by Nick Moseley
The Custodians’ line was close to breaking. They were pinned back against the burnt-out house, unable to retreat or fight their way out. The barghests crashed against their defences in waves, biting, clawing, snarling. The Custodians’ vapour weapons inflicted hit after hit, but none of the injured beasts remained out of the fight for long. The defenders had no such luxury. Their injured didn’t even have time to bandage their wounds.
As Trev approached, it became clear that the Custodians would already have fallen were it not for one man. Ezekiel Barker fought like a machine. His green blade moved with speed and efficiency, blocking attacks and lashing out to land precise strikes. McKenzie, who a few minutes previously had been trying to disarm and arrest Barker, now battled alongside him.
Trev joined the fray at a sprint, channelling his anger into a controlled ferocity. He waded into the pack of barghests, laying about him with his weapons. Startled by the sudden appearance of this new threat, the creatures scattered. Trev went after them with a recklessness that surprised even him.
‘Get to the house!’ McKenzie yelled, pointing at number seventy-nine. The Custodians scrambled to obey her, moving as fast as their walking wounded would allow. They left two bodies behind in the blood-splattered snow, lifeless and torn.
‘Trev! Inside!’ Sarah called from the doorway.
The barghests had recovered from the surprise of Trev’s flanking attack and he was in danger of being cut off. He struck down the nearest beast and ran for the house. Sarah fired past him with Barker’s revolver, and a yelp behind Trev confirmed that she’d scored some hits. He bowled through the door and it was slammed shut behind him. The Custodians began piling up scaffolding poles, bricks, workbenches and anything else they could grab, doing their best to block access. Trev holstered his weapons and helped where he could.
The only light came from the Custodians’ torches. They were in the living room, which had been stripped of all its fixtures, fittings and carpets. Boots echoed on the bare floorboards. People grunted with exertion or moaned with pain. Nobody spoke until both the front and back doors had been barricaded.
‘Who’s wounded?’ asked McKenzie.
‘Shit, look at Barton,’ said Young, pointing.
Barton was slumped with his back to a wall. His left arm was a bloodied mess. Strachan ran to him, pulling a small first aid kit from her duty belt.
‘Bloody hell,’ she said. ‘Ralph, can you hear me?’
‘Burning,’ said Barton through gritted teeth.
‘Barghest saliva is toxic,’ said Barker. ‘He needs a dose of vaccine.’
There was a crash as a barghest threw itself against the door. It was quickly followed by a second impact.
‘We’ve got to get out of here first,’ said Trev. Without his vapour weapons’ influence, he felt light-headed and afraid. ‘Any ideas?’
The banging at the door continued. The Custodians shored up the barricade, but it was obvious it wouldn’t hold for long.
‘Nothing leaps to mind,’ said Barker. ‘I would have suggested an attempt to hold the first floor, but…’
He pointed to the gap where the staircase had once been. It had been removed by the demolition crew. There was an impact at the back door. Then the steel shutters bolted over the windows rattled as barghests hit those as well.
Sarah joined Trev and Barker. In the torchlight her face was very pale. She handed the revolver to Barker, who emptied and reloaded it. Trev gave her shoulder a squeeze.
‘I thought you were going to run off and leave us,’ she said.
‘Smith was controlling the barghests,’ said Trev. ‘I thought if I took him down they’d stop attacking us.’
Barker shook his head. ‘I doubt that would have worked.’
‘The kitchen is the smaller room, so it’s more defensible,’ said McKenzie, speaking to the group. ‘If we’re going to make a stand, we should set up in there.’
‘Defensible?’ said Young. ‘Against those things?’
‘Don’t we have backup?’ asked Trev.
‘I’ve called it in, but we’ll have to hold out until it arrives,’ said McKenzie.
‘They would be walking into a slaughter,’ said Barker. ‘I suggest you tell them not to come. If we have to die, I see no reason to encourage others to die with us.’
‘Cheerful stuff,’ said Oscar from the depths of Trev’s pocket.
‘Let’s just give him that thing he wants!’ said one of the Custodians, a red-haired man whom Trev hadn’t met before.
