The snake-creatures grabbed the Scotsman and the engineer, claws digging into the soft flesh of their shoulders. Mansfield strode beneath the bizarre figure of Nephthys.
He pointed at Malcolm. “I’ve seen you with Simon Archer at the Red Orchid. So you’re with Barnes? A toady of Ash? Well, too bad for you. Your master’s scheme is at an end.”
“Ash?” Penny said in renewed confusion. “How did Ash get involved in this? And we’re not with Barnes; we thought you were.”
“Stupid girl. You’ve got no idea what’s happening.”
“If you don’t serve Barnes,” Malcolm snarled, “why did Nephthys try to kill us?”
“We want the idiot to succeed in his ritual.” Mansfield laughed at their confusion. He climbed back onto the dais, eyeing the motionless mummy. He took the ebony box and put it under his arm. Then he hopped back down. “My dear, let’s be off. Mr. Barnes will soon take action to complete his summoning, and we don’t want to miss the party.”
“Wait!” Penny called desperately. “We can tell you how to defeat Barnes.”
Mansfield laughed again. The mummified Nephthys started toward a door that led outside, walking stiffly as if the wrapping drove the body inside like a puppet. Through the heavy glass of the vast greenhouse that enclosed the temple, a carriage was visible waiting outside. The ambassador pointed at the shambling mummy. “Thank you, but I already have the means to defeat Mr. Barnes. Now that I have her, there’s nothing he can make that I can’t unmake.”
“Goddamned blood magic,” Malcolm growled. “I finally get to shoot someone and it actually helps them.”
“What are you going to do with us?” Penny demanded as the ambassador walked away.
Mansfield looked back from the doorway, then smiled malevolently at the chnoubis. “Devour them.” He slammed the door shut and in an instant their carriage rattled away.
The chnoubi holding Malcolm opened its jaw wide. Penny twisted, raising her clenched fist. “Close your eyes!” She crushed the two dice together in her hand and threw them.
Even with his eyes shut, Malcolm sensed the bright flare. Clawed hands released him and he lurched forward a few steps. He opened his eyes to see the chnoubis grasping their faces. Malcolm and Penny ducked past the blinded snake-creatures and raced for the door where they had entered. Malcolm paused to scoop up his Lancaster and dagger. He kicked open the door and they left the Egyptian temple for the mundane hallway of a London mansion. Behind them, the chnoubis surged unsteadily forward.
Penny whirled and brought up her little gun. It began to vibrate. Within seconds, the hum built to a crescendo and she pulled the trigger. The staggering discharge plowed a swathe through the temple columns as wide as a London lane and propelled Penny back against Malcolm. The vibration filled the corridor, making Malcolm grab his ears in pain. Suddenly the deafening crash of breaking glass washed over them and a wave of yellow dust poured out the door as the temple collapsed and debris sealed the chamber.
Malcolm grabbed the coughing Penny and dragged her with him down the hallway. They passed countless empty rooms, working their way to the front of the house. He heard scratching sounds coming from behind the walls.
“Look out!” He shouted as timber and plaster exploded in front of them.
From the rubble rose one of the chnoubis. The beast attacked, tossing wreckage aside. Malcolm charged it and stabbed directly into its throat with his knife. He buried the blade to the hilt. With a cry of rage, Malcolm drove the blade downward, slicing through the flesh and tearing a gash in the thing’s abdomen.
“Come on!” Penny lifted a chair and threw it through a dark window. She then kicked out the remnants of the sharp glass. However, a shape slithered outside and a chnoubi reached for her. She ducked the swipe.
Malcolm leapt between them, blasting with his Lancaster, each shell forcing the beast back. “Go down!” he commanded.
They pounded down the stairs to the servants’ quarters, where more empty halls greeted them. There was a crash ahead of them and one of the chnoubis smashed through the ceiling and dropped to the floor in a shower of wood. It rose up in front of Malcolm, towering over the man, with its oily skin twitching. Its body swayed like a cobra.
Malcolm backed up, taking Penny with him. She screamed when the other creature came slithering down the stairwell after them. Its rubbery body thudded down each step. Despite the trail of blood it left, it looked spry as ever.
