The Clearing (Outside #2)

by Shalini Boland

Liss heard a rustling. ‘What’s that?’

  ‘I’ve folded up my cloak,’ Connor replied. ‘We can both sit on it.’

  ‘Won’t you be cold?’

  ‘I’m okay. I’m wearing my coat underneath.’

  Liss edged her way onto the bunched up fabric. It felt good to move her feet off the slimy ground. She crouched down and leant back against the damp wall.

  ‘So was that your brother?’ Connor asked. ‘Back there. Outside your house.’

  ‘Yes. That was FJ. He wasn’t always so awful.’

  ‘I’m sure nine years in this place would change anyone . . . But not you.’

  ‘I was only seven when they took me. I’m sorry you got caught too.’

  ‘You don’t need to apologise. It was me who got you locked up.’

  ‘But if I hadn’t made you go back for Annabelle . . .’

  ‘You couldn’t leave your friend. I understand that. I’ll get you out. I promise.’

  How long they sat there, Liss could not tell. It could have been hours or days. No one came to see them or feed them or anything. Maybe that was the plan. Maybe they would just be left to starve or freeze.

  They were huddled together now. Connor’s arms wrapped around her shivering body. They half-dozed, no longer mindful of the cold oozing floor.

  Liss’s throat was parched and dry. She was almost tempted to lick the moisture off the walls. Almost, but not quite that desperate. Not yet.

  * * *

  The bed was warm, cosy, safe. But she couldn’t rest or sleep. Not after everything that had happened. She had a plan and she could carry it out. She could. Liss needed her now. Liss, who had always been there for her. Right from the start. Back when they were in that truck.

  If she didn’t have Liss, she would have nothing.

  She didn’t know how on earth she’d managed to get through today. It had been awful. All those lies everyone had been telling about Liss. About how she was evil and a traitor and deserved to die. And now the only person who could save Liss was her. There was nobody else.

  Annabelle peeled back the covers and slid out of her bed. She tiptoed out of the bedroom and took two steps along the landing. Mary’s bedroom door was closed. Annabelle guessed it was locked, but nevertheless she had to give it a try. The worn brass handle creaked as she twisted it, but nothing happened. The door was most definitely locked. Never mind, she would get in there anyway, somehow or other.

  Heart thumping, she crept back into her bedroom and closed the door behind her. This next bit could be tricky and it would be a miracle if she didn’t get caught. Annabelle held her breath as she passed the other sleeping girls, finally stopping when she reached the sash window. She peeped behind the heavy velvet drapes and was reassured to see the back garden empty and still. Good. If there had been any guards about, her plan would have been impossible.

  She slipped behind the curtains so her nose was pressed up against the cold glass. Then she quickly raised the sash, praying the curtains would be thick enough to prevent too much of a draught blowing through to the bedroom and waking the other girls.

  Wriggling out through the gap, Annabelle stood barefoot on the window ledge. It wasn’t that far up, but her legs trembled. She couldn’t fall. She had to stay strong for Liss. Telling herself not to look down, she looked instead to her right. The next window along was only a couple of feet away. It was Mary’s window. And somewhere inside Mary’s room lay the keys to the North Canonry and, more importantly, the keys to the cellars.

  Chapter Twenty Nine

  *

  She twisted her body around so that she faced the house. Then she side-stepped across to Mary’s window. Her heart pounded so loud it sounded like thunder from the sky. Mary’s drapes were closed. Good. Annabelle was also conscious that the guards could come into the garden and see her at any moment. She had to be quick.

  If Mary’s window was locked, her plan would be doomed. Annabelle placed her hands flat on the glass and pushed upwards. Nothing happened. Despite the chill night air, beads of sweat trickled down her back. She took a breath and tried again. This time the wooden window frame moved a fraction. Annabelle smiled. She pushed the glass again and now the window slid upwards with satisfying smoothness.

  There was no time to worry about being caught. She had to go for it. Annabelle slipped through the window and slid it closed behind her. She waited a couple of seconds, hidden behind the curtains. No sound came from within, but for all she knew, Mary could be standing in front of the window with a gun pointed at her.

