The Return of the Witch (40 page)

“Isn't it wonderful?” Florencia couldn't help trying to include me in her excitement.

“It's very lovely,” I agreed. I noticed Gideon smile. Did he know what I was trying to do? And did he realize I was also playing for time, soaking up the sun's rays, basking in the heat, reveling in the feeling that soon I would be powerful again. More powerful even than him.

And then, everything changed.

First the sunshine faded, as if clouds had suddenly filled the sky. Except that there weren't any clouds. Immediately after that, the temperature dropped dramatically, so that I felt instantly cold enough to begin to shiver. And the birds stopped singing. It was such an eerie experience. With only horses for traffic, it had been easy to hear the birds in the trees along the streets and on the rooftops, up until that point. They just stopped. What must they have made of this strange thing that was happening? What did any animal make of it? One or two nearby horses set up whinnying, and a thin wind cut through the flimsy fabric of my dress. And then I knew what it was. An eclipse! Now it made sense. Now I understood why Gideon had chosen this moment to bring me out from the dark. Almost immediately I felt my magic begin to drain away, to fade and dwindle. There was still something there, but not enough. Not nearly enough.

Gideon stepped up behind me, his hand on my waist.

“Come, Tegan. It is time to go aboard,” he said.

*   *   *

I ran through the musty darkness of the tunnel, trusting to my senses not to crash into the walls, and following the trail of Nipper's soul. I was fortunate, indeed, that my own magical abilities were not adversely affected by being underground. In retrospect, this made perfect sense, for my talents and power were born of the earth, my Goddess, the fertile giver of life. It was almost as if I had entered the body of the source of my own magic, albeit a man-made one. I was puzzled by Tegan's total powerlessness, when I considered that she, too, had been schooled in my magic. On top of that, she had her own innate ability, and I knew her to have studied and practiced several other systems of witchcraft and spellcasting, and was surprised that none seemed to have been available to her while she was entombed. If they had been, I am certain we should have been able to make a connection, however faint. I concluded that the magic of the followers of the Sacred Sun must be of such magnitude, of such all-encompassing strength, that it overwhelmed and somehow governed all the others. If that strange and terrible magic that Tegan now held could not function, therefore, nor could any other form of it.

I began to feel certain that I was close to Nipper, so I risked calling out to him. His response came back, quite chipper, and seemingly undisturbed by our recent experiences.

“'ere, Missus,” he said, “right by your side.” And he slipped his hand into mine.

I squeezed it. The child had no lamp, nor the advantage of a witch's vision, and yet I heard no fear in his voice.

“You are a brave lad,” I told him. “Are you not troubled by the dark?”

“I'm used to it. Been down 'ere as long as I can remember. If I can't see with my eyes I use my ears, listen for the echo when I run, that way I don't crash into the walls or nothing. It ain't 'ard, not once you know 'ow.”

“Do you know of another route to the place where Aloysius went? We cannot follow through those men. We must find another way.”

“There could be, missus…”

“Please, Nipper, call me Elizabeth.”

“Oh. There could be, missus Elizabeth, but there's no one uses these places. 'Cept for the dead, like you saw. And sometimes for the fights.”

“Fights? Boxing, d'you mean?”

“Nah, dogs and rats. Men come down and set them to killing each other. One dog, lots of rats. They bets on who will last the longest.”

I hoped Nipper hadn't felt the shudder that went through me.

“I can try and find a way,” he said.

“You are a good boy, and when we get home I shall redress your hand and give you more medicine to take the pain away, and Mrs. Timms shall find some of her famous shortbread.”

We moved forward again, hand in hand, splashing through the layer of dirty water that lay on the floor of the tunnel. I was concerned about Erasmus. He was able to take care of himself, that I knew, but how would he find his way to us? It occurred to me that a Time Stepper was attuned to the calls of others. After all, I had called him into service once before. I closed my eyes, allowing myself a softer darkness of my own, and muttered his name under my breath, imploring him to hear me, to come to me, to find me, to follow the whisper of my mind and bring himself to my side. If Nipper heard my strange ramblings he did not comment upon it.

