by P M Cole
Locked.
I wondered if it was the same for everyone else. If we were attacked it might prove to be a problem. I walked towards the bed and opened my coat, taking Auto from my pocket and placing him on the sideboard.
‘F…u…r…i…’
“Shh… You have to be quiet in this castle. The sound might travel, and I really do not want to have to explain what you are. I think the Furies have gone. But they took Katerina with them, and Colin is poorly…”
His wings clacked on his side.
“They probably took her back to Hades. But we will get her back.”
‘H…o…w…?’
The sounds he made were thankfully quieter, but that didn’t make the question any easier. I sat on the soft sheets and pulled out a bread roll I had hidden up my sleeve, placing it to my side. “I don’t know. I don’t even know how we are going to leave this island. The Dirigible is finished.”
I was too exhausted to eat, so I took my coat off, slipped the roll back into the sleeve, and then lay back on the pillow. The day's events flashed before my eyes, each one almost startling me back to consciousness, but sleep came quickly regardless.
I awoke with a start into a dark room, the lamps seemingly having extinguished themselves, with only the light of the moon showing me the walls, drawers, and Hades.
I went to scream but nothing came from my throat, so instead I scrambled from the side of my bed, trying to sense any metal I could around me.
“How did—”
Hades smiled. He was dressed in his usual shirt, black winter coat, and hat. He also had his new silver dog-headed walking stick.
He realised what I was looking at. “It took a great expense, but I was able to acquire the necessary materials to refashion the staff of Cerberus.”
“How are you here!” I cried.
He lifted the stick and pointed at the bed. “Oh, but I am not ‘here’, wherever ‘here’ is. Somewhere in the wilds of Scotland?”
I looked down at myself still on the bed, eyes closed, sleeping… "This is a dream? How are you in my dream?” I asked, but I already knew the answer. He and I were connected. A familial bond. It was what explained the awful visions I had been seeing. I had been glimpsing into the mind of a demon, and his warped plans.
“Get out of my head!” I shouted, not knowing if the sound was real or not.
“I will return soon enough, but you should know it caused me great sadness what you did to Grace. Me and her did not always see eye to eye, but as with all of you, she had an important role to play in future events. Anyway, I had planned to keep some of those you felt were dear to you, alive. So you would have some friends to converse with once all of this is over. But alas, you have lost that privilege.”
“I didn’t want to kill her! You forced her to fight in that stupid trial!”
His face turned angry and he walked towards me causing me to back up against the wall. “Stupid child! She wanted to fight you! She wanted to prove herself! And she believed in what I could do for those of this realm! Daniel believed too, until you took him from me!”
Anger surged through me. “He never believed in anything you wanted! You tricked him! Like you tricked all of them!” I pushed off of the wall, until I was just mere inches from his face. “I’m going to stop you.”
He smiled then turned and walked a few paces away. “Hmm, well you are the fruits of my loins as it were, so maybe you will, but not before I lay waste to your precious London, and all that lie within it. Cassandra and that scientist have been hard at work, and even you would marvel at what they have achieved… Such raw power, in such a small device. One day maybe the humans won’t even need magic!”
No…
He looked around the room. “How many hundreds of miles are you from the capital? Two hundred? Three? And without your little magic tricks to—” he wiggled his fingers, “—carry you across the sky, you will not make it back by sunset tomorrow. But please do come and see the aftermath. Perhaps that will convince you to join with me.”
He smiled, touching the tip of his hat, and was gone.
I opened my eyes to the same dark room, and immediately scrambled backwards to the headboard then fumbled to light the closest lamp. Its flame showed no sign of the demon. My forehead felt damp and my heart was pounding. I was still in my clothes, which I quickly had to pull myself partly free of due to the heat emanating from my skin. I allowed the cool air to calm me, then swung my legs around so my feet could touch the floor.
As I sat there, it suddenly came to me what he meant by ‘aftermath’. He was going to explode one of his bombs in the city I called home.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
A knock boomed in my head and my eyes flicked open. Before I was even fully conscious, I was scanning the room for Hades' presence. On realising I was alone, I sighed in relief and my thundering heart returned to some form of regular rhythm.
The knock came again, this time harder.
“Yes?” I meekly said.
“It’s 7:05 a.m. I do not serve breakfast in bed! If you want to eat this morn, then you better be downstairs within the next five minutes!”
“Sorry, I—” The fading steps confirmed she didn’t care for my excuses.
I had a headache, but that was the least of my concerns. I was sure what I had seen in the middle of night was real, as was the intent he had informed me of. Who knew for what perverted reason he wanted to lay waste to London, maybe it would serve as a demonstration to others of his power, or maybe he just grew tired of being stuck in this realm? Whatever it may be, there wasn’t much I could do about it on a Scottish island hundreds of miles away. Even travelling by locomotive would take a day to return, unless…
Another knock came at the door, this time softer.
“Seeing you weren’t going to come down stairs, I thought I’d bring breakfast to you,” said Lucas.
