The Nowhere Emporium

by Ross Mackenzie

  CHAPTER 18

  A PARTING OF WAYS

  Edinburgh, May 1890

  Raindrops the size of marbles pelted the fine oak coffin as it was lowered into the soil on an unseasonably cold Edinburgh spring day.

  News of Birdie’s passing had taken flight, crossing oceans and continents, and many of the entertainers with whom she had worked over the years had come to pay their respects, shivering together beneath a canopy of black umbrellas.

  Lucien Silver stood near the mouth of the grave and listened as the minister delivered Birdie’s eulogy. Vindictus Sharpe stood at Lucien’s side, tall and dark and silent as a shadow. Neither acknowledged the presence of the other.

  When the funeral was over, mourners began to filter away towards the shelter of waiting carriages. Lucien stayed by the graveside while Sharpe shook hands and exchanged brief words with a number of guests. When the last of the mourners was gone, he walked back up the hill.

  They stood in silence for a time.

  Sharpe turned his head, though not enough to make eye contact.

  “Your services are no longer required,” he said, flexing the fingers of a gloved hand. “This … experiment has run its course. Teaching is not for me. I imagine this does not come as a shock to you?”

  Lucien said nothing.

  “You will be sent your portion of last night’s takings, of course.”

  “I don’t want it,” Lucien said. “Last night’s performance was for Birdie.”

  Sharpe gave a single nod. “Very well.”

  He turned and began the walk back down the hill.

  Lucien gazed after him. “I can’t help that I’m better than you,” he said. “I only ever did what you asked, and I was good at my job. You turned it into a competition, not me.”

  He had uttered the words in barely more than a whisper. But in the silence of a graveyard, even soft-spoken words can become immensely powerful things.

  Sharpe stopped. He did not turn around.

  “You are not better than me,” he said. There was an edge to his voice, dark and dangerous. “You will never be better than me. I rescued you from the gutter, and that is where I expect you to return now that you don’t have my coat-tails to ride upon, or a foolish old woman like Birdie to protect you.”

  Lucien glared. “Must be strange for you, being in a graveyard, hmm? Considering you don’t ever intend to die. I’ve always been too afraid to ask why you never get any older. But I think I might be piecing together the answer. You steal time from other people, don’t you? You make their lives shorter so that you can extend your own. How can you live with yourself?”

  A long silence.

  At last, his back still turned, Sharpe said, “Goodbye, Mr Silver. Good luck.”

  Lucien watched his former employer wind down the path towards the comfort of his carriage. When the slick black horses had pulled Sharpe through the iron gates, it occurred to Lucien that a very long and interesting chapter of his life had come to an end.

  He turned his attention once more to the fresh grave at his feet.

  Reaching into his coat, he produced a single long-stemmed red rose. With the wave of a hand, the stem of the rose became black as coal, and the petals were coated in shining gold.

  Lucien placed the black-gold rose on the headstone.

  “Goodbye, Birdie.”

  Rain washed the tears from his face as he trudged down the hill towards the gates and the world beyond. And the world was a big, big place. Lucien did not know where to go, or what to do next. His fingers touched the book in his coat pocket, its pages full of dreams, imaginings and possibilities, and somehow he did not feel quite so lost.

  Without knowing why, he began to smile.

  Then, with a final glance to the top of the hill, Lucien Silver walked through the cemetery gates and away.

  CHAPTER 19

  MISSING

  Mr Silver vanished the day after Ellie’s birthday ball. It was a Sunday, and the sky was heavy with black clouds and thunder.

  “Papa has never missed opening time before.” Ellie stood at the window, tapping her foot on the floor. “Something’s wrong.”

  Daniel had to agree. In the few months he had been a part of Mr Silver’s world, he’d never once seen his boss open the shop so much as a second late.

  “I wonder if he…” Daniel’s voice trailed away. Something lay on the floor under Mr Silver’s desk. He picked it up and fanned through its many pages.

  The Book of Wonders.

  “Ellie, have you ever known your papa to leave this lying around?”

