What Song the Sirens Sang, page 15
The dead were choosing new routes all the time, as though responding to signposts and directions only they could see. And sometimes I saw things that helped me understand why. A small child toddled down the road on its own, to where a mother and father stood waiting with outstretched arms. An old man stumbled down a side road to where an old woman stood waiting, both of them growing younger the closer they got.
I liked the idea that, in the end, everyone gets to go home.
I almost slammed into Lex’s back when he stopped abruptly to stare down a side road. Polly just kept on going, intent on what was before her, and I had to yell after her to get her to stop. The werewolf dropped down on to her haunches and looked reluctantly back over her shoulder. I moved in beside Lex, but he didn’t even glance at me.
‘What is it?’ I said quietly.
He gestured at the side road before him.
‘I’m not seeing anything, Lex,’ I said carefully.
‘You don’t see that woman?’ he said, in a quiet, lost voice. ‘She’s waiting for me.’
I looked hard, and after a moment it seemed to me that I could see something. Just a dim figure, standing very still, that refused to come into focus. Perhaps because she wasn’t there for me. I thought I knew what Lex was going to say.
‘It’s my wife,’ said Lex. ‘My first wife, Barbara. The one I damned myself over, trying to bring her back from the dead.’
He started forward. I grabbed hold of his arm, but he just dragged me along with him. I moved quickly to stand in front of him, blocking his way. Lex came to a halt, rather than walk right through me, but he still wouldn’t look at me.
‘Let her go,’ I said.
‘But it’s my wife!’
‘If you love her, let her go,’ I said. ‘It’s not for us – any of this.’
Grace moved in on Lex’s other side. ‘What about Sally, Lex? Are you going to leave her trapped in the labyrinth, for Coldheart to kill when he grows tired of her? If you go down this road instead … We might not be able to save Sally without you.’
Lex hesitated, his gaze fixed on the woman he thought he’d lost for ever.
‘Are you even sure you’d be allowed to be with your first wife?’ said Grace. ‘Or do you believe she’s damned to Hell, as well as you?’
I looked at her sharply. Such coldness wasn’t like Annie. But it seemed to work with Lex, bringing him out of his daze like a slap to the face. He nodded slowly.
‘Sally is my wife now. I’m not even sure Barbara would recognize me, after what I’ve made myself into. And perhaps … I wouldn’t want her to see me like this.’
He turned back to the main road and set off again. Grace and I walked with him, trying to support him with our presence. Polly was already on her feet and hurrying forward to take the lead again. Her whole wolf form was quivering with eagerness, as though she’d locked on to a scent.
‘I never thought the afterlife would be like this,’ Lex said finally.
‘There are more branches in the Low Road than any of us can count,’ I said. ‘Everyone here seems to know where they have to go. Presumably, you will, too, when it’s your turn.’
‘To Hell,’ said Lex.
‘Nothing is certain,’ said Grace. ‘There is always the possibility of mercy.’
‘Not for me,’ said Lex. ‘Not after everything I’ve done, and will do, to get Sally back. I have waded in blood and soaked myself in slaughter, and I do not regret any of it.’ He looked at Polly and raised his voice. ‘How much further?’
Polly just kept going. Lex increased his speed, leaving Grace and me behind. We let him go, so he could be alone with his thoughts. And then Grace suddenly stopped, to stare down a side turning. I stopped with her.
‘Keep your gaze on the road,’ I said kindly. ‘There’s nothing here you need to see.’
‘Is everything here real?’ said Grace.
‘I believe so,’ I said. ‘That’s what makes it dangerous. And cruel. Life has enough temptations, without death adding more.’
Grace tore her gaze away from whatever she was seeing, so she could look at me.
‘How did you survive in this place?’
‘I wasn’t here long,’ I said.
‘But you saw things, didn’t you?’
‘I saw people I would give everything I have to see again,’ I said steadily. ‘But as Lex said, would they even recognize who I’ve become? It’s better for them that we move on.’