As we progressed I was aware of the scurrying of rats, and the high-pitched communication of bats. What sort of life was this for a small boy? How could the world have come so far, have achieved so much, and yet not catch one of its precious children when they fell? I felt claws scramble over my boot and shook my foot. To my disgust, the creature did not detach itself, but started climbing up my skirts. I was about to bat it away when I recognized the warm, furry presence.

“Aloysius!”

“Is it your mouse, missus Elizabeth?”

“It is.”

“E's proper clever, 'e is. Finding 'is way back to you again.”

“But why has he done so? He surely would either come with Tegan or stay with her now. The fact that he has returned alone … he cannot have found her.” Panic gripped me. “Pray Goddess that we are not too late!”

Suddenly we could hear footsteps. Someone was running toward us. Nipper and I hid ourselves in a small nook formed at the junction of two tunnels. Had Gideon's henchmen found us? I listened hard, and then breathed again, relief flooding my body. I recognized those footfalls. They were swift and light and confident. I stepped out from our hidey-hole.

“Erasmus, we are here!” I called, just as the light of his lamp came into view.

To my surprise he grasped my arm, pulling me close and holding up the lamp so that he could see me better.

“Elizabeth! Are you unharmed? I heard you, I thought one of those ruffians had found you…”

“I am unhurt. We are both quite well.”

“I heard you,” he repeated, his face close to mine. I looked into his eyes and saw something I had not found there before: fear. I knew it was not fear of those who had tried to kill us, it was fear for my safety. Had I come to matter so much to him?

“I am unhurt,” I said again, and I surprised myself by leaning against him, a sob catching in my voice as I told him, “but we are too late. Aloysius has returned to me. Gideon must have already taken Tegan.”

He slipped his arm around me and held me tighter.

“Then we must get out of this place and follow.”

“But we have no way of knowing where he will be taking her,” I said, as close to despair as I had ever been. Every time I thought we were close Gideon snatched her away again, and now that we knew what his intentions were I began to lose faith that we would be able to stop him.

Erasmus held my shoulders and looked at me, his strong, steady gaze lending me strength.

“Elizabeth, if they are gone from these tunnels they will be out in the light of day. You might be able to sense her. Try now.”

I closed my eyes and set to it. At first, I could detect nothing, not a whisper, not the slightest vibration. And then, as if from far, far away, I sensed her presence, and I
heard
Tegan. She was calling my name! Her voice was so fragile and so full of anxiety it tore at my heart. “I can hear her!” I told Erasmus. “The connection is faint, but I sense she is still quite close. There is something else, something … water. Fast-moving and deep.” I opened my eyes. “She is on a river!”

“The Thames, it must be. We must make all haste. If we take a cab we can get to the river at the nearest point. Surely someone will hire us a boat.”

I shook my head. “That would take too long. It must be nearly ten by now. The eclipse will be upon us and we shall be too late!”

Nipper spoke up. “Quickest way to the river is underground and downhill,” he said.

Erasmus crouched beside him. “Do you know the way, Nipper? Can you take us there?”

“Course I can.” He grinned. “If you don't mind going through the sewers.”

There was no time to consider other options. We followed Nipper through a series of farther tunnels and then down a long ladder into another darkness. Before we descended he told us to put out the lamp and leave it, for the flame might ignite the noxious gasses. He also insisted we all wrap kerchiefs or something similar around our mouths and noses. Erasmus had one of his large spotted handkerchiefs about him, while I tore two strips off my petticoats for me and Nipper. Aloysius burrowed deep into my pocket. As we descended, the quality of the air altered, becoming heavy and wet. Even our thick masks could not keep out the stench that greeted us.

Nipper seemed less bothered by the revolting smell, and trotted along a narrow strip of brick that formed a walkway alongside the channel that bubbled with putrid water and effluent. Curiously, there was some light to be had, as there were, at irregular intervals, wells leading up to the street and iron grills. The purpose of these, Nipper told us, was to allow air in and fumes out, though judging by the rancid taste of what we were breathing, these vents were horribly ineffective. We scurried on, ratlike ourselves now as we stooped beneath the low ceiling. At one point voices could be heard up ahead. I wondered at first if Gideon's henchmen had somehow anticipated our route. Erasmus stepped in front of Nipper protectively.