  Annabelle inched the curtain back. The room was dark, but she made out the dim shape of someone lying in the bed. It must be Mary. The sleeping woman’s breathing was slow and regular. Now to find the keys. Where would they be?

  On the bedside table sat a cup of water and a bible. Against the far wall stood a narrow table with a chair pushed underneath. It was strewn with paperwork, pencils and other paraphernalia. Perhaps the keys were there. Annabelle moved slowly across the floor. She trod on a loose floorboard and winced as it creaked. But Mary did not stir. Annabelle cast her eyes over the table, but there were no keys.

  Clothes had been draped over the back of the chair and Annabelle ran her hands through them, checking for pockets and belt loops. But all she felt was soft material. Nothing metal or jangling. Where could they be? She tiptoed back around to Mary’s bedside table. They had to be in one of the drawers.

  Easing open the top drawer, the runner made an excruciatingly loud scraping noise. Annabelle held her breath, staring at Mary’s closed lids. If the housekeeper opened her eyes now, she would be caught and branded a thief. Mary shifted and grunted in her sleep. And then she rolled over, away from Annabelle’s terrified stare. Annabelle exhaled in relief.

  She peered inside the drawer, but could barely see in the dark and had to use her fingers to explore its contents. It felt like clothing. She opened the second drawer – clothing again. Where else could she search?

  There was no other furniture in the room. Would Mary have hidden the keys under her pillow? She would have to find out.

  Annabelle’s hands felt clammy and shaky. She rubbed them against her nightdress and slipped one under Mary’s pillow. Slowly, she moved the flat of her hand beneath the cool cotton pillowcase. And then she edged it further along to where Mary rested her head. She would have to slide her hand underneath it. Surely the woman would waken.

  Her nerve suddenly left her and she retracted her hand and crouched down onto the floor. This was a suicide mission. She would be caught and thrown in a cell with her friend; her sister. But she could not give up. She had come this far. She would find the keys. She would.

  Gathering her courage back up, she stood once more and prepared to slide her hand under the woman’s pillow. But then something caught her eye and she almost laughed out loud.

  The huge bunch of housekeeper’s keys was hanging from the door. Mary had obviously locked her bedroom door and left the keys in the lock.

  * * *

  A scraping noise roused Liss from her morbid thoughts. Straight ahead, a square of dim light appeared.

  ‘Hello?’ Connor’s voice sounded loud in the darkness. ‘Who’s there?’

  ‘Hello?’ Liss said. She got to her feet and took a step forward.

  ‘Liss? Is that you?’

  Liss’s heart began to pound. She felt a smile curl at her lips. ‘Anna!’

  ‘Oh good, it’s you!’ Annabelle said. ‘I thought I’d never find your cell. I haven’t got long. I stole Mary’s keys, but she only has the one to the main cellar door. Not the one to your cell. Who else is in there with you?’

  ‘Oh, Annabelle, I can’t believe you’re here. You’re amazing.’

  ‘Can you get hold of the cell key?’ Connor asked.

  ‘Who’s that with you?’ Annabelle asked again, fear in her voice.

  ‘It’s alright. He’s a friend. He was trying to rescue us from The Close.’

  ‘Annabelle, listen carefully,
’ Connor said. ‘I need you to go and tell my friends what’s happened. They’re outside the walls. They’ll be able to help get us out of here. Can you go there now? Before they leave?’

  ‘I have to take back Mary’s keys first. I hope she’s still asleep.’

  ‘No. Keep hold of the keys and go straight to my friends. Let them inside the walls. I only hope they’re still waiting. That it’s not too late and they’ve left already.’

  * * *

  The woman at the door in the wall was young. More of a girl really. Younger than me anyway. The gun shook in her hand. She was nervous. No, she was terrified. There were three of us and only one of her. We could take her down, I was sure of it. Her eyes darted around and finally landed on me.

  ‘Are you Riley?’ she asked.

  I was taken aback. She knew my name. ‘Er, yeah.’

  She lowered her weapon and seemed to relax a little. Stepping out towards us, away from the wall, she pulled the door closed behind her. ‘Your friend, um, Colin sent me.’

  ‘Colin?’ I didn’t know any Colin.

  ‘Do you mean Connor?’ Luc said.

