A thunderous ripping was accompanied by a draught of air. She sucked it in. Automatically and unthinkingly first and then, gradually, with new awareness. There was a strange sound, muffled and distant but getting closer. Voices. Calling her name. One voice in particular set her pulse racing and brought her thudding back to full consciousness. Fleet.
Blinding light against her closed eyelids. Instinctively, she kept them shut, even though she wanted to see what was happening. There was new air, that was clear, but there was a pattering of earth all around. Then a shout. ‘I’ve got something.’
‘That’s it,’ Fleet’s voice. Unmistakable. ‘Careful. She’s underneath.’
More digging. More shouts and more air.
‘Hang on, Lydia,’ Fleet was saying from somewhere above.
And then there was a release of pressure from around her arms and torso. A voice she didn’t recognise told her to keep her eyes shut, and that they were going to cover them to be sure. ‘Too much light too quickly can damage your retinas.’
Her eyes were stinging, so Lydia could easily believe that. It was nothing, however, to the pain which was flooding through her body.
‘Careful. Careful. Okay, Lydia, stay put, okay? We’re going to dig around you some more before we move you. Just hang in there, you’re doing great.’
The rest of the rescue was a little hazy. Now that Lydia was back in her body, feeling the pain of her cramped muscles and the burning in her chest and throat, it was taking all of her concentration to hold still and not cry.
After what seemed like hours, but was later explained to be mere minutes, she was hauled out from underneath the throne.
Her face was rinsed with water and soft material bound over her eyes to stop her from opening them too quickly. Fleet’s signature grew stronger and then she felt his hand taking hers and squeezing gently. ‘We’re going to the hospital to get you checked over.’
‘Do it here,’ Lydia said, her voice nothing more than a cracked whisper. She coughed violently and tried again.
‘No can do,’ the voice of the paramedic was closer than Lydia expected. Her blindness made her feel vulnerable.
‘You need to be checked. And hydrated.’
Lydia wanted to argue but her throat hurt too much to speak. She shook her head, but could feel a deeper darkness encroaching.
* * *
When Lydia woke up, she knew instantly that she had lost the battle. She was in hospital. The institutional smell was unmistakable, along with the squeaking sound of footsteps on rubber flooring, and rings rattling on a rail as a curtain was pulled somewhere in the room.
Her tongue felt swollen, stuck to the roof of her mouth. She tried to produce some saliva, but her mouth felt desiccated. And her throat was raw. She peeled her lips open. ‘Water.’
There was a rustle of movement.
‘I’m here,’ Fleet’s voice was reassuringly close. ‘Watch out, straw incoming.’
The water was possibly the best thing she had ever tasted. It beat the finest malt hands down. Although, now she had thought of whisky, she really wanted a nip. That would take the edge off the discomfort.
Besides, she’d had one hell of a day. She deserved a drink.
There was still something over her eyes. She opened them and saw the darkness of the material blindfold. Pinpricks of light exploded, and she waited for them to calm down before pulling the material.
‘They said you have to keep… Never mind.’
Her eyes hurt, were streaming in the light, but Lydia blinked lots and the stinging gradually eased. Her vision returned, and the blurry shapes resolved into a bed with NHS blanket. A pale green chair pulled up close holding a worried-looking DCI.
‘Hey,’ Fleet said. ‘That’s gotta hurt.’
‘Worth it,’ Lydia said, drinking in the sight. ‘You’re okay?’
‘I’m fine.’ Fleet’s mouth turned up at the corners. ‘And I think I’m the one who should be asking that.’
‘I’m sorry about your flat.’
‘It’s just stuff,’ Fleet said.
‘I’m sorry I pointed Maddie at you. The fire’s my fault. I just couldn’t have her go anywhere near Emma. Her kids…’
Lydia’s eyes were stinging and she blinked furiously.
‘It was the right call,’ Fleet said, taking her hand. ‘I’m just glad it worked.’
‘Thank Feathers you were staying at The Fork,’ Lydia said, smiling a little. ‘What were the chances?’
Fleet’s tentative smile matched her own. ‘Yeah. Lucky that. Precognition paranoia for the win.’
