The Weight of Souls (19 page)

The dry scent of lilies tickled the back of my throat as I inhaled. “He has his reasons.” I forced my fists to remain open. “I know a little bit about your club. I’d like to have the chance to be in it. Tell you what, if you second me you can set my initiation dare, that's a thing, right?”

Tamsin hesitated and her eyes filled with calculation. “James sets the initiation dares.”

What had Justin seen in this girl? I glanced to the entrance where I knew he lingered. Instead of watching for ghosts, Justin’s eyes were trained on Tamsin’s red cross-over top.

My heart thudded and I resisted rolling my eyes. The dead would easily get past him and I’d have an early trip into the Darkness because his girlfriend was wearing a tight shirt.

I pasted a smile on my face and forced down the instinct to guard the entrance myself. “So what do you think, Tamsin? If you second me I’ll do whatever dare you set.”

“No double dares at an initiation.” She dragged her nails along the door handle, apparently relishing the feel of her manicure on metal.

“Pete told me.”

“He told you all the rules?”

“Just what I needed to know for tonight.” I didn’t tell her that Justin had filled me in on the rest. And he was right, it was a creepy and dangerous club they had going here.

Her smile was predatory now. “He told you what happens when you don’t complete your dare?”

I nodded, nonchalant. “Social death.”

She licked her lips. “People have hurt themselves, changed schools. Derek was the last.”

I blinked. Justin hadn’t mentioned that Derek had been in the club.

A frown creased my forehead. “I thought Derek was mates with you lot.”

She shrugged. “Rules are rules.”

I caught sight of Justin. At Tamsin’s tectonic shrug his eyes had glazed over. I shook my head. “To be honest, I’m not sure how failure would change things for me.” I grimaced. “I’m already at the bottom of the social scale.”

Outside the church a dog yipped, but Tamsin never took her eyes off me. They were pale blue and slightly slanted. I’d never noticed the slant before. She reached up with her claws but stopped before she touched my skin.

“Oh, you have no idea. Right now, you’re pond scum. We don’t like you. Sure, we’re mean. But we haven’t been
trying
. You can’t even imagine how much worse things could get for you.”

She was wearing
Poison
. The perfume filled my lungs and my stomach gave a flip like it wanted to hurl my dinner. I made myself ignore the desire to see her covered in half-digested hamburger.

“Sounds like you’d enjoy that,” I murmured.

She tilted her head and regarded me balefully. “Maybe I will second you. It’ll be a lot of fun when you fail and I’ve been saving an excellent dare for a special occasion.”

I had what I wanted. But the skin on my neck prickled. She turned to go through the open door.

“By the way,” I said through clenched teeth. “I heard they found Justin. I’m sorry.”

She stopped with her back to me. Her bare legs trembled slightly; then she carried on walking as if I’d said nothing at all. As she disappeared through the other wooden door Justin met my eyes sheepishly. I gave him a single glower, but had to remain silent; it was time to go in.

 

The room was pretty basic. A couple of religious paintings decorated the walls. I didn’t know what they showed exactly. One was an angel, I knew that much; he held a spear through some sort of writhing monster. Another was a saint-like figure, haloed and dressed in white, floating up to heaven on a cloud.

James was busy tacking a photo-shopped poster over the image. It showed an image of Icarus flying too close to the sun and underneath it read:

The V Club
 

Qui Audet Vincit
 

I was frowning at the poster when James turned around. “What’s the problem, Oh?” His muscles bulged under his shirt; I’d heard he’d been drinking protein shakes to bulk up. Most of the girls thought he was hot, but to me he looked deformed, like someone had stuck a film star’s head onto a wrestler’s body. He pushed his sleeves up to his elbows and I finally got to see his full tattoo: “Veritas”.

I fought a lip curl. “I just don’t get the connection between Icarus and the club.”

James laughed. “Icarus took a risk and dared to fly. We’re all winners here, risk-takers.” He pumped his fist and I jumped as all the other kids in the room made a matching gesture.

I tore my eyes from the poster, wondering if James even remembered what happened to Icarus at the end of the story.

“We’re all here?” James cast his green-eyed gaze around the circle of plastic chairs. For the first time I noticed Pete leaning against the back wall. He was the only one who wasn’t lowering his hand from the winner’s salute.

I nodded towards him. He didn’t nod back.

James walked towards me. I hadn’t actually realised how strong he was until he grabbed my arm. I wanted to turn to Justin, but James was dragging me towards an empty chair in the middle of the circle. “Sit here.”

I sat and tried to ignore the sensation of all those eyes on me, but the pressure of the hostile gazes made my skin itch. The light from the single hatched window fell on my face and I shifted. As I moved a hand squeezed my shoulder. I jerked and looked up. It was Justin. I exhaled.

James sniggered. “Everything alright, Oh? You seem jumpy.”

“A fly in my hair.” I wriggled to get more comfortable. “Now what?”

There were two chairs still empty; one next to Tamsin, the other next to Harley. Harley lounged back with eyes half-closed; he wasn’t expecting anything of interest to happen. His curls lay flat against his head, and his arms were folded. He made no move at all when Pete dropped into the chair next to him and sat with his fists in his lap.

James took the seat next to Tamsin and her hand immediately crept onto his thigh, her nails tickling his leg in a very familiar gesture. Next to me Justin stiffened. They’d found his body only a short while ago. She hadn’t grieved for long.

“Pete, you’re proposing Taylor for membership of the V club.”

Pete nodded tightly and the light caught his shaved head. I tried to catch his eye, but he didn’t look at me.

“Anyone second the motion?” James stretched lazily and threw one hand behind Tamsin’s chair. She said nothing.