  Ellie edged towards him. She reached out trembling fingers and touched the book.

  “It looks like it’s been … it’s been burned or something.”

  She was right. The ends of some of the pages were blackened, and Daniel found a cluster of shrivelled pages where Wonders had been scorched away. As they examined the book, a loose scrap of paper fell out. Ellie grabbed it.

  “It’s part of a note! From Papa!”

  “What?” said Daniel. “What’s it say? Let me see.” He craned over her shoulder, and read:

  Dearest Ellie (and Daniel Holmes),

  I am sorry that I could not be there to give you this message in person. But time is against us. What you are about to read is frightening, but please, don’t panic.

  For reasons I do not have time to explain, the Emporium is in danger. Worse than that: it is becoming dangerous.

  I have a plan. If you follow it to the letter you should be f ine. You’ll be safe in the shop front. Stay there whenever possible. And when the time comes, you must

  The message ended abruptly.

  “That’s it?” said Daniel. “That can’t be it!” He picked up the paper, stared at the ragged edge where the rest of the message had obviously been burned away. “Brilliant. Whatever burned the book destroyed the note as well, and your dad’s plan.”

  Ellie was staring at the message, shaking her head.

  “What’s happened? What does he mean? That stuff about the Emporium being dangerous … Where is he, Daniel?”

  Daniel pointed to the coat stand. “Look. His coat is still hanging up. I don’t think he’s gone outside. Maybe we should just wait here like he says. I’ve ignored his orders before and it didn’t end well.”

  Ellie shook her head.

  “He only wanted us to stay here so we could follow his plan – and we don’t know what that is, do we? We have to find him and tell him we’re in the dark. He’s probably relying on us, Daniel.”

  ***

  Mr Silver’s apartments were the logical place to begin the search. They found the door open a fraction, and a labyrinth of grand chambers lay in wait, each made entirely from books.

  As he searched, Daniel was distracted time and again by the strange and wonderful surroundings in which Mr Silver chose to live. He found Ellie in a garden of books, under a huge tree blossoming with intricately folded pages.

  “He’s not here,” she said, and she kicked the trunk of the tree, shaking pages to the paper floor.

  “Maybe we should go back to the shop?” said Daniel.

  “But his note made it sound like he won’t be back any time soon, didn’t it?” Ellie said. “He’s so infuriating sometimes, with his secrets! Why didn’t he just tell us what’s going on?”

  “So we just keep looking, without a plan?” said Daniel. “How many rooms in the Emporium? A thousand? How are we supposed to check them all?” A thought flared to life in his mind. “Search parties!”

  ***

  The lobby of the Nowhere Hotel was packed with impatient performers and vendors, eager to start work. This was the way of things: every day the staff would gather dressed to the nines in black and gold, checking pocket watches and timepieces until the glorious moment when twilight cloaked the world outside and the doors of the Emporium opened.

  “’Scuse me. Sorry.” Daniel pushed and squirmed through the pack, looking for Caleb and Anja. “Ouch! Watch it! Hey, ther
e they are! Ellie, I found them!”

  The fire-breather and snake-charmer were standing together, as they always seemed to be. Caleb stood a full head taller than everyone apart from Anja, and was holding court amid a group of vendors.

  “So, out there in the real world, not only is the moon four hundred times smaller than the sun, it is four hundred times closer. So they appear the same size in the sky. And when they meet, the moon covers the sun completely! Day turns to night! And not a bit of magic is used! Now that is a wonder!”

  Anja, who looked like she might fall asleep at any minute, caught sight of Daniel.

  “Daniel! Ellie!”

  Caleb broke off from his story. “What brings you two around here? And what’s all this about?” he asked, pointing to the crowd. “We’re late opening up. Never been late before.”

  “Papa’s missing,” said Ellie. “We found his Book of Wonders in the shop, all burned and bashed. And this note!” She handed the note to Caleb, whose face became grave.

  “Missing?” he asked. “At opening time?” He exchanged glances with Anja. “That isn’t right. No, no, no. Won’t do at all.”