‘And listening to your very wise girlfriend.’
‘That, too.’ He squeezed her hand.
* * *
The doctor explained that Lydia was extremely lucky. She didn’t have crush syndrome or any of the other nasty-sounding hazards of being in a cave-in. She had been dehydrated, but they’d run fluid through an IV and her vitals were all looking good. ‘Your blood oxygen is normal, which is excellent news, and there is no sign of organ or tissue damage.’
‘Did they find the others?’
‘Gale’s body was recovered, but nobody else so far.’ He squeezed her hand gently.
Lydia hoped the Pearl girl had made it out. She wasn’t a member of the court and moved above ground so she assumed she wouldn’t have crumbled like the old ones. She might have been a Pearl and an emissary of the court, but she was still just a kid.
‘Maddie?’
Fleet shook his head. ‘No sign. Yet.’
Lydia let her head fall back on the pillows. Hell Hawk. Of course she had escaped. It would be too much to ask that Maddie would have conveniently laid down and accepted death under the ground. She was too determined and too strong to let a little thing like being buried alive stop her.
A nurse wheeling a blood pressure monitor arrived to check on Lydia. ‘Visiting hours finish at four,’ he said to Fleet.
Fleet presented his warrant card, and the nurse rolled his eyes. ‘Suit yourself. But don’t blame me if one of the others yell at you. It’s for infection control, you know.’
‘It’s fine,’ Lydia said. ‘You can go and check on your place. Maybe it’s not as bad as we think. You might be able to salvage some of your stuff.’
‘I’m not leaving.’
‘Really, it’s fine. I’m going to take a nap before dinner.’ The blood pressure cuff was inflating automatically, and the nurse was washing his hands and pretending not to listen. She lowered her voice. ‘If you wanted to come back in later with some takeaway, I wouldn’t complain. I’m not excited at the prospect of hospital food.’ She glanced at the nurse. ‘No offence.’
‘None taken, treasure.’ He released her from the cuff and Lydia rubbed her arm to get the feeling back. ‘Especially if you want to bring in a little extra for me.’ He winked at Fleet and moved to the next bed. There were four in the room, but only one other was currently occupied. Lydia assumed that wouldn’t last and, if she had any intention of staying put, she would be worried about being able to sleep surrounded by strangers.
As soon as Fleet had left, Lydia got up and sussed out her exit route. Luckily, the staff were swamped with duties and the corridor outside the ward was deserted. There was a door open at the end which revealed a small office. She was in her rights to sign herself out, but it would be quicker and easier just to leave. She was still plugged into an IV, but after a couple of deep breaths, she pulled that out and held the puncture site until it stopped bleeding.
Clothes next. The locker next to the bed contained the bag that Fleet had brought and, thank feathers, it revealed clean jeans, underwear and a loose T-shirt. The curtains were closed around the other occupied bed so nobody had to witness the humiliating sight of Lydia getting winded after putting on her jeans and having to sit on the bed for a few moments until the room stopped spinning.
It occurred to her that it was a sign she should be resting in bed, but she couldn’t stay still. Maddie’s body hadn’t been
found. That meant she was out there somewhere. Maybe she was hurt and lying low to recover. Maybe she was still trapped underground. Or maybe she had got out before Lydia, discovered that Fleet hadn’t really been in his flat when the fire took hold and was, at this very moment, following him with a gun.
No. Maddie wasn’t superhuman. Lydia did up the laces on her Docs while she calmed herself down. If Maddie had escaped from the cave-in, she wouldn’t have been completely unscathed. She would check hospitals. Just because the crew hadn’t pulled her out didn’t mean she hadn’t been hurt. If she needed help, she would have given a false name, or maybe she collapsed on her way out of Highgate and was picked up. She could be lying in a bed in this very building, about to wake up any moment. What would she do then?