“S'all right, Mister. Them's only the toshers.” His voice was muffled by his mask.

“Toshers?” Erasmus still kept his hand on the hilt of his dagger.

“They come down 'ere to see what they can find.”

I shook my head. “But what, in the name of all that's good, can they possibly want that they might find in this filth?”

“You wouldn't believe what they gets. Coins, watches, jewelery, all sorts. They takes it up top and sells it.”

“I hope they wash it well first,” Erasmus muttered.

As we moved forward in the half-light shadowy figures straightened up. Two or three of them stepped closer to one another, forming a tight group. A fourth strode toward us through the soup of excrement. They seemed less than human, those poor souls who spent their lives in that hellish place, as if they had become made of the substance through which they waded.

“Who's there?” the nearest man called out. He wore nothing in the way of protection over his face, and his voice had a rasp to it. His words were carried off down the tunnel in a distorted echo.

“Only me!” Nipper called back.

“Nipper? What brings you down 'ere?”

“I's 'elping my friends,” he explained. “We needs to get to the river, and quick about it.”

As he spoke the light grew ever dimmer. I imagined the sky must have clouded over, and then I realized the eclipse had begun. Erasmus noticed it, too.

“Our business is urgent, indeed,” he called out. “We will disturb you no longer.” He took Nipper's hand and began to proceed with him along the walkway.

“If you're in such a tearin' hurry it'll do you no good heading off down there,” the tosher said bluntly.

“Is this not the way to the banks of the Thames?” Erasmus asked.

“It is, but it's long, and the roof is low. You'll be crouching 'fore you reach the open, and likely faint from having your well-bred noses pressed so close to what goes under 'em.” He seemed to take a grim relish in the thought.

“Do you perhaps know a better way?” I could hear the note of exasperation in Erasmus's voice.

The man jerked his head to the left. “Straight on down. Mind you don't fall.” With that he turned back to his fellows. We were dismissed as neither threat nor opportunity. We were fortunate in Nipper, for he was evidently known and liked throughout those subterranean streets.

The child tugged at my sleeve.

“He means the main sewer, missus Elizabeth. We shall have to step into it.”

Erasmus started to protest, but I cut him off.

“How deep is it, Nipper?” I asked.

There was a tremor in his voice when he replied, “Deeper than me.”

I quickly hitched up my infuriatingly heavy skirts, tucking them into my waistband. “Erasmus, you must carry Nipper on your shoulders. Do not let his hand come into contact with the … filth. Such bacteria as thrive in it could prove disastrous should they be allowed to enter his wounds. Come along. We must hurry!” I stepped off the walkway and into the vile stream. I refused to let myself think about what I was doing, keeping my mind entirely on the matter of getting to the river. Of getting to Tegan.

Behind me, with Nipper riding high on his shoulders, Erasmus followed with strong, steady steps. However carefully we moved we caused greasy waves that flopped against the walls and bounced back against us. Once we turned down the channel indicated by the tosher there was no more walkway. The ceiling was higher, at least, but the river through which we forced our way was alarmingly deep. I raised my arms to help keep my balance. The thought of falling was too terrible to contemplate.

Nipper piped up nervously. “I 'ope we don't meet the Old Boar.”

“What's that?” Erasmus asked.

“There's a giant pig lives down 'ere. Everyone calls 'im the Old Boar. 'E's big as an ox, they say, with great tusks and yellow teeth, and 'e feeds off all the muck as comes down 'ere.”

“A legend, a myth, nothing more,” Erasmus assured him.

“'E was real enough to the tosher 'e gobbled up last year. They only found 'is belt and boots.”

The boy rambled on with stories of lost pets and missing sewer workers and sightings of this terrible beast. Erasmus put in oohs and aahs and let the child talk, recognizing the chattering of someone trying to drive away fear.