‘He means to kill us whether we hand over the Key or not,’ said Barker. ‘As such, I intend to ensure that he works for it.’
Trev grabbed Barker’s arm. ‘The Key,’ he said. ‘Do you know how to use it?’
‘I have tried,’ Barker replied. ‘It did not respond to me.’
‘What does it do?’ asked McKenzie.
‘It opens gateways to other dimensions,’ said Trev.
She stared at him. ‘Seriously?’
‘Seriously. If we can make it work, we could use it to escape.’
‘Escape to where, though?’
‘Well, probably Dark Limbo,’ Trev admitted. ‘But I’d rather take my chances with the Shades than those things outside.’
As if to illustrate his point, another impact bent the front door in its frame. The sound of snarling and scratching claws reached them through the gap. McKenzie reached into her pocket and produced the Key, which she handed to Trev.
‘Do it,’ she said.
‘What, me?’ Trev stared down at the brass wheel in his hand. It seemed inert, a lump of old metal. ‘I haven’t a clue how it works!’
‘You’ve got more idea than I have,’ snapped McKenzie. She joined the other Custodians in trying to secure the doors and windows.
Trev swallowed and ransacked his memory for Agatha’s story. As she’d told it, Prescott Ewart had turned the Key like a valve handle, first one way and then the other. The crystal in the centre of the wheel had apparently glowed to indicate the artefact was working.
He held up the Key and turned it. Nothing happened. The crystal remained an unremarkable milky white and no mystical doorways opened in the air. He swore quietly.
‘Any thoughts?’ he asked his pocket.
‘Feed some energy into it,’ Oscar suggested.
Trev shunted some energy out of his core and tried to force it into the Key, in the same way he’d power a vapour weapon. Again there was no response.
‘Nothing,’ Trev said.
‘Well,’ said Oscar, ‘that’s us buggered, then.’
Trev gnawed the inside of his cheek. He had the means of their salvation right there in his hand, and he couldn’t make the bloody thing work. It was like leaping out of a burning aircraft with a parachute, only to discover that it had no ripcord.
The barghests, as if sensing the end was at hand, increased their efforts, crashing against the house in such quick succession the impacts blended into each other. One of the bolts holding a window shutter sheared off and a barghest forced its head through the resulting gap. It quickly withdrew when Sarah shot it in the eye.
‘If you’re going to do something, Trev, it needs to be soon!’ shouted McKenzie. The gunshot had been deafening.
The front door was coming away from its frame. Shouts from the kitchen indicated that the back door wasn’t faring much better. Meanwhile, Trev’s mind had gone blank. He couldn’t think of anything else to try. His last sliver of good luck had finally deserted him, melting away into the night air. He’d known it was going to happen, but that didn’t make it any easier to take.
He was surprised to feel his fear being replaced by anger and frustration. Anger at Smith, of course, but also anger at himself for his failure. The frustration was directed at the Custodians, and Granddad, and everyone else who’d elected him as a hero and saviour without bothering to consult him. Even now, as death hammered at the walls surrounding them, a group of well-trained and armed men and women were looking over t
heir shoulders at him, the outsider, a bloody estate agent, waiting for him to save them all.
Bollocks to the lot of you, Trev thought. The darkness inside him, Bad Trev, responded excitedly to these thoughts, threatening to take control one last time.
And the crystal in the centre of the Key lit up.
‘Holy shit,’ said Trev.
The artefact began tapping his psychic energy. It wasn’t a steady drain, like using a vapour weapon. It was as if the Key had measured off a huge chunk of his available reserves and was waiting to use it. Trev understood that wherever they ended up, he wouldn’t be able to bring them back anytime soon.
‘It’s working!’ he shouted. ‘Grab onto me!’
He crossed the room to where Barton was slumped. McKenzie shouted instructions to the other Custodians, who abandoned their defensive positions and ran to Trev. They gathered around him, taking hold. McKenzie and Barker were the last to join the group. With nobody to fend them off, the barghests would soon force their way into the house.