  ‘Yes, sorry. Connor, I meant Connor. He tried to rescue Liss but they got caught by the guards. They’re in a cell. I couldn’t get them out. They told me to come and tell you, but I better get back now or Mary will wake up and know I’ve gone and then I’ll never be able to get back into the main house and . . .’

  ‘Whoah there, angel. Slow down,’ Denzil said. ‘What’s your name?’

  ‘I’m Anna. Annabelle.’

  ‘Take a breath, Annabelle, and tell us slowly from the beginning what happened and what you need us to do.’

  She did as he said and took a deep breath. As she exhaled, a tear slipped down her cheek. I stepped closer and gave her shoulder a squeeze. She flinched, but then looked up at me wide-eyed and I gave her what I hoped was an encouraging smile.

  ‘It’s okay,’ I said. ‘We’re here. We’ll help, okay?’

  Annabelle started talking, slower this time, but her voice was still breathless and nervy. She told us what had happened to Connor and Liss. About Freddie Junior and how he was now part of Grey’s regime. And then she explained what she’d had to do that night to get here – stealing the housekeeper’s keys and creeping into the cellars.

  ‘Brave kid,’ Denzil said. ‘You did good.’

  She ignored the praise, the terrified expression still stuck to her face.

  ‘I can’t believe Grey is actually here,’ Luc said. ‘I thought he’d be leading his army.’

  ‘He’s not a fighter,’ I said. ‘He’s a coward and a bully.’

  Luc turned to Annabelle. ‘And you’re sure Freddie Junior’s been turned?’

  ‘Yes,’ she replied.

  ‘Fred and Jess are going to be heartbroken,’ I said.

  ‘We still need to get him out,’ Denzil said. ‘That was part of the deal.’

  ‘You won’t manage it,’ Annabelle said. ‘He has guards. Anyway, I have to get back to my room now, before I’m missed.’ She made a move towards the door in the wall.

  ‘I think it’s too late for that,’ Luc said.

  ‘What? What do you mean?’ Annabelle looked ready to bolt.

  ‘I just mean we’re going to have to break Liss and Connor out tonight. Right now. We can’t wait another day. They might move them somewhere else. Or worse. And we need you to help us.’

  ‘But how?’ Annabelle said. ‘We have no cell key.’

  ‘Do you know who does have a key?’

  ‘One of the guards I suppose.’

  ‘Can you get us some of those hooded guards’ robes?’ Denzil asked.

  ‘Yes. There are always a few in the laundry room.’

  ‘And can you get us there without us being seen?’ Luc said.

  ‘I’ll try.’ She made another move to reopen the door in the wall.

  ‘Wait,’ I said.

  All three looked at me expectantly.

  ‘I’ve had a thought. It’s risky, but I was thinking - While we’re here, we should try and get Grey.’

  Everyone stared at me as though I was mad.

  ‘No, please,’ Annabelle said. ‘It’s too dangerous. We need to get Liss out.’

  ‘We will,’ I said. ‘Of course we will. But we have to stop Grey. His army is attacking our perimeters. If we take him and FJ hostage, we can end their assault on the south. We can finish the whole thing without any more fighting.’

  ‘He has an army?’ Annabelle said.

  ‘I’m afraid so.’

  No one else spoke. I felt a drop of rain on my face. And then another.

  ‘Well?’ I said to Luc and Denzil. ‘What do you think?’

  ‘I think it’s genius,’ said Luc. ‘And I don’t know why I didn’t think of it first.’

  ‘I think it’s suicide,’ Denzil said. ‘I’m not disrespecting your idea, but Charlie Duke’s orders were clear. He said to stick to the plan and . . .’

  ‘I think the plan’s already gone out the window,’ I said.

  ‘Please don’t do this,’ Annabelle said.

  ‘I’m sorry, Annabelle. I know it’s scary, but the man has to be stopped.’

  ‘Let me think for a sec,’ Denzil said, massaging his temples. ‘I know what you’re saying makes sense, but Charlie Duke’s my new boss and if I screw this up I’ll be out on my ear.’

  I put my hand on his arm. ‘If we don’t do this, Grey will take over the south coast and we’ll all be out on our ears.’

  ‘We’ll never get an opportunity like this again,’ Luc said. ‘This could save everyone.’