Docs on, T-shirt over head and jeans done up, Lydia was ready to move. The drawn curtains seemed to grow larger in her vision. They were hiding the bed. What were the chances? Suddenly, she was seized by a sense of dread. What if Maddie was lying in the bed next to her, hidden by those anonymous blank curtains? Her mind flashed through the images. Maddie found unconscious or delirious with concussion, rushed into the emergency department, treated and then shunted up here to this room. Maddie lying awake and fully alert, listening to Lydia speaking to Fleet. Fury that her plan to get rid of him had failed. Was that a shadow behind the curtain? A figure standing just the other side of the pale material, gathering strength to attack?
She had no weapon. There was a plastic jug and a cup on the table and nothing else. Not even a pen or pencil. She didn’t know if she would be able to stab Maddie with a pen, but it would be nice to feel she had the option.
She produced her coin and squeezed it. Whether it was the adrenaline spike or her Crow magic, strength seemed to flow through her body. She stood, every sense on alert. She could hear Maddie breathing, but there were no other sounds from behind the curtain. Maddie was standing very still. Waiting.
Lydia knew she had to act fast. If she failed, Maddie would kill her. And if they attracted attention, she might hurt the staff or other patients, too. She launched herself across the gap between her bed and the curtains, aiming for the middle of the shadow, hoping to wind Maddie with her first blow.
Lydia stumbled forward, almost falling. She had empty fabric gathered in her fists and forward momentum carried her onward, her feet hitting the edge of the bed. She released the curtains and fell through, palms out to catch herself.
A woman with grey curled hair and a pale pink nightdress was standing on the other side of the bed, a cup of orange squash in her hand. She looked at Lydia with undisguised disgust. ‘What the fuck are you playing at?’
Lydia apologised. ‘Tripped.’
‘Aye, right,’ the woman said, calming a little. ‘Mebbe stick to your side, eh?’
Lydia apologised again. Her heart was hammering, and she wiped her palms on her jeans.
It was official. She was going mad.
She had just poured a glass of room temperature water from the plastic jug and was chugging it down, when her phone buzzed with a text. It was Maddie.
Roof. Now.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
There was no choice. If Lydia didn’t obey Maddie and meet her on the roof of the hospital, she would come looking for her. At this moment, there was a chance that Maddie believed Fleet to be dead. If she came to the ward, she might be there when Fleet came back with dinner.
Besides. This had to end.
At least she had seen Fleet one last time, Lydia thought as she got into the lift. At the top floor, she had to leave the lift and take the last flight of stairs to the roof. Her muscles seemed to be obeying her and she could breathe steadily, which was a relief. Still, getting trapped underground for a few hours wasn’t the best preparation for tackling a trained killer in combat. She squeezed her coin and imagined strength and power flowing from it. She wasn’t sure whether she could feel anything, but the shape and weight of the coin in her palm was comforting.
The sky was black and there was a little rain falling when Lydia pushed through the door to the roof. The drops struck her face, stinging her raw skin. She hadn’t looked in a mirror since waking up in hospital and it crossed her mind that she might be horribly disfigured. Another great reason to end it all today.
Maddie was standing near to the low metal fence which edged the roof. She turned as Lydia approached and smiled like she had won the lottery. It reminded Lydia of her recurrent nightmare. Maddie on the roof looking like it was her birthday, wedding and Christmas all rolled together. At least Fleet wasn’t here. That was the small comfort. She had kept him safe. He would be angry that she had faced Maddie alone and the message she had left with Auntie wouldn’t help much, but he would be alive to be angry with her. That was what mattered.
‘You made it,’ Maddie said.
‘I didn’t have much choice,’ Lydia said, stopping a couple of feet from Maddie. ‘Are you going to threaten to kill me, again, because that’s getting old.’
Maddie’s smile dimmed. ‘You should show me more respect.’
‘I’m here, aren’t I?’ Lydia had walked slowly and with a slight limp. Now, she shifted as if in pain, and made sure to keep her posture slightly bowed. Beaten. In pain. Weak. ‘Speaking of which, how did you get out unscathed?’
In truth, Maddie wasn’t looking too clever. Her face and arms were smudged with dirt and blood, and her hair was matted, sticking out wildly on one side. When she had turned, Lydia had seen her holding her side, as if injured, although she had dropped her hands, now. They hung, open and ready for action. ‘That was wild,’ Maddie said. ‘You weren’t lying about the Pearls.’