  “Will you ask the rest of the staff to search with us?” said Daniel. “It’d give us a better chance of finding him.”

  Caleb scratched the stubble on his square chin.

  “I don’t know,” he said gravely. “What if he turns up? What if he suddenly opens the doors and none of us are anywhere to be seen because we’re off searching the Emporium?”

  “Read the note,” said Daniel. “Doesn’t sound like he’ll be opening the Emporium, does it? He says it’s dangerous. We need to find him, Caleb. We’ve got to know what’s going on and what his plan is.”

  “If the Emporium’s in danger, it means we’re all in danger too,” added Ellie. “I don’t think Papa would abandon us. I think he’s in here somewhere. We’re worried about him, Caleb.”

  Anja said, “It does seem to be an emergency, Caleb. What if he’s ill, or has fallen and banged his head? Or what if one of his Wonders is misbehaving?” She turned to Daniel. “It happens very rarely. Doors are left open. Things escape. Last time it was flying pencils. Very sharp.”

  Caleb gave a thoughtful nod. “That was an interesting day.” He shook his big head. “But I’m sorry; we can’t help. Rules are rules. We were created for one purpose: we must be ready always to take our posts.”

  Ellie looked crestfallen, but Daniel was getting an idea.

  “I could make it worth your while,” he said. “I could smuggle you something in from the outside world, eh? Come on. There must be something you want?”

  Caleb peered down at him.

  “Are you offering me a bribe, Daniel Holmes?”

  “A bribe?” said Daniel, his eyes wide. “Not me. Just a gift. A way of saying thanks.”

  Caleb mulled this over. He scratched his big chin. “Very well. I want a kitten. A fluffy one.” He shook Daniel’s hand, then turned to the rest of the lobby. “Attention! We have a job to do!”

  ***

  Word spread quickly through the lobby: Mr Silver was missing. Everyone was chattering and gossiping, agreeing that the loss of their leader was the worst disaster that could possibly happen.

  “What’ll we do without him?”

  “We’re lost!”

  “This place won’t last a week!”

  And so the search was on.

  There were many members of staff, many pairs of eyes and ears. They scoured the Emporium’s catacomb of passages and doorways. They searched through vaults and tunnels in a basement that seemed to be mined into the earth. They climbed the very highest staircases, where the air was thin and cold and filled with crystal flakes of ice. They even rediscovered a long lost section of the Emporium, buried under a rainforest that had spilled from an open door.

  But there was no trace of Mr Silver.

  To add to the worry, many search parties returned with news of strange cracks appearing on the Emporium walls, white lines crawling over black bricks like jagged spider trails. In some places it was worse than others. There was even a rumour that one of the corridors had collapsed.

  “It is as if he has vanished,” said Caleb, after yet another search party had reported no success. He clicked his fingers. “Gone. Poof. Like that. Are you very sure he hasn’t left the shop?”

  “He wouldn’t leave the Emporium without the book,” said Ellie. “It’s practically part of him.”

  “Then I am sorry to say I’m stumped.”

  Daniel’s mind was ticking. It just didn’t add up. Why would Silver vanish? If the Emporium was in trouble, as his note suggested and the cracks in the walls confirmed, then Mr Silver would be the last to leave; Daniel knew that. And why had he dumped the book?

  “Wait a minute,” he said. “When we got to New York, Mr Silver finally found his ‘treasure’ – whatever he’d been searching for. And now, a few days later, he’s gone. That can’t be a coincidence, can it?”

  “But what was the treasure?” said Ellie. “Was it something dangerous? And why would he disappear with it?”

  Daniel shook his head.

  “There’s only one way to find out. I guess I’m heading back to Bizarre’s Bazaar.”

  CHAPTER 20

  BLOOD AND SNOW

  “Are you sure about this?”

  Ellie’s nose was pressed against the glass of the Emporium’s front window. She peered out into the wintry Manhattan darkness. Snow had begun to fall. It was now well after midnight, and Mr Silver had been gone an entire day.