  My mind was buzzing with thoughts of how we could pull this off, but I couldn’t formulate a proper plan. The rain was really coming down now and the wind shook the trees. Leaves spiralled through the air towards us like night spirits. ‘Will you help us, Denzil? We need you.’

  ‘Doesn’t look like I’ve got much choice,’ he replied. ‘And there was me thinking I’d have an easier time if I was a guard instead of a soldier. Got that wrong didn’t I.’ He shook his head and gave a reluctant smile.

  ‘And Annabelle . . .’ I turned to her. ‘We’ll need your help too.’

  ‘You are going to rescue Liss aren’t you?’ she said.

  ‘Yes,’ I said. ‘Yes of course. Don’t worry; we’ll get your friend out.’

  She gave me a nod of acceptance.

  ‘Right then,’ Denzil said. ‘I think I’ve got a basic plan, but we’ll have to move quickly. We’ll need to be out of The Close before dawn breaks.’

  The rain was coming down in sheets now, so we huddled in closer to hear what he had to say.

  Chapter Thirty

  *

  I barely noticed our journey through The Close to the North Canonry where Connor and Liss were being held. My mind was too full of what we were about to do. Annabelle took us a circuitous route, up close to the walls and hidden within the shadows of dark silent buildings and autumnal trees. Above the spattering rain and the gusting winds, the sound of a rushing river soon became audible.

  We were soaked to the skin but I didn’t care about that; the weather helped keep us concealed. Several times, we had to slip out of view as the occasional hooded figure glided into view, but we were making progress, gradually drawing closer to the cathedral. Soon Grey’s impressive house towered before us like a fairy tale castle.

  We had approached the rear of the building, but it was still magnificent from this angle, even in the dark. I made out one solitary light in an upstairs window. The rest of the house was an eerie silhouette of pointed roofs and chimneys, dwarfed only by the cathedral spire behind it. The mansion and its grounds were encircled by a razor-topped red brick wall, but the house was visible through a set of spiked wrought iron gates, its dark lawns spread out before it. We stood well back, bowed and shivering behind a clump of bushes.

  ‘How did you break out of there?’ Luc whispered to Annabelle.

  ‘One of Mary’s keys opens the back gat
e,’ she replied. ‘I had to time it right so the guards didn’t see me.’

  ‘Let’s hope Mary don’t wake up and notice her keys have gone missing,’ Denzil said.

  I tapped Denzil on the shoulder and pointed as one of Grey’s creepy guards came into view. He drifted slowly past the back gate, like a ghost, the wind pulling at his robes, making them swirl and billow.

  ‘I think there are four of them guarding the outside of the house,’ Annabelle said. ‘Plus two at the front gates.’

  ‘We’ll leave those two till last and take the patrols out first,’ Denzil said. ‘Riley, I’ll need you to distract them one by one. Okay?’

  I nodded.

  The guard had disappeared around the corner, but after a few seconds another one came into view.

  ‘Annabelle, give Riley your cloak. Riley, we’ll go round the side, where it’s less exposed. You distract the first guard - pretend to need his help or something - and I’ll clock him over the head with my revolver. Not very sophisticated, but it should work.’

  ‘What do you want me to do?’ Luc asked.

  ‘Help me drag the bodies into the trees over there.’ Denzil pointed to a nearby copse. ‘Then we’ll secure them. There’s twine in my backpack. Once we start this thing we’re gonna have to move really quick in case any of ‘em wake up. Are you ready, guys?’

  I was more than ready. I was itching to do this. As I pulled Annabelle’s sodden cloak around my shoulders, I briefly wondered where my fear had gone. I raised the deep hood over my head and nodded to Denzil.

  ‘Be careful,’ Luc said.

  In the small delay between patrols, we darted around the side of the house, keeping to the trees and bushes. I made out the receding shape of one of the guards drifting away towards the front of the house. As soon as the next one appeared around the corner, Denzil nodded to me. The blood whooshed in my head as I stepped out of the shadows and walked towards the guard, my hands clasped together to stop them trembling,

  ‘Please can you help me?’ I called out. I didn’t want to speak too loudly in case I attracted the attention of one of the other guards, but I had to make myself heard above the wind and rain.