Grace shook her head slowly. ‘What we’re putting ourselves through … just to save Switch It Sally.’
‘And to show Coldheart what happens when he messes with us,’ I said.
‘What price paradise, when there’s revenge to be had?’ said Grace.
She turned away from whoever was waiting down the side road and set off after Lex and Polly, and I went with her. I didn’t glance down any of the side roads we passed, because I knew who would be there. And I couldn’t stand to have my heart broken again.
We’d only just caught up with Lex and Polly when the werewolf suddenly crashed to a halt and pointed out a particular side route with a hairy hand. The branch she’d found looked like all the others, except there was no one looking back at us.
‘You’re sure this is the right way?’ I said to Polly.
‘It feels right,’ said Polly. ‘I’m almost certain this is the exit we need.’
‘Almost?’ said Grace.
‘Instincts don’t come with a percentage reading.’
‘Lead the way, Polly,’ I said. ‘We don’t belong here. We still have work to do.’
She nodded quickly and started down the branch, and we all went after her. I did glance back once, and the huge and terrible shadow seemed a lot closer. I shot it the finger and followed the others out of the Low Road. We left a better place behind, so we could emerge on to an old-fashioned city street.
The warmth and peace of the Low Road disappeared, replaced by the cold, grey aspect of a Victorian street scene. Polly turned back into her human form, shuddered briefly and went werewolf again.
‘I don’t like this place,’ she said. ‘All my instincts are screaming at me to get the hell out of here while I still can.’
‘Take it easy,’ I said. ‘Between us, we can handle anything Coldheart and his people can throw at us.’
‘You sure about that?’ said Polly.
‘You want it in writing?’ I said.
‘So, this is the city underneath Seattle,’ Grace said quickly. ‘First question … Why do all the buildings here seem to be made of wood?’
‘That was the problem,’ I said. ‘The original city harks back to the nineteenth century, when people preferred wood over stone. So when the great fire started in 1899, it reduced most of the city to ashes. What was left wasn’t worth preserving, so they built their new city on top of the old.’
‘How do you know so much about this?’ said Polly.
‘I read,’ I said. ‘If you’re going to be a master thief, you need to know things.’
The dusty, grey street had the feel of a place that had been abandoned a long time ago. All the shops and houses had clearly been empty for some time. Doors hung open, as though the owners had just run away and left them. The windows were blank and vacant, like unseeing eyes. Here and there, old-time advertisements offered goods and brands that hadn’t been available for generations, at prices that would shock modern sensibilities. There were no lights in any of the buildings, and the lamp-lit street had a cold and desolate feel. The whole scene was oppressively quiet, like a cemetery no one bothered to visit any more.
I looked at Polly. ‘Which way?’
She turned her lupine head back and forth, as though listening to some inner voice, and then stabbed a hairy finger at one particular side street. She started down it, and we all followed after her.
‘A deserted labyrinth of sealed-over Victorian streets,’ said Grace. ‘You take me to the nicest places, Gideon.’
‘Think of the treasure house at the end,’ I said.
Grace nodded. ‘That does help.’
We moved quickly through one empty street after another, keeping a cautious eye on our surroundings. There had to be hidden traps and waiting guards, but so far they were conspicuous by their absence. It was so quiet that all I could hear were the soft ghostly scuffings of our feet on the dusty floor. I tried not to think about the stone ceiling, set a lot lower than I was comfortable with. I tried to visualize the modern city of Seattle above us, but that just made me feel even more as though we were buried in the grave of the old city. Gas street lamps stood at regular intervals, but their weird shimmering glow had nothing to do with gas. It felt more like some strange phosphorescence – a living light in a dead place.
‘We’re not alone down here,’ Grace said quietly.
‘Can you see anyone?’ I said, just as quietly.
‘No,’ said Grace. ‘But it definitely feels like we’re being watched.’
