by Matt Whyman
All around him, this grand and unique library lies in ruins. The bookshelves are toppled. The contents torn up and burned. Even the table, hewn from solid oak, has been cleaved in two. The only source of natural light comes from above. It’s a weak shaft of sunshine, pushing through a square of thick glass bricks in the ceiling. The soles of shoes that occasionally blot over it remind Yoshi that he’s looking up at Chinatown’s main thoroughfare. Right now, however, surrounded by such devastation, that seems like a world away.
“Jenks Junior?” he calls out next, and makes his way to the floor of the chamber. “There’s no need to be afraid. We’re your friends, remember?”
Some movement deep in the tunnel shadows confirms to Yoshi that he is not alone. The fleshy glow that begins to build also tells him who’s there, which is why he’s unafraid. As he waits, Yoshi stoops to sift through a heap of books and records only partially destroyed by the fires that have been set in here. Amid the familiar tomes on archeo-astronomy, psycho-geography, megalithic history and ley line theories, he uncovers a title that stands out from the rest. Yoshi flicks through the pages, amused to find the old man had finally shown an interest in his kind of magic.
“The Hypnotist’s Handbook,” he reads from the cover, and smiles to himself. “Since when did Julius ever show an interest in street magic?” He shrugs, unable to answer his own question, and dips down to return it to the pile. In doing so, he notices a singed concertina of paper that had clearly been protected from the flames by the book he’d just leafed through. Opening it up now, Yoshi finds himself looking at an astronomer’s chart of the sky at night. Now this was more familiar ground for Julius, he thinks to himself. Once again, it also features the hand-drawn addition of a Faerie Ring. Instead of churches staking out the seven points of the star, this one is linked together by an alignment of those planets in the solar system visible to the naked eye. Julius himself had invited the boy to look up from the summit of a city monument one evening, to demonstrate that the pattern formed by London’s mystic ley lines were no accident. This heaven-sent ring existed for a reason, so he had said, to cradle the city within and allow it to prosper.
Yoshi folds the map away and sighs. For the destruction surrounding him is a direct result of the efforts made by Julius to tap into the ring. This self-styled archeo-astronomer and psycho-geographer had pledged to recharge the earth energies within it, and secure the capital’s future for centuries to come, so it’s unsettling for the boy see the old man’s life’s work laid to waste like this.
It also raises questions, thinks Yoshi now, about the old man’s true motives. For if Julius Grimaldi had only good intentions for the future of the ring, how could it allow this sanctuary of his to suffer such devastation?
Drawn from his thoughts now, Yoshi turns to see a shadow growing from within the tunnel. The radiant glow behind it seems to bob up and down haphazardly. It betrays the fact that whatever it is back there moves with a hobble and a stoop. In fact, when Yoshi calls out an assurance it drops down to move on all fours, as if to advance more swiftly.
“Show yourself, Jenksy. Don’t be afraid.”
As the shadow begins to pool onto the chamber floor, so the grunt and squeal of laboured breathing reaches Yoshi’s ears. Despite it all, the boy seems quite unfazed. Indeed, he steps forward as a squat and startling figure lopes from the tunnel depths. This wretched creature has wiry red hair pulled tight into a curly tail, sail-shaped ears and a nose that spreads more like a snout. He barely fills the tracksuit he’s wearing, which has clearly been thrown on to disguise such an unnatural appearance. He’s also wearing a pair of dark glasses, which he removes in front of Yoshi to reveal two milky, sightless orbs. If this thing is human, its existence is surely a secret to the outside world. And even if it did dare to raise its head into the open air, those hog-like features wouldn’t be the first thing to draw attention. It would be the radiant aura that hugs its head and shoulders, just like the one that Livia had struggled to keep hidden under her hoodie.
“Well, hello,” says Yoshi. “It’s good to see a familiar face.”
10
Of butchers and beasts
Yoshi smiles pitifully at the creature called Jenks before him. It’s waist-high, wheezing heavily, and sniffing the air as if braced for some kind of danger.
“You shouldn’t wander too far away, Jenks. A lot of the Chinatown traders store their goods in the catacombs out there.”
The creature bows his head, nodding like a naughty schoolboy. “Jenks would not dare to go so far,” it says between grunts, in a voice that seems curiously old-fashioned. “Jenks prefers the darkness and the damp of the tunnel. Nobody bothers Jenks in there. It feels like . . . home.”
Yoshi chews on his lower lip, considering his words.
“Were you this unhappy before we brought you to the bunker?” he asks, levelling with him now. “I feel responsible.”
Jenks covers his blighted eyes with the shades, as if seeking to avoid the boy’s question. “I am safe here,” he says quietly, his snub nose twitching all the while.
A moment of silence follows. Yoshi looks down upon this sad freak of nature, wondering what he can do to make him feel better. He thinks back to the moment he had first encountered Jenks. At the time, he was deep underground, having crossed a chasm to a realm that Julius considered to be out of bounds.
For Jenks belonged to a reclusive band of descendants from the time of the Great Fire.
