meant that she could sense people’s feelings as they related to her. However, Daisy had suspected for some time that Cam was better with her gift than she believed.
“I thought he was feeling satisfied mixed with an undercurrent of fear. Why do you ask?”
“I saw his satisfaction from here, and I’m no Empath,” Arnold said.
“Why would a member of the Brotherhood of Knights feel satisfied that their bodies had been found?” Daisy asked.
Cam thought about it and the answer was obvious.
“Because he wanted them to be found,” Cam said excitedly. “The bodies must be decoys to stop MM3 from looking for the real Tom and Laura.”
“I bet the bodies have been mutilated so no one can be certain who they are,” Arnold put in.
“But wouldn’t Trelawney see right through it, just like we did?” Cam asked, her words falling like iced water over them.
“Perhaps, but with Saunders at his side to keep telling him he is wrong…” Daisy pointed out.
“Let’s get into this damned house and find Tom and Laura,” Cam said, her resolve restored. She strode out of the bushes and towards the front door. Saunders had left the gas lamp burning on the front porch, so she could see clearly as she set about picking the lock.
Daisy stood beyond the porch and her eyes appeared to glaze over. Then she went to a stone griffin to the left of the porch and quietly asked Arnold to help her move it.
“What are you two playing at?” Cam complained as she struggled with the lock. Saunders had fitted an exceptionally difficult lock to the door and Cam was making no progress with it.
“You can carry on with that, or you could try using the key,” Daisy suggested.
Cam turned and found Daisy holding out a key to her.
“Damn all Precogs to the deepest rings of hell,” Cam muttered as she took the proffered key from her friend.
“You are most welcome, Camilla,” Daisy replied smugly and curtseyed.
12. Caught
Tom, Laura and the children had barely made it into the forest when the bind burst into flames. Tom stamped repeatedly on the paper to put the fire out, which wasn’t easy as he was still carrying the candleholder ink well.
“There must be a lot more than two dozen people in that house,” Laura said angrily when she finished cursing. “Even with these tools I’m a better Spellbinder than that.”
“We’d best be running now because they’ll be straight after us,” Tricky said anxiously. Laura ignored him and found a place on a fallen tree trunk where she could sit comfortably enough to write. She took out a sheet of paper from her pocket and motioned Tom over to hold the ink where she could get at it. Tom had somehow managed to keep the blackberry juice in it.
The children started to run down the path that twisted through the trees, but when they saw that neither Tom nor Laura were coming they stopped and walked back to them.
“It won’t take long for Bertie’s guards to be up and after us,” Alice said worriedly.
“They’ll have to put on their clothes first,” Laura replied. “When I change someone’s form they leave their clothing behind.”
“Oh,” was the triple reaction. Then Tricky’s face burst into a wicked grin.
“There were lots of lardy-dar types arriving this morning, men and women. I don’t wonder there’s a lot of screaming and shouting going on back at the ‘ouse right now.”
“It’s also difficult to think when you get changed into an animal,” Tom told them. “I was turned into a dog once and it was difficult not to go sniffing down the street.”
“As I remember, you sniffed up my leg,” Laura said absently. “It was quite pleasant.” She put her head down and set her mind on the task of recreating the bind.
“The point is, they have likely run around and hid in various places while they were mice and it will take them some time to get their clothes,” Tom explained.
“There,” Laura said with some satisfaction as she looked down at her handiwork. “It is done again. I have changed them into dogs this time, as you reminded me of your adventure. It would be best for us to keep them disoriented, if we can.”
“I didn’t regard being a dog as an adventure at the time.”
“I did,” Laura said. She grinned. “It’s not often that a innocent young girl gets to see quite so much of a young gentlemen before being introduced.”
Tom blushed at the memory.
“Aint we better get a move on?” Alice suggested pointedly, and they set off down the path again, going as quickly as they could. Tom had to hold the candleholder level as he walked and this slowed him and the others down.
It was dark and cold when the last of the binds burst into flames. The unseasonal warm weather they had been experiencing had come to an abrupt end and the cold northerly winds of autumn picked up. The lack of clouds in the sky led to the warmth of the day dropping off quickly and they began to shiver as they walked.
The clear skies made it possible to follow the path through the forest, provided they walked slowly. There was a full moon in the sky and that helped them pick their way.
“It looks as though we might have a frost before the night is over,” Laura remarked.
Tom smiled at Laura, though she couldn’t see it. “It’s a pity we didn’t think to go back and steal some coats before we set out.”
“Would you have gone back with my bind steaming like that? I know I wouldn’t.”
“You are most certainly correct, Laura,” Tom said and gave a heavy sigh. “The trouble is that for all we know this path is taking us in a circle back to the house.”