  “I’m sure,” said Daniel, pulling on his coat and gloves and scarf.

  “I wish I could go with you.” To Daniel’s great surprise, Ellie grabbed him and hugged him tight. “Be careful.”

  “I will. I’d better go.”

  The New York streets were eerily silent that night, every sound smothered by the thick layer of snow coating the city. Mostly, people had chosen not to brave the bitter cold and the ice-coated sidewalks.

  Central Park seemed even bigger now that Daniel was alone, and the darkness brought with it the sort of characters who wished to go about their business unnoticed. He tucked his chin to his chest and hurried on, trying hard not to look at anyone. When he walked under a small footbridge, he imagined that someone was following, and began to run. He did not stop until he was past the Plaza. Eight blocks later, he spun into the alley and arrived at Bizarre’s Bazaar.

  There was only one other customer inside – a man in a long brown coat browsing row upon row of bottles.

  Daniel approached the counter.

  “Excuse me.”

  The shopkeeper, the one with skin like blue-veined cheese, had been examining a golden locket with a magnifying glass. At the sound of Daniel’s voice, he looked up, one milky eye magnified through the lens.

  “No refunds,” he said, and he turned his attention back to the locket on the counter.

  “What?”

  “I never forget a face,” said the shopkeeper. “Especially a face connected with so much cash. You were in here a few nights back with the rich man. Well, you can tell him from me: sending a kid isn’t going to soften me any, oh no! I don’t do refunds.”

  Daniel shook his head. “That’s not why I’m here. I wanted to ask you about what you sold us the other night.”

  The shopkeeper looked up and smiled, showing Daniel a crooked row of rotten yellow teeth. “Ah. A very fine item.”

  “Was it?”

  The shopkeeper leaned over the counter on folded arms. “Very fine. Let’s just say it’s not every day you come into possession of a vial of unicorn blood.”

  A crash from nearby; the second customer had dropped a metal box to the floor and was on his hands and knees scooping up the powder that had spilled.

  “Hey!” yelled the shopkeeper. “Careful with the merchandise! You break it, you buy it!”

  “Unicorn blood?” said Daniel. “Are you pulling my leg?”

  “I’m not pulling an
ything.”

  “So you’re telling me there are really unicorns out there?” Daniel had come to accept that the world was a far stranger place than he had ever imagined. Even so, a unicorn seemed a little far-fetched.

  “Kid, if you know where to look, everything’s out there.”

  “Why would someone want unicorn blood?”

  The shopkeeper smiled. “Unicorn blood,” he said, “is sometimes called Liquid Life. Just a few drops will cure you of your ills and boost your strength. It’s very rare. And very expensive, which is the quality I like best.”

  And there it was: what Daniel had hoped was not true. Silver was ill. There was no other explanation. And the treasure was a cure.

  When he left the Bazaar, the cold of the night had sharpened, and the snow was falling harder. He pulled his coat and scarf tight, leaned into the wind as he walked.

  In Central Park, trees sagged under the weight of the snow. Daniel’s feet crunched through the sparkling white canvas, leaving footprints. When he reached the darkest part of the path, where it wound under the little footbridge, he was struck again by the strong sense that someone was following.

  He cast a quick glance back the way he’d come.

  He was not alone.

  Through the falling snow, he saw a figure in a long brown coat, and recognised it as the customer he’d seen in the Bazaar. The figure slowed as Daniel turned, as though trying not to look suspicious. And then something happened – something that turned Daniel’s spine to ice. Two glowing dots appeared on the figure’s face, burning orange like cigarette ends.

  They were eyes.

  Daniel could see the entrance to the park, two hundred metres away.

  He began to run.

  Cold air burned his lungs as his feet pounded the snow. The gate drew nearer with every step, but the man was catching up. Daniel’s blood froze as a hand grabbed at his coat. He squirmed and yelped, managing to slip out of his coat, landing a wild blow to the man’s ear. He broke free and tore through the gate to the streets. The Emporium was only a block away.