Three centuries before, a band of slaughtermen, their wives and some of their livestock had taken refuge from the flames in the sewers under the city. Whether they became trapped, or volunteered to remain below ground, they had adapted to survive nonetheless, and even thrive through the generations. In the dark, damp spaces beneath the streets of London, their senses of smell and hearing had developed at the cost of their eyes, while their skins had paled and then thickened to keep them warm. At some stage in history, these urban castaways had laid claim to a former river tunnel. The chasm that caused it to run dry also served to protect them from unwanted visitors, and effectively created a world of their own. In such cramped and unforgiving conditions, they had learned to move freely on all fours, and even breathe the sooty air.
Stories sometimes surfaced about this lost community of troglodytes, but most dismissed them as an urban myth. Indeed, they would’ve been left alone had Julius not discovered that one of the Faerie Ring’s seven waypoints was located in the heart of their lair, directly beneath the foundations of a Hawksmoor Church.
Yoshi’s mission had been to cross the divide, lay his hands upon this sacred stone and get out again. Julius warned him that this tribe were little more than savages, and that’s exactly what he found. What he hadn’t expected to witness was an act of brutality directed at one of their own. For while Jenks’ appearance was undoubtedly freakish to untrained eyes, it was his aura that marked him out among his own. Yoshi had saved his skin that day, but at a price. Not only had they been pursued all the way back to the bunker, Jenks’ brethren had gone wild on losing their quarry. It explained the state of The Map Room, though Julius didn’t blame Yoshi for that. He had tried his level best, after all. It was the individual who had volunteered to lure the tribe back to their lair that concerned Julius, and caused such tension between them.
“Sir? Are your feeling unwell?”
Yoshi hears Jenks but he doesn’t respond. Nor does the boy appear to register him. Then he blinks abruptly, as if a flash has just gone off in front of him. It brings a smile to his face. “This is the second remote viewing that’s happened to me in one day,” the boy says eventually. “I’m getting good! Give me a moment for my eyes to adjust and I can tell you where I am.”
Jenks’s ears twitch in curiosity. “You have a special gift, sir. I may be without sight, but I am blessed to be in the care of someone who can see beyond the naked eye.”
“Let’s not forget your psychic powers,” Yoshi reminds him. “Your aura shows you’re switched on
to the same energies, just like Livia and the twins.”
“I think of it as a curse, not a gift,” says Jenks ruefully. “Sometimes I wish that I could pass it on - to someone who would make better use of it.”
“Maybe you will some day,” replies Yoshi. He talks with his head tipped back, as if taking in the vision still forming behind his eyes, “We all have so much to learn about our abilities, after all. Let’s hope you won’t see it as a curse for much longer, my friend.”
“So, what do you see?” asks Jenks, squatting now on his hind legs, and scratching at his belly.
“I was just thinking back to my adventure beyond the chasm and boom! You know what? I can see the precipice on the other side quite clearly in my mind’s eye.”
“Can you really?” Jenks’ ears prick up markedly.
“It’s as if I’m standing just before the collapsed section of river tunnel, looking out across the divide. The water from the Walbrook is surging around my ankles from behind, and spilling onto the rubble far below.”
“Tell me about the other side,” Jenks urges, unconcerned by the lost river Yoshi has just described, but clearly anxious for news of his former home ground.
“Let me see.” Yoshi falls quiet, concentrating hard. “I think I spot some pigs higher up on the plateau,” he says finally. “It’s very dark over there, Jenks. I can’t see in the gloom as you can . . . hold on . . . ah yes, I see the remains of the river tunnel now. It’s amazing to think that once upon a time it used to be connected.”
“Everything is connected,” confirms a voice from the passage into the Map Room, prompting Jenks to gasp and hide behind Yoshi. “Maybe not physically any more, but on many other levels.”
In a blink, the vision that had gripped the boy fragments into a million pieces.
“Relax,” he tells Jenks, unsure why the poor wretch seems so afraid. “It’s only Julius.”
The old man leads the way out of the tunnel with a walking staff but no torch. Light is provided by the fierce aura shining from the girl behind him. Livia is dressed in her customary cormorant black colours, and has a mood to match. The twins follow close behind, looking somewhat burned out by their recent ordeal. The most striking thing of all, however, is the fact that all three have clearly been knee-deep in slurry of some kind. Yoshi pulls a face, mostly at the smell that creeps into the chamber. Livia glares at him in response, as if daring him to continue screwing up his nose in this way.
“I’m finished with street magic,” she says crossly. “It might earn us money for food, but that little episode nearly cost us our lives. It’s certainly put paid to a perfectly good dress. I don’t even want to think about what we’ve just waded through to get here!”
Blaize smiles at Yoshi, and at the timid little fellow peeking around from behind his legs. “You guys are wise to stay underground,” she tells them both. “It’s a jungle up there today.”
Yoshi feels his cheeks heating up, well aware of the reason why so many wild animals are stalking the streets. He looks at Julius, feeling sheepish all of a sudden, and finds the old man peering at him sternly from over his half-moon spectacles.
“Yoshi is well aware of the threat,” he tells them. “Just as Yoshi is aware that he could help to ensure that this capital is safe from a merciless beast no zoo warden could capture.”