All right, then. Trev turned the Key. At first it turned easily. Trev felt a strange pulling sensation. It wasn’t pleasant. He heard a whispering inside his head as the Key turned, and recognised the sound of Shades. Dark Limbo. He knew he could take them all there, but was there a better option?
He continued turning the Key. The sound of Shades faded away. This is like tuning in an old-fashioned radio, Trev thought. I just need to find somewhere safe on the dial.
‘Anytime you’re ready,’ said McKenzie.
Barghests were almost inside. Orange light from a dozen glowing eyes showed at all the gaps in doors and windows.
Trev felt a roaring noise in his head. The void dimension. He wasn’t going to take them all there. The Key was becoming more difficult to turn. Whatever the next destination was, he’d probably have to take it, good or bad.
A barghest forced its way into the gap in the window shutter, wriggling its way inside. Another was doing the same at the front door, teeth snapping at the prey it could see but not yet reach.
‘Trev,’ said Sarah, her grip tightening on his arm.
He didn’t reply, focused on turning the Key. There must be somewhere else, he told himself. And suddenly, there was. A sensation of quiet emptiness came over him. Unlike the previous destinations, he felt no sense of threat or danger. That’ll do, he thought.
The two barghests crashed into the room in a tangle of teeth and claws.
‘Barton, grab on,’ Trev said from between his teeth.
The barghests leapt.
Barton’s hand took hold of Trev’s ankle.
Trev turned the Key in the opposite direction.
Thirty-One
Everything went white.
There was the feeling of falling in every possible direction at once, and then they were falling in just one direction – down. Fortunately it was only a foot or so, but they were all so disoriented it was enough to send everyone sprawling.
Trev hit the ground on his side, coughing. Using the Key had taken every last scrap of psychic energy he had. He felt like he’d been hollowed out. Dark spots swam in front of his eyes. He rolled onto his back and got his breathing under control.
‘Did everybody make it?’ McKenzie asked.
She was answered by a coughs, grunts and moans. Trev put out a hand and felt the floor beneath him. It was smooth stone. His fingers found a joint in the surface and followed it to another, at right angles to it. Blocks, then. And dusty, too, judging by his fingertips. The nausea and blurred vision abated and he lifted himself on one elbow for a look around.
They were in a cavernous hall. A soft light surrounded them, forming a broad circle of illumination. Trev couldn’t see the source of the light; it was just there. Beyond the circle lay thick shadows. It was impossible to see the extent of the room, or even the ceiling, which was lost in the blackness above. Thick stone pillars, well-built but unornamented, stood at broadly-spaced intervals.
Roughly in the centre of the pool of light was a tall structure. Steps led up to a raised dais on which stood a vertical ring of stone, some ten feet in diameter. Trev thought he could see metal inlays built into the ring. Whether the structure was artistic in nature or had once served some practical purpose, it was difficult to guess.
Trev was struck by how ancient it all looked. Whatever this place was, he was somehow sure that nobody had visited it for a very long time. The air was dry and stale, and a thin layer of dust coated everything.
‘We need to get out of here,’ said Oscar. He’d liberated himself from Trev’s pocket and was standing next to him, whiskers quivering.
‘What’s wrong?’ Trev asked.
‘I don’t know, but this place is rating eleven out of ten on the creepiness scale. Can’t you feel it?’
Trev frowned. He wasn’t as sensitive as Oscar, but he couldn’t deny that behind the feeling of ancient emptiness, there was something else. Something unsettling. It made him wonder if the place was as deserted as it appeared to be.
‘Maybe,’ he replied. ‘Still, better than being ripped to shreds by those barghests.’
The Custodians were sorting themselves out, getting to their feet and checking injuries. Barton stayed lying on the floor, his breath ragged. McKenzie crouched next to him and touched his shoulder.
‘Ralph?’ He didn’t respond. ‘Suzanne, get over here.’
Strachan knelt beside them, unpacking her first aid kit. The other Custodians crowded around. From what Trev could see the wounds on Barton’s arm were blackening, almost as if he’d been burned rather than bitten. It was an unpleasant sight.
‘Back up, all of you,’ said McKenzie. ‘Give him some room.’