I smiled, then walked across the cold wood floor reaching for the handle then realised I couldn’t open it. “I’m afraid it is locked.”
A clicking sound came from the other side and the door opened towards me. Lucas was standing with a platter containing some boiled eggs, a buttered roll, and a glass of milk. He also held up the key. “I took the liberty of asking Mrs Ross for it. It’s a master which opens all of our rooms. Can’t say I really blamed them for locking us in. I would have done the same. Can I come in?”
I stepped back. “Please.”
He laid the metal tray down on the end of the bed.
“Nice room, I slept in a chair all night with Daniel in another. Colin had the bed.”
“How is he?”
“In some pain but sitting up and talking. He asked about you.”
I sat on the bed and started to eat one of the eggs. “I will visit him after I have eaten…”
“What is it?”
My father visited me in my sleep… In my dream.
Lucas pulled a small footstool from the wall and sat on it. “He did? What did he say?”
“You remember the weapons I told you he has? That he and Cassandra along with a scientist are building?”
Lucas nodded.
“I think he means to detonate one of them in London…”
A look of horror flashed across Lucas’s face. “But you said their power is many times greater than gunpowder?”
“It will destroy the buildings, people, everything… I have seen it in my dreams.”
Lucas looked down, sliding his hand across his beard. “Why would he destroy his home? He wants to rule this realm for himself, why do that?”
“Maybe as a lesson to me, to others...” I shook my head. “I don’t know, but he will do it.”
“How long do we have?”
“I think he means to do it by nightfall.”
“Nightfall!” Lucas stood. “But without the dirigible how will we make it back in time to stop him?”
“Is there not some magical way to get us there?”
Lucas looked pensive. “There a
re ways... maybe we could open a portal, but the magic required would be immense, more than—”
Auto clacked his wings.
“You can speak, what is it?”
’Y…o…u…M…a…k…e…T…r…a…i…n.’
“Yes! A train!”
Lucas looked confused. “Even if we left straight away, it would be an hour back to the mainland, and then if we caught a train straight away that could run through the icy conditions, we would still arrive after nightfall.”
While he was talking, my earlier thoughts returned, and designs were taking shape in my mind. “You are right, for a normal train, but there are designs, things I can do to improve its mechanisms. To make it faster, so much so that we would arrive well before nightfall. But we have to leave soon.”
Lucas went to get to his feet to leave, when Gloria and Daniel appeared in the doorway.
“So, when are we leaving to get my sister?” she said.
“Right now, get your things,” said Lucas. He patted my knee, then stood and left with the others.
I looked around the room that Hades had invaded just a few hours before, then reached over and pulled the map out, unravelling it. I smiled on seeing the dark red line no longer was traced to a point in Wales but had changed to Manchester. The closest main line train station to us that connected to London.
*****
The wind was so strong on the beach that it almost knocked me from my feet. Worse, it was also moving in a westerly direction, completely against the direction we needed to head in.
The Duke shook his head, the ocean spray making his hair stick to his cheek. “You can’t get across the firth in this weather!”
“He’s right, miss,” said the head housekeeper, doing his best to hold on to his cap. “I go across when it’s good weather, but not like this! You can’t put the sail up, and even with six men rowing you wouldn’t be able to go against the currents! You won’t make it out of the bay!”
“You’ll capsize!”
I smiled, trying to reassure them both. “I won’t be using a sail or oars, gentlemen!” They looked at each other confused. “But I thank you for the use of your boat, Mr Hamilton! As soon as I can I will return it to you, with interest!”
Lucas brought the horse and cart as close as he could down the beach. The back contained all of the metal we could salvage from the dirigible. I had told the Duke he was welcome to keep the rest of it if he could find a use for it.
He looked at me. “There is no way—”
I did not want to demonstrate my gifts to the Duke and his housekeeper but there was no time to do anything else. The iron struts, beams, and copper dials floated up from the wooden cart and moved through the air then crashed down on the wet pebbles.
Both men from the castle staggered backward. The housekeeper said something which the wind immediately took from his lips and did a cross gesture across his chest. “She’s a witch!” he then shouted.
I had no time to dissuade him from his opinion and waved to Lucas to get into the boat. The two sisters with Daniel and Colin, walked unsteadily over the rocks then sand, and finally climbed into the large wooden vessel.
I walked within shouting distance to the duke, who took a step backwards. “I’m not a witch! But if I don’t get to London, something terrible will happen!”
He nodded.
I turned back into the wind. The boat, still half on the beach, rocked and swayed such was the force of the gale. I ran forward, then with Daniel’s help, climbed aboard.
“Are you sure this is going to work!” shouted Lucas.
“It has to!” I shouted back.
I looked out to the sea and the waves which were clearly many feet high and gulped. I then looked back at the pile of metal behind us and started to see in my mind what I needed to construct. Immediately some of the beams sprung to life. It was a struggle to manoeuvre them in the wind, but I focused my mind, tensing my muscles and they started to come together, melting with the rest of them to form a new shape. It floated through the air to the back of the boat where it clamped onto the wood.