‘Hey,’ said Polly. ‘I do the feelings, in this crew.’
‘All right,’ I said. ‘Do you feel like we’re being watched?’
‘Oh, sure,’ said Polly. ‘But I sort of took that for granted.’
‘How much further to the centre of the maze?’ said Lex.
‘Some way yet,’ said Polly.
‘How far?’ said Lex.
Polly shook her head unhappily. ‘It’s hard to get any sense of distance. Something bad happened here, or was made to happen, to seal off this section of the undercity. We only got in because we came through the Low Road. I’m not sure how we’re going to get out again.’
‘That’s a problem for later,’ I said. ‘Concentrate on where they’re keeping Sally.’
Polly shrugged. ‘You do know we’re walking into a trap?’
‘I sort of took that for granted,’ I said. ‘In fact, I’m surprised no one’s already shooting at us.’
Polly growled and shook her head. ‘I can’t believe we’re putting our lives on the line for Switch It bloody Sally.’
‘She has hidden qualities,’ Lex said firmly.
‘Really well hidden,’ said Polly.
‘Are you picking up on anything, apart from the watching eyes?’ I said.
‘Not a thing,’ said Polly. ‘We’re completely alone. Probably because everyone else had the good sense to get out of here.’
‘Coldheart must have set traps somewhere,’ I said. ‘Presided over by a whole lot of guards with really big guns.’
‘Because that’s what you’d do,’ said Grace.
‘Exactly,’ I said.
‘If there were any of those things, I would see or hear or smell them,’ said Polly.
‘Not if they’ve been specially trained to deal with people like us,’ I said.
‘There are no people like us,’ said Lex.
‘Don’t forget Coldheart’s security chiefs,’ said Grace. ‘Cleopatra Bones and a Mime Called Malice.’
‘Trust me,’ I said. ‘I haven’t forgotten. Mimes are creepy. Even worse than clowns.’
‘There’s nothing funny about a clown at midnight,’ said Grace. ‘Especially if he’s got an erection.’
Polly snorted briefly with laughter.
‘And I really don’t like heading into unknown territory without a plan,’ I said.
‘Who needs a plan when you’ve got my instincts to guide you?’ said Polly. ‘I can feel the centre up ahead. Like it’s calling to me.’
‘And we should, of course, trust this voice you’re hearing in your head,’ said Grace. ‘And carry on rushing blindly into danger.’
‘You’ve turned very abrasive since you put on the leathers,’ I said.
‘Comes with the persona,’ said Grace.
Polly shook her head. ‘Weird upon weird …’
‘I’m not the one who’s leading us into a trap,’ said Grace.
‘We have to go on,’ I said. ‘Lex needs to rescue Sally; you and I need to get our rock back, and a chance to stick it to Coldheart in the process; and Polly needs adventure and something to hit. And probably bite. There’s bait in this trap for all of us.’
‘You bait a trap to bring the prey to the killing ground,’ said Lex.
‘You’re thinking about the minotaur, aren’t you?’ said Grace.
‘Aren’t you?’ I said.
Grace cracked her knuckles. ‘Bring it on. I could use something to take out my frustrations on.’
‘Damn right!’ said Polly.
‘No,’ said Lex. ‘You leave the minotaur to me.’
‘Why?’ said Polly, bristling. ‘I have strength and speed, teeth and claws.’
‘I am armoured by Heaven and Hell,’ said Lex.
‘OK …’ said Polly. ‘You’re the Damned.’
Lex smiled briefly. ‘Set one monster to kill another.’
‘You’re not a monster, Lex,’ I said.
‘I will be,’ he said. ‘If that’s what it takes to save Sally.’
SEVEN
Time See What’s Become of Me
The unnatural light from the street lamps didn’t travel far, and the shadows seemed to be growing deeper and darker. I kept a careful eye on them as my crew and I headed deeper into the undercity. I still couldn’t see any signs of traps or guards, and the only sounds came from my crew’s footsteps. There was nothing to suggest anyone had walked the abandoned streets of the undercity for a very long time.