“Huh?” Livia turns to Yoshi, seeking some explanation.
Yoshi sighs, unwilling to entertain the old man’s crackpot theories further. Then Livia’s aura colours an angry red, persuading Yoshi to give in.
“I’m not sure I believe this beast exists,” he says with a sigh. “But he’s talking about the devil!”
11
A sacrifice for the city
We all shine in different ways, and at different things. Some people are natural born bright sparks. They can calculate sums in their heads that would leave others dizzy just thinking about it. Then there are those who have a flair for art or sport. If they’re truly talented, they might attract the kind of attention that earns them a scholarship. They could even find themselves invited to join a special institution. One dedicated to helping them release their full potential.
But what if the nature of your talent isn’t down to brawn, brains, or creativity? What if it lies within a realm that isn’t generally understood or often even recognised? That’s how Yoshi, Livia and the twins first encountered one another, enrolled as they were at a Foundation for young people with psychic gifts.
Located in London’s Square Mile, in a former investment bank, this vaulted glass building housed a host of young people well used to being labelled freaks or even fakes. After all, it isn’t every day that you meet someone who can shift a cup across a table just by looking at it, or eavesdrop on a conversation that’s going on in a room several streets away. Here, you might see some youngsters glowing strangely around the edges, or sparking like a live wire. They might be capable of very different things, but it all boiled down to being tuned into the same psychic wavelength. According to the man in charge, an imposing, bald-headed fellow known only as Aleister, these kids needed nurturing. It meant that by the time they reached adulthood they’d be in full control of their powers. That’s how Yoshi, Livia and the twins came to be enrolled in the programme. It’s what they found once locked inside the Foundation that caused them to doubt Aleister’s true motives.
Right now, facing Julius in this secret subterranean location, having fled here from the Foundation with his friends, Yoshi finds himself questioning exactly what it was they had run away from. Aleister may have been driven in his bid to unlock the Faerie Ring, but lately Julius Grimaldi had behaved in a way that suggested he too would stop at nothing.
“Would you care to enlighten the others?” asks the old man, as if he had just read his mind. “I don’t suppose Livia and the twins will share your view that Aleister is some kind of misunderstood saint. He’s a force of darkness, Yoshi, as well you should know.”
“I never suggested he deserved a halo,” Yoshi responds angrily. “It’s just you’re forgetting that he saved our lives. Without him, it wouldn’t just have been this Map Room that was laid to waste. Jenks’ people would’ve destroyed us as well. Aleister distracted them to save us. He allowed himself to be chased right back to their lair, and then sacrificed himself by ordering us to sever the only means of crossing from one side to the other. If the twins hadn’t torched that pipeline, they’d have come back for us, make no mistake!”
“Now wait a minute!” This is Livia, whose intervention silences the boy. “You’re talking about the same brute who practically imprisoned us at his Foundation until we agreed to follow his orders!” She crosses in front of Yoshi now, taking the stage, it seems. “My parents put me on that programme to help me understand why I’m constantly lit up like a Christmas tree. It isn’t easy, living with an aura. Can you imagine how hard it is growing up with this? I had to sit at the back of my class so I didn’t distract everyone else, while the only reason boys look at me is to gawp and swap hurtful comments. So, when Aleister approached my family with an opportunity to help me, I jumped at the chance.”
“It was a sneaky trick,” Blaize agrees. “Especially the clause in the contract that banned communication with the outside world during our stay. Though at the time Scarlett and I really believed it was to help us focus on the task at hand.”
“As soon as we arrived,” her sister continues, “it became clear that he just wanted to shape us into his psychic servants. If we had hung around long enough for Aleister to train seven of us to do his dirty work, The Faerie Ring would be in his control.”
“Which is what I find so troubling,” says Julius darkly, gazing directly at Yoshi. “He put you all through hell in a bid to harness your powers. Just think what such a ruthless fiend could do to the city if the ring ever fell into his hands.” Yoshi turns to his friends. Not one of them looks like they disagree with the old man.
“Aleister saved our lives,” the boy repeats, quietl
y this time. “Does that count for nothing?”
“And in the process,” Julius adds, “he’s stationed himself on the one waypoint in the ring that might well prove to be the key to them all.” He stops there, and with a firm hand steers the shy creature behind Yoshi into the open. “Jenks here has demonstrated the ability to fire up the ring full circle from within the lair. Until that moment, Aleister and I had at least agreed that such a feat would require seven psychics, such as your good selves, to cover every waypoint. Now it seems that either way is possible, but right now we are at a disadvantage. Because, my friends, if Aleister happens to share the same psychic gift as Jenks - and all the evidence suggests he still possesses formidable powers - then he has managed to gain access to the one waypoint that might just control the entire faerie ring!” Having addressed everyone present now, Julius narrows his attention onto Yoshi alone. “By allowing the brute to head back into the lair, dear boy, you might well have sentenced this city to some very dark years indeed.”
Yoshi responds by looking at Jenks, who is cowering before Julius, “Why is he so frightened of you?” he asks. “If you’re the great saviour of this city, what does he have to fear?”