“Do you two always gripe abart everthin’?” Alice asked. “An’ ’ave you ever tried walking in clothes clotted with blood?”
Tom and Laura felt a bit embarrassed at being told off so effectively by a child and did not reply.
“Thought not, blooming toffs,” Alice said to the world in general. “Me, Tricky and Ebb ‘ave ‘ad it tough, we ‘ave.”
The forest came to an abrupt end and they found themselves staring at a narrow Turnpike Trust road, its distinctive macadamed and cambered surface instantly recognizable even in the dark.
“Well, this must lead to somewhere,” Tom said enthusiastically. “Nobody builds these roads without there being a lot of traffic to pay for them.”
“Do we go left or right?” Laura asked. The path through the forest had twisted and turned sufficiently to destroy her sense of direction.
“Let’s vote,” Tom suggested when nobody made a suggestion.
They turned to the left on a three to two decision. Tricky and Ebb wanted to go the other way, though neither could give a clear reason for their choice. Tom felt a little uneasy about ignoring Ebb, as he was still a Precog, even if he did see only five seconds ahead. However, Alice and Laura were already bounding down the road, trying to keep warm by increasin
g their pace.
They walked down the road for an hour before they saw the outline of a large house in the distance. It was a big place and they could see many windows lit up. Alice, Tom, and Laura ran towards the lights in the distance. Their teeth were chattering with cold and the prospect of getting somewhere warm drove them on. As they approached the gates, men carrying lanterns came out to meet them.
“Get them men,” Lord Smee shouted and Tom realized their mistake. They had gone in a circle and returned back to the house.
Tom, Laura, and Alice ran for their lives, but were quickly caught by the swarms of men coming from the house.
“Where are the boys?” Smee shouted angrily.
“They refused to come with us and went another way,” Tom said before Laura or Alice might say anything to give the boys away. “You’ll never catch them now and when they get to a village they’ll bring the authorities down on you.”
Smee punched Tom in the face and stomped a few yards back towards the house before turning towards them again. He addressed the men that held them.
“We have the two most important items for sale and I have an auction to run. Bring them back to the house. We must get this business over as quickly as possible. I don’t think the word of a couple of scruffy boys will carry much weight with the local magistrate, but I don’t want anything incriminating in the house by the time they get here.”
Tom, Laura, and Alice were dragged back to the house without another word. The men holding them thumped, struck, and kicked the three as they went
Cam opened the door to Saunders’ house and looked in cautiously. Even though they had every indication that the house was empty, its dark interior was still cavernous enough to be intimidating.
Daisy walked past Cam into the large reception room without the slightest hesitation. She turned to face the others.
“I’ll take the rooms on the right and you two investigate the rooms to the left. When you find anything that looks like a study, shout out. I don’t think Saunders would leave any evidence anywhere else in the house.”
Cam looked on in astonishment as Daisy went to the first door on the right and sailed through it.
“When I find out what someone’s been feeding that girl I’m going to have some of it too,” she informed an equally astonished Arnold. “I remember when she wouldn’t say boo to a goose.”
“She’s right though,” Arnold said quietly. “We need to find his study, or possibly a safe.”
“Given the luck I had with his door, the last thing I want to do is find is a safe,” Cam said wearily.
“Never mind, I’m sure Daisy will be able to find a key should we need one.” Arnold put his arm on her shoulder in a consoling manner.
Cam pushed it away.
“I don’t need your pity, Arnold Tompkins, and that much is for sure.”
Cam pushed the nearest door open with so much force it slammed against the far wall. The room beyond turned out to be the study, a success that gave her a modicum of satisfaction. She and Arnold searched the writing desk for clues, but apart from a number of gas and water company bills, they found little else. Daisy joined them just as they finished searching it.
“Saunders doesn’t appear to have any kind of a life at all,” Cam complained. “If there is a woman in his life, she doesn’t write to him.”
“Perhaps there is a man?” Arnold suggested wickedly and Daisy blushed at such a perverse and disgusting thought.
“Well if there is, he doesn’t write either. That’s all I can say,” Cam said bitterly.
Daisy stood admiring the large mantelpiece that dominated the room. The mantle had been cut and polished out of a single slab of stone. It was framed on either side by two similar blocks that stood about a foot tall. A bust of some ancient hero that Daisy didn’t recognize sat in the centre of the mantle. Two large Wedgewood vases stood at either end. The mantelpiece was sufficiently high up that she could only just reach the vases if she was to try.
“What are you looking at?” Cam asked Daisy suspiciously. “You haven’t found another top-hat have you?”
“Saunders is a small man,” Daisy said in a contemplative tone. “He’s quite a bit shorter than me, wouldn’t you say?”
“I didn’t get that good a look at him, but I wouldn’t disagree with you. Is there a point to your question?”