Trev walked away a few paces. There was nothing he could do to help. Barton was the most badly injured, but few had escaped the barghests unscathed. Trev saw two others who’d suffered bites. Although they were conscious, they looked to be in some pain.
‘Are you all right?’
Sarah had walked up to him while he was distracted. He gave her a weak smile.
‘I feel like I’ve been turned upside down and emptied, but other than that I’m OK,’ he replied. ‘You?’
‘Shaken up,’ she admitted. She stepped forwards and gave him a quick hug. ‘Well done for getting us out of there.’
‘No problem,’ said Trev. The hug, brief as it was, had really lifted his spirits. ‘I just wish I knew where I’ve brought us.’
‘Can you get us back?’
‘Not at the moment. Using that thing’s cleaned me out.’
He stared down at the Key. The crystal was unlit. The artefact had gone back to being a plain lump of metal. Who made it? Trev wondered. Where did it come from?
‘People have been trying to kill Ezekiel for it,’ Sarah said. ‘I can understand why, now.’
‘No kidding.’ Trev glanced around the room, looking for Barker. He had detached himself from the group and was standing near the stone ring, staring at it with his arms folded. ‘What’s the story with you two? I thought he was holding you hostage.’
‘He was, to start with.’ Sarah looked down at her shoes, then up at Trev. ‘The Eyes of Nona sent me to steal the Key from him.’
‘I know,’ said Trev. ‘I spoke to Nona the other night. She’s quite the character.’
‘You spoke to Nona?’ Sarah’s expression of wide-eyed surprise would have been funny under less trying circumstances.
‘Yeah, she abducted me and Granddad for a little chat. Did you know she was a cat?’
‘Um… what?’
‘I’ll take that as a no.’ Trev picked up Oscar and the kitten clambered along his arm and onto his shoulder. ‘There are cats out there that aren’t really cats. Like my adorable little friend here.’
‘You’re a funny man,’ said Oscar. ‘You’d look even funnier with one ear clawed off.’
Sarah, not having the Sight, couldn’t hear him. ‘If they’re not cats, what are they?’
‘Ancient
feline spirits from another plane of existence who’ve taken up residence in earthly bodies,’ said Trev.
There was a pause.
‘Really?’
‘Really.’
‘And they talk?’
‘Yes, but unless you’ve got the Sight you can’t hear them.’
‘And Nona’s one of them.’
‘Yup. So you never met her while you were working for the Eyes?’
Sarah shook her head. ‘I got all my instructions from a man called Liszt.’
‘Met him too,’ said Trev. ‘Bit of a wanker.’
‘That’s him,’ Sarah agreed.
‘How did you end up working for the Eyes in the first place?’
‘They recruited me when I wasn’t old enough to know better.’
‘What were you doing to get recruited by a secret society?’
Sarah shrugged. ‘I did a bit of hacking when I was a teenager. Got into the wrong system one day and attracted the Eyes’ attention. They gave me a choice between working for them or being handed over to the police. I didn’t fancy prison and the money seemed good, so…’
‘Do the Eyes use a lot of hackers then?’
‘How do you think they get all the information they broker?’ Sarah asked him. ‘Hacking’s a major resource. Although they also use more old-fashioned means like blackmail, bribery and seduction, of course.’
‘I suppose my case comes under the “seduction” bracket, then?’ asked Trev.
‘Wow, you just came right out and asked,’ remarked Oscar. ‘And people tell me subtlety is a dying art.’
Sarah flushed. ‘It wasn’t like that,’ she said.
Trev immediately regretted asking the question. He decided on an urgent change of subject. ‘So what happened with Barker? Nona seems to think you’re working with him now.’
‘The Eyes screwed me over,’ Sarah replied. She flicked at her hair. ‘They made me look like Ezekiel’s dead fiancée so that I could get his confidence and steal the Key from him. I didn’t like doing it, but I wasn’t given a choice.’
‘Barker saw through you?’
‘It wasn’t that, as such. The Eyes sent someone with me, a man I hadn’t met before. He called himself Mendelssohn. You know the silly code names the Eyes are given, right? Famous composers.’