Penny ran for the one exit left to them: the cellar. Malcolm tried to stop her, but it was too late. The chnoubis charged and he had no choice but to chase the engineer down into the darkness. On the final stone step, he whirled around to aim up at their monstrous pursuers but none came.
“Why didn’t they come after us?” Penny asked in a breathless voice.
Malcolm suspected but didn’t tell her. They were deeper in the earth now, and the creatures could be all around them. They could strike from nearly any direction although hopefully the stone walls would give some protection. He knew now what the bones were from. They were the regurgitated meals of these monstrosities. The disgusting things had herded them right to their feeding grounds.
They ran out across the cellar, heading for the door that led to the outside exit. The ground beneath them rocked. Mounds rose in front and behind them with explosions of earth. The lower half of the stairs crumbled in a shower of dust and rock, leaving the upper floor out of reach. Malcolm and Penny ran on toward the door, but the walls around them were forced upward as a creature undermined the very foundation of the house. The stones cracked and shifted. Then the wall split into pieces and tumbled in a roar burying the cellar door. Penny slid to a halt, staring at the pile of rubble that was just their escape path. The moving mounds in the dirt burrowed across the cellar floor until they touched, then arms burst into the air followed by horrible heads and torsos.
“Cover your ears!” Penny aimed her pistol. She fired and a rippling wave of pressure rolled across the ground like a swell on the ocean and broke against the snake-things. One of them shook its thick-maned head, disoriented. Penny fired again. The second breeching chnoubi slammed against the ground, screeching in pain.
She cheered and ran forward. However, the first creature recovered and lunged. Penny flung herself back, falling to the ground to stare up in terror at the chnoubi looming over her. The monster stooped and clamped a clawlike hand on the girl’s stomach.
Malcolm hurtled against the chnoubi. The beast was thick and strong but felt boneless. It shuddered from the impact and brought its arms up to seize him. He had to drop the dagger, grabbing the thing’s wrists to keep the claws away from his head. He felt pressure around his legs and a quick glance showed a fleshy tail wrapping around his calves. The sickly weight tightened. His legs were squeezed together with a crushing pressure. The chnoubi snapped at him; its teeth came inches short of Malcolm’s head.
A slim piece of metal protruded out of the creature’s stomach. The monster reacted with surprise, briefly looking down at it. Then the chnoubi screamed and thrashed. Malcolm fell back onto the ground. His Lancaster was in his hand and he emptied the weapon into the exposed wound. The gun glowed hot orange in the darkness of the cellar. The thing screeched and slumped over, warm liquid gushing onto the ground.
Penny stood behind it, Malcolm’s dripping knife in her hand.
“Hellfire, that’s disgusting!” Penny declared, inspecting her own spattered clothes.
“I thought I told you to stay put,” Malcolm growled.
She thought for a moment, then shook her head. “No. You didn’t.”
“I meant to.”
Malcolm drew his second pistol, searching for the other chnoubi. From out of the darkness, he felt a thunderous clout to his shoulder. He rolled to his feet, spitting dirt. The creature raked at him again. Malcolm dodged the blow, slipped in, and placed the barrel of his weapon against its abdomen, pulling the trigger and opening a fusillade that echoed through the cellar.
The
chnoubi flung itself back, then flopped facedown onto the ground, vomiting up the corrosive acid. Then it quickly brought its arms forward in a flurry of powerful activity. It opened a hole beneath it and the massive thing began to undulate into the earth, slapping at Malcolm with the blunt end of its tail before disappearing with a slurping sound. The Scotsman turned to see that the other creature had burrowed away as well.
“Malcolm,” Penny shouted, and ran for the raised brick platform in the corner. She climbed over barrels and jammed her back to the wall.
Malcolm staggered up and dropped next to her. His ragged breathing was the only echoing sound in the vast chamber. He felt better with something solid under and behind him.
Two mounds started to rise on either side of the room. The chnoubis broke the surface in a spray of dirt and stared quietly at the two humans huddled on the brick island.