“This block at the side of the mantelpiece is scuffed on the edge, as though someone has regularly placed a foot upon it to reach something down from the mantle. But there’s nothing on the mantelpiece that anyone would want to move on a regular basis.”
“Unless they were using that vase to store something,” Arnold chipped in.
“Well get it down then,” Cam said impatiently. She stepped up to the mantelpiece using the stone to stand on to lift the vase down. She came close to dropping it as she was so eager to look inside.
Three letters fell out of the vase when Cam turned it over and the friends picked up one each to read.
Cam scanned her letter eagerly. It was a letter from a gentleman’s club in Soho, London and it informed Saunders that there would be an annual general meeting on the twentieth of December, reminding him that he was required to attend. The club was called ‘The Rosicrucian’, which meant nothing to her.
The letter Arnold picked up informed Saunders that his advertisement for two people had met with a large response and that a room in The Crown Tavern in Berwick Street had been booked for the interviews as per his instructions. The letter was dated from several weeks before.
Daisy’s letter was the most enigmatic. It was from a man called Bertram Smee in Crouch End, a place Daisy had never heard of. It reminded Saunders that time was pressing and that his patrons were expecting their goods during the first week of November at the latest. They were currently waiting in hotels close to the manor. Smee had written Lord of the Manor below his name.
“None of these letters tells us anything,” Arnold said in exasperation.
“They must mean something,” Cam retorted. “Saunders would not have hidden them away if they didn’t.”
“I have a feeling about this one,” Daisy said, holding out her letter. “I am sure I have dreamed about this man, Smee. I get the impression of a gross man, fat and red faced like a butcher.”
“Assume the letter is about Tom and Laura,” Cam suggested. “What can we deduce if we do that?”
“If the goods were Tom and Laura, where would that get us?” Daisy asked.
“Goods, makes it sound as though they were about to be sold,” Cam said thoughtfully. “Laura would be worth a king’s ransom to the Hungarians or the Americans.”
“Or anybody who wanted a Class A Spellbinder,” Arnold pointed out.
Cam nodded. “The Brotherhood of Knights is supposed to be devoted to making money. Selling Laura would make them plenty.”
“They could be selling them even while we are standing here like lemons,” Daisy said impatiently. “We have to get to Crouch End as soon as possible.”
“Saunders must have an atlas somewhere,” Arnold said enthusiastically. The three companions rushed over to the nearest bookcase and began to search for an atlas of England.
13. Auction
The men from the house took no time in binding the three’s hands behind their backs. They also found a reason to push Laura to the ground and ‘accidently’ kick her repeatedly.
“Damage her and Smee will lose money,” Tom shouted and received a punch in the stomach for his trouble. However, his words had some effect and Laura was lifted to her feet with some care. The three found themselves pushed and pulled in equal measure as they made their way to the house, where they found Smee waiting for them waving his riding crop menacingly.
“I have assembled many of the richest people in the world for this little auction. You, young lady,” he said, staring directly into Laura’s eyes, “have discommoded these people by turning them into animals. I dare say that your buyer will have you whipped for the i
nsult, but I must admit it was an impressive demonstration of your power.”
“It was my pleasure,” Laura retorted coldly.
Smee smiled menacingly.
“I must confess I have no idea where you found paper and ink. I gave the servants strict instructions to remove them from the house. When this auction is over, you can rest assured that they shall be soundly punished for their lack of diligence.”
“That’s not fair,” Laura protested. “I tore pages from your library books, made a pen from a goose feather and ink from blackberry juice. It is hardly the servants’ fault that they failed to remove such things from your grounds.”
Lord Smee looked at Laura in triumph. “Thank you, my dear, for telling me how you accomplished the deed. My guests will be most impressed that you were able to create powerful binds using such crude tools.”
Laura stared back at Smee, not conceding an inch.
“And you will not punish the servants?”
“Only the young maids will be punished. It gives Calder such pleasure to whip them that it would be a shame to deny him. Servants must be made to suffer if one wishes to get the best from them.”
“You evil...” Words failed Laura and she struggled to get her hands free. Smee laughed at her, before instructing his servants.
“Hold them.”
Tom, Laura and Alice were grabbed from behind and held so they couldn’t move. Smee strode over to some double doors and opened them dramatically.
A large ballroom was revealed with a stage at its far end. A large number of immaculately dressed men and women sat in chairs facing the stage. As the doors opened, they turned their heads to stare at the captives. A polite ripple of applause started in the back seats. By the time it reached the front, guests were standing up and the odd murmured ‘hear hear’ was heard.
There was a central gap between the rows of chairs creating a wide passageway leading up to the stage. Lord Smee led the procession through the room. Tom heard people whispering about them as he went passed, though they whispered too low for him to make out their words.