Normally, I made a point of taking the lead when my crew was working, because I was the man with the plan, and therefore the only one who knew what was really going on. But because I didn’t have anything like a plan this time, I let Polly take point, so she could follow her nose and her instincts. She padded tirelessly along the narrow streets, as though following signs and directions only she could see.
Polly kept to her werewolf form, perhaps because she felt safer that way in unknown territory. The claws on her paws clicked regularly against the ground like a metronome, ticking off the time it was taking us to get to the centre of the maze. After a while, she started pausing at every crossroads or intersection, raising her head to sniff at the air before moving off again. I was starting to wonder whether Coldheart and his people could have packed up and moved on. Just because Murray said they were still here didn’t make it a fact. Murray had been wrong before. I had been there with him when it happened and had helped haul his arse out of the line of fire afterwards. I would have felt better if the information had come from Madam Osiris. I trusted her; at least, I trusted her more than I trusted Murray.
I suddenly realized we’d come to a halt and hadn’t started moving again. Polly was crouched down on her haunches in the middle of the street, her fur bristling. I actually felt a little relieved that we’d finally come up against something dangerous. It made our presence here feel less like a wild goose chase. We all took a good look around, straining our eyes against the uncertain light, but there didn’t seem to be anything out there. When Polly still didn’t say anything, I moved in beside her.
‘Speak to me, Polly,’ I said quietly. ‘What’s spooking you?’
She shook her head slowly, not taking her eyes off the street ahead. ‘I don’t know. It’s just a feeling. Probably nothing.’
‘Then we need to move on,’ I said. ‘Standing around in the open makes us targets.’
I didn’t like how impatient Lex was getting, now we were finally close to rescuing Sally. I only had to glance at the Damned to see the tension rising in him. The only reason he hadn’t already stormed off and left us behind was that he needed Polly’s tracking skills to take him to Sally.
I said Polly’s name again, more sharply, and she growled under her breath before reluctantly padding forward. We all fell in behind her, sticking close. I checked out every side street we passed, without being too obvious about it. If Polly had a bad feeling, so did I. There had to be traps and guards somewhere; if I’d been Coldheart, I would have surrounded my treasure house with all the protections money could buy. There’s nothing like having valuable things to make some people determined to take them away from you. Often by sending someone like me and my crew.
I glanced at Grace, striding along beside me and apparently entirely unconcerned by our surroundings. She seemed much more confident since she put on Polly’s leathers. Usually, Annie carefully constructed each of her characters, detailing every part of their individual back story, before bringing them to life through the expert use of clothes and wigs and makeup. But this time Annie had been forced to build a new persona from very little in the way of props. I wasn’t sure whether I should be impressed or worried by her achievement. I’d been trying to persuade Annie that she didn’t need to rely so much on her other personalities; that she could do anything she needed as Annie, without having to take on some more specialized personality. But in times of stress, she always resorted to her old ways.
She caught me looking at her and smiled briefly. ‘How does it feel? To be walking into danger without a properly prepared plan?’
‘Exhilarating!’ I said briskly. ‘I should do this more often.’
‘You’re not fooling anyone but yourself,’ said Grace. ‘Tell me you at least have something worked out for when we get to where we’re going.’
‘Not really,’ I said. ‘I’m putting all my money on improvising wildly and hoping for the best. Though I have been thinking …’
‘I know,’ said Grace. ‘I’ve seen you scowling. If you are about to tell me that not everything in this heist is necessarily what it seems, I am a country mile and a half ahead of you.’
‘I might have an idea or two as to what’s really going on in the background,’ I said.
‘And?’
‘I’m still thinking,’ I said. ‘I could be wrong. In fact, part of me hopes I am.’
‘But if it should turn out that you’re right,’ Grace said carefully, ‘do you have a plan on how to deal with it?’