‘So, what’s next for you?’
‘That depends.’
‘You’ve got the cup. You’ve killed your handler. And now your handler’s handler is dead, too. What is keeping you here?’
‘I think you know the answer to that.’
‘I don’t.’
‘I’m proud of you,’ Maddie said, and it sounded strangely sincere. ‘You killed him. I knew you could do it.’
‘That was the king. I didn’t…’
‘You walked Gale into that place knowing he wouldn’t come out. Same thing as pulling the trigger.’
Lydia shook her head, ignoring the throb of pain in her temples. ‘It really isn’t.’
‘It’s okay,’ Maddie took a step closer. ‘We’re not like other people, you and me, we’re special.’
Lydia wanted to say that she wasn’t anything like Maddie, but her mouth was full of feathers, choking back the lie.
‘I know you see it, now. We should be together. That’s why I sent a warning to your pet policeman.’ She pulled a mock-sorrowful face, bottom lip out. ‘I hope you’re not too cross about that. I gave him a fighting chance, at least.’
‘You arranged the fire.’
‘Like I said, he had a chance to get out. But he didn’t, did he? I saw the news.’
‘You murdered him.’ Lydia didn’t think she was a wonderful actress, but found she didn’t need to dig very deeply to sound outraged and devastated.
‘I set you free,’ Maddie said. ‘He was always going to hold you back.’
‘You want me to come with you?’
Maddie laughed and shook her head. ‘I think I should stay here. We could run the Family together. I can take it from you, but I would rather we teamed up. I’m tired of being alone.’
‘It’s hard to get enthusiastic after seeing your last business partner. I don’t fancy ending up hanging from a tree.’
Maddie waved a hand, dismissing Sergio Bastos. ‘He wasn’t my partner. It would be completely different for us.’
‘For a while,’ Lydia said. ‘Until you get bored. Or I piss you off.’
‘You already piss me off,’ Maddie snapped. ‘I’ve never known anybody to be as annoyingly stubborn as you. Except me.’ She smiled again, showing the impeccable orthodontic work that had no doubt set back Uncle John a fair whack. ‘That’s t
he point. We’re made for each other.’
‘Is that why you wanted Fleet out of my life?’
‘Of course. I need space in your heart. I’m very needy. You know that.’
Lydia could feel Maddie’s power plucking at her. She forced herself to relax, to let it happen. She had to let Maddie feel safe and in control. ‘I can’t do it. You killed Fleet. You killed Sergio. You’re basically a monster.’
Anger and disappointment flashed across Maddie’s face before her features smoothed. ‘I guess I was wrong about you. You don’t understand, after all. Oh well.’
Lydia felt her legs pulled by Maddie’s power. In her mind, she welded her feet to the ground. In reality, she stumbled toward the edge of the roof, powerless to stop her legs from moving. She didn’t have to pretend to show sudden terror. ‘So, this is it? Bit unimaginative. Thought you might mix it up.’
Maddie laughed, and the sound cut through Lydia. She was so far gone, she barely seemed human. Whatever was left of the girl Lydia remembered from her childhood, it was surely burned away by her actions. That was something her mother had said when Lydia was very young. People weren’t good or bad, they did good or bad things. It didn’t matter what you thought, it mattered what you did.
‘I will find everyone you have ever cared for, you know.’
The wind was blowing straight into Lydia’s face, making her eyes water. She blinked to clear her vision and felt the salt water cold on her cheeks.
‘Fleet was just the start.’
‘They haven’t done anything to you,’ Lydia said, hating the wobble in her voice even though she knew it was a good thing. The weaker and more defeated Maddie thought she was, the more chance Lydia had of catching her off guard.
‘You know that’s not true,’ Maddie said.
Hating herself as she did so, Lydia made a last attempt to protect Emma and her parents. If this plan didn’t work and Maddie survived, she had to put her off the scent. Of course, that meant putting somebody else in danger, but Lydia had never claimed to be a good person. ‘It’s Paul. He’s the reason I can’t leave.’
The Shadow Wing Page 21