The two men were still on the shore, mouths agape. I gave a brief wave then looked back at the rolling waves. “Everyone hold on!” I shouted.
With the large propeller attached to the back of the boat, I pushed us forward into the water, catching a wave which made us rise ten feet into the air, before crashing back down. Now for the hard part. Using all of my might I made the two-foot-long curved piece of metal spin as fast as I could, and we shot forward. I had seen such designs at the bottom of ships years before, in many of the newspapers I would read, but had no idea if it would actually work.
“It’s working!” shouted Colin, holding onto the side of the twelve-foot-long vessel.
We quickly made our way out of the bay, where thankfully the waves were less violent, and into the main channel. The wind there was also a good few knots less. The skies above though were darkening, and snow began to fall around us.
“Can you keep this up?” shouted Gloria.
I nodded in reply, not being sure if I could, but we tore through the water, the ice flakes hitting our faces.
“I think I can see the shore of the mainland!” shouted Daniel.
That was good because my energy was draining with each passing minute. Keeping the propeller turning against the wind and current was harder than any other use of my gifts had been, and I could feel it and the boat slowing as I began to tire.
Suddenly the vessel gained a new lease of life and we surged through the water once again.
The sisters were holding hands, a yellow sparking light coming from them, which also lit the boards around us.
“Thank you,” I mouthed to them.
A Scottish beachside town was now visible through the mist.
“You will need to secure us horses and a carriage,” I said to Lucas.
“We don’t have any money.”
Gloria opened the bag which hung across her shoulder and held up a gold coin. “I’ve been keeping this for just such an occasion!” She passed it to Lucas.
The water became choppy again as we neared the shore. The sister's effort had been just in time as the propeller behind us was hardly turning at all. As we slammed up against the beach, I fell to the side of the boat, exhausted. Daniel went to lend me his hand, but I waved it away. “I’m fine. Go with the others and make sure we get transport south.”
He nodded and with Lucas, Gloria, and Melanie, hopped out onto the beach. Colin went to follow but winced on moving. I placed my hand on his leg. “I think we’re going to need each other to get out of this boat!”
He smiled, while nodding.
My legs felt heavy walking up the sandy beach past fishermen’s nets, but I was glad to leave the sea behind.
We found a small path which wound between dunes, then onto a small cliff. By the time we got to the top and looked at the collection of cottages, a small crowd had gathered, along with a cart pulled by two horses. Not exactly what I was hoping for, considering the weather, but good enough.
We moved quickly down into the village. The fishermen with their wives and children parted as we walked to the cart, revealing the others.
“This is the best I could do!” said Lucas.
I noticed the closest standing villager had a pocket watch chain hanging from his coat.
“Can I trouble you for the time, sir?”
The grey-bearded man pulled the watch from his pocket and handed it to me. “For what he paid me, you can have it!”
I smiled. “Thank you.”
I looked at the time. 9:25 a.m.
“Let’s go,” I said to Lucas.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
By time we neared Manchester every part of me ached from the constant bumping and grating against the hard wood of the cart’s bench. Lucas and Gloria had taken turns on the reins and had kept up a good pace, but it was still late afternoon when we neared the city, and the sun was not too far from bowing out for the
day.
The noise and constant movement had made any meaningful conversations impossible, but now the smoke-bellowing chimneys and grey slate rooftops of the city were getting closer, I needed to relay my plans to the others.
I tugged on Lucas’s arm, making him open his eyes. “We need to discuss what happens next!” I shouted, as we moved from country lane to a cobbled road.
“I thought we were going to the station!” he said back.
“We are and we will need to find a train on the right southerly track. Then I will do what I need to, but I’m more concerned about what happens when we get to London.”
He and the others nodded.
“Are you able to do the spell to send Hades back to the underworld?”
“Yes, but we need a lot of power. Last time we had a piece of a thunderbolt. Right now, we have nothing!”
“I’ve been thinking about that. Does it have to be magical power?”
“I don’t understand?”
“The bomb that he means to detonate, will unleash an unimaginable amount of energy. Could we use that for the spell?”
“I thought we wanted to stop him from setting the bomb off!” shouted Gloria.
“I think if I can cover the explosion with enough metal and design it in such a way that the explosion is targeted, then we can control what happens and maybe use it to open the portal.”
Lucas blew out his cheeks. “That’s one hell of a risk.”
“Is there any other way to send him back, or stop him?” I asked.
He shook his head. “But we don’t know where the bomb is!”
I sighed. “I think I do. In one of my dreams or visions, whatever it was, I saw a large crowd trying to run from a place in London…”
“Where was it?” said Daniel.
“The cathedral of St Paul.”
We moved into narrow streets with omnibuses and hordes of soot-covered men trekking through a scattering of snow, making their way home to the identical rows of two-storey houses, each one with its own version of the much larger chimneys of the factories.