Around me cloth rustled as the others prepared to get up and leave. It was over. I’d never find Justin’s killer.

Then Tamsin stood up. Her fingers trailed up James’ torso, lifting his shirt slightly as she rose. Then she posed; one hand on her jutting hip, the other on James’ shoulder.

“I’ll second.” She pouted as an incredulous chorus shattered the quiet. “But Jamie, will you let me set the dare? Just for tonight.”

The others fell quiet. They’d seen through her, just as I had. This was nothing more than a way to torment me more. She was convinced I’d fail her dare. Their appreciation bit the air.

James frowned. “You know the rules.”

Tamsin walked her fingers up his neck. “I’ve got a really good one and don’t I have a few points saved up?”

James hung his head, thinking. Then finally he nodded. “Majority decides – if the club agrees, we’ll suspend the rule for tonight.” He looked around the group. Most nodded quickly, their faces feral with anticipation. Only Pete shook his head. I closed my gloved fist over the Mark on my palm.

 

21

 

THE STUPIDEST THING I’D EVER DONE

 

I stood with my toes just over the yellow line and allowed another train to speed by without me. The passengers stared at me with sullen incomprehension: why wouldn’t I want to cram myself into the carriage with them?

Sweat was pouring off me and I did a little jog on the spot. Crowded as the station was, I wasn’t even looking for ghosts. I was about to do the stupidest thing I’d ever done.
Ever
.

I hunched my shoulders and glanced along the platform. A little way down, so it didn’t look like we were together, James, Harley, Tamsin and Pete were standing in a group. Harley had his video phone out but he’d just turned it off, again. They were getting impatient.

How long did I have before they decided I’d failed the dare?

“I don’t think you should do this.” Justin hopped up and down behind me.

I ignored him. A bunch of late night commuters sprinted down the steps, glanced at me standing so close to the edge of the tunnel, then barrelled past, slowing only when they saw the display. Three minutes till the next Northern line train. They had time.

Of course, sometimes the displays were wrong.

I looked down at the yellow line again. It stood out, seemingly the only real colour in the filthy tunnel. There were posters on the walls opposite, flanking the station sign: large curved boards advertising Jack Daniels whiskey and “five star hotels at three star prices” in Sharm el-Sheik.

The picture on the Jack Daniels board was black and white anyway. The pyramids on the holiday board must have been bright once. Now the colours were muted and smeared with soot. My eye followed the curve of the tunnel down to the track. Black metal shone in oily lines. My feet trembled.

I leaned so that I could see a little way into the tunnel. It was a black hole, shuddering with the sound of distant trains, the stonework so stained I could barely see the pattern of interlocking bricks. A flash of movement beneath a rail drew my eyes to a small group of mice. There were probably rats in there as well.

In order to come down here I’d travelled on what Tamsin was quick to remind me was the longest escalator on the underground system. I’d felt sick and dizzy all the way, clutching the black rubber hand rail as the moving stair took me down and further down into the earth. I felt as though I’d been swallowed.

Crisp packets moved on the tracks, whipped up inside a sudden cyclone. The mice scurried away and another train appeared in front of me. I rocked back on my heels and Justin steadied me as doors opened a few steps down from where I stood.

A flood of people emerged, jostling, ignoring one another. The commuters who had run past me leaped on. The doors slammed with a high-pitched beep and the train heaved off again.

This time the display said three and a half minutes. I only had to stay in the tunnel for twenty seconds. I’d have three minutes to get there and back before the next train. If I was going, I had to go now.

I rocked forward and Harley raised his phone, but my feet wouldn’t move.

“You’re doing it, aren’t you?” Justin hopped again. “I wish you wouldn’t.”

“I have to,” I hissed.

“If you’re going, you have to go
now
.”

“I can’t move.” I glanced at Tamsin. She was openly laughing at me. “I can’t let them see me like this.” Tears came into my eyes. “I can’t fail in front of them.”

Justin swore viciously then exhaled. “I’m only doing this because… well, you’ll thank me later.”

Then he shoved me off the platform.

I shrieked as I stumbled forward and my feet met air. Then the back of my head smacked into the rim, my feet thudded on the ground and my shocked ankles collapsed. I shunted forward onto my hands and knees and gasped as my hands closed on the metal tracks.

Above me I heard panicked cries and a woman’s scream.

“Quick, take my hand.”

I looked up. A man leaned over the edge of the platform and his tie fluttered in the breeze that told me a train was moving somewhere. The whites of his eyes showed as he jerked his arm. “Reach for me.”

Justin landed next to me. “You’re here now. Do this fast.”

Tears wet my cheeks as I staggered to my feet. I looked into the tunnel. It was black as the Darkness. The Darkness could be just a few steps away waiting for
me
to come to
It
. My pulse raced until it felt like my chest was about to burst open. The only chance I had to save myself was to go into the dark. So I groaned and ran into the tunnel.

Ten steps in, that was the challenge. As I ran Justin ran with me, counting. “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Stop, Taylor.”

I screeched to a halt, heart pounding. Pitch black surrounded me like oil in a barrel. I couldn’t breath, I could only whimper in bursts of terror that brought in no air, only soot, and filled my lungs, coating them with darkness, until there was only the dark outside and pitch inside and I couldn’t see a thing.

“Taylor.” Justin was shaking me. “Twenty seconds, that’s all, come on, count with me.”

“I-I…” I stuttered. I couldn’t think, I certainly couldn’t count.

“One, two, three, four. It’s going to be alright. Seven, eight, nine, ten. Halfway there. Twelve, thirteen, fourteen. We’re getting you out of here in a few seconds. Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty. Go, Taylor, GO.” He spun me