Malcolm reloaded one of his pistols, but then cracked the breech of the second weapon and patted his pockets. “I don’t suppose you have any ammunition in your bottomless bag.”
Penny pulled the satchel off her back and dug out more cartridges. “I knew you’d run out. You waste bullets.”
Malcolm grumbled as he slipped the shells in. “Monsters are hard to kill.”
One of the chnoubis dove under the earth. In a second, they felt a bump from under the bricks.
Penny stared intently at the walls. She pressed her hand against the stone and asked, “Can you swim?”
He regarded her curiously. “Aye.”
Her face held a wild, wicked grin. She gestured with her little pistol with the tuning fork atop. “The river is just that way and we’re below the water level.” She held up her damp fingers.
“What good does that do us? We can’t get to the river.” He cursed as the brick slab shifted slightly and the mortar started to crack.
“I’m going to bring the river to us. Brace me.” Penny pointed her pistol at the damp wall and pulled the trigger.
Malcolm sat against the satchel strapped to her back and pressed his feet against the bricks. Vibrations ran through him like an earthquake. His ears rang and his head swam. A glance over his shoulder showed that Penny’s incredible weapon was blasting the stone wall to pieces, throwing chips of rock into the air. Finally it tore through the stone and started pounding dark earth. Wet soil flew. The wave of sound smashed deeper into the ground and smoke boiled out of the tunnel Penny was creating. The wee pistol was as effective as a heavy mining drill.
Penny’s outstretched arms quaked. Her teeth were clamped together as if her jaw would shatter. Malcolm could imagine the beating she was taking because he could hardly stand the violent vibrations he felt coming through her. His foot slipped, kicking out shards of red brick. The platform was shattering beneath them.
The vibrations ceased and smoke no longer roiled out of the shallow cave. Penny dropped her arms. She gasped for breath and a trickle of blood ran from one ear. She fiddled awkwardly with the tuning fork. She shouted, “Out of range,” but he barely heard her through the throbbing in his head.
Bricks rattled from beneath and popped up into the air. Malcolm leapt to his feet and took Penny by the arm. They pushed past the jagged remnants of the foundation wall and crowded into the dark cave she had just created. The ground was muddy with trickling rivulets of water seeping around their shoes. They reached the end of the cave, only twenty feet from the cellar. Penny took a deep breath and raised the pistol again. When she pulled the trigger, nothing happened.
“No!” she shouted and began to manipulate the gun.
The dirt wall erupted and two arms jutted into the tunnel. Clawed hands seized Penny. She screamed, trying to pull away. Malcolm fired as a monstrous torso emerged.
Clods of muddy earth smacked into him from behind and he knew the second chnoubi was coming. Penny’s arm and shoulder had nearly been swallowed in the muddy wall. Malcolm grabbed hold of the fleshy mane on the fearsome head and pulled it to him with all his strength. He laid the muzzle of his Lancaster against the skull and held the trigger down. The barrel spun and fired ball after ball into the creature’s cranium. The shells penetrated into pulpy flesh but did not seem to do it damage.
“Die, you miserable soddin’ beast!” he screamed.
Penny punched frantically with her free hand, but the thing would not let go. Then claws clamped on Malcolm’s shoulders from behind, dragging him away from Penny. The hot breath from the monster’s gaping wide mouth washed over him. Penny’s dire scream cut through him. He wished he could spare her from such a horrible death, but he couldn’t do that for either of them.
Abruptly the earth groaned and a jet of hard water slammed Malcolm. Then another shot out and another. Mud cascaded and the earth around them yawned open with a torrent of water. He scrambled for Penny, but couldn’t feel her as he was swept back into the cellar. He fought through the icy flood, kicking to the frothy surface. The roof of the cellar was only a few feet overhead. He whipped around wildly searching again for Penny, but she was gone. Then he remembered that bloody great satchel on her back.
The chnoubis were in full panic, flailing about violently, their meal forgotten in their desperate scramble stay afloat and breath. Malcolm ignored the terrified demons, got his bearings, took a deep breath, and dove down into the murk in search of Penny. He desperately flung about trying to find her. There was no visibility, and his coat weighed him down. His lungs screamed and his body grew thick in the frigid embrace of the river. Then a hand grabbed his.
Penny.
Countless objects in the dark water struck Malcolm. He wanted to draw a breath; he couldn’t hold it. Only the faint touch of Penny reminded him to kick harder and bear down for another second. And then another.
The color of the water lightened and together they struggled for the brightness. They surged into the air and gasped loudly, sucking in breath for long minutes. He could see the lights of boats bobbing on the Thames.
Malcolm looked back and took fierce satisfaction watching the water of the river lapping at the nearest corner of the great house. Then the mansion started to sink into the marshy ground. He couldn’t hear the sound of the collapse over the roar of the river and the pounding of his own ears, but he saw the chimneys begin to topple in sprays of bricks and dust. He contemplated a rude gesture to the vanishing house. Instead, he turned his complete attention to swimming for his life.
“I had to dump my pack.” Penny was sputtering and furious. “All I managed to save was my gun.”
“That little beauty saved our lives. I’ll display it on a bloody shelf.”
When they finally heaved themselves up into the reeds, they collapsed, shivering and exhausted. They felt weighed down with numb limbs and sodden clothes. Malcolm lifted his hand, but he no longer felt the aether beneath his skin. He rubbed at it.
Penny saw what he was about and tried to activate the rune on her own hands. She regarded Malcolm with a stunned face. “The magic is gone.”
“Mine too.” Malcolm helped Penny to her feet and they started limping away. “We need to warn Simon. He’s going to be apoplectic when he finds out there’s another monster to fight. Hard to see how this will end well.”
Chapter Twenty-six
Simon and Kate stood across Lombard Street from St. Mary Woolnoth, studying the crowd for any sign of Rowan Barnes. A slow stream of coats and bonnets and walking sticks entered the church, which was aglow with lamplight.
Simon’s vision swam so he took another swallow of elixir vitae. Pain still knifed in his chest so he sent a surge of aether through his body, which drowned out the fire for a short time.
“Do you think Barnes would attempt something during a service?” Kate shifted the leather bandolier draped over her shoulder under her coat. She also adjusted the short sword she had strapped tight along her thigh.
“There’s something stirring the aether. Something large.”
Suddenly she stiffened and seized Simon’s arm. “That man just by the front
column on our side.”
Simon stared into the black morass of churchgoers. As shapes shifted, he caught a glimpse of a face beneath the wide brim of a hat. It was a slight profile, but the cut of the chin and the line of the nose suggested the figure of Rowan Barnes.
“You’re right.” They angled for him but the man disappeared among the crowd. Simon pressed his hands together, which sparked a quick flash of aether. “That should bring everyone. Come, the north gallery will give us a better view of the church.”
Simon began to push as they passed the doors and went up the stairs. They filed out onto the gallery overlooking the main floor. They found two places on the front row. The sanctuary was dim despite the many glowing candles and the massive chandeliers. The proper occupants filed into the box pews, greeting those around them.
St. Mary Woolnoth was a cube, without much of the traditional cross shape of most churches. It was larger than it seemed from the outside, but still not a huge church by any stretch. The corners of the space were dominated by groups of white Corinthian columns. The altar at the eastern end was covered in a purple cloth, with its candles still unlit. On the wall behind it was the noticeable reredos, a huge replica of the Ten Commandment tablets. The central ceiling was raised into another cube, with windows on all four sides.
They sat together, viewing the crowd below them. The church filled with parishioners and hushed chatter reverberated around their ears. Simon checked his watch as time passed with agonizing slowness.
Kate pointed across the church at Hogarth and Charlotte, who filed into the opposite gallery. Charlotte was smiling with excitement. Hogarth watched her carefully. He sat on the front row and Charlotte went to the rail and leaned over, staring down into the crowd. They were both dressed in somewhat proper fashion, but they had obviously come hurriedly from the rooms Simon had let nearby, where they had intended to stage their shifts watching St. Mary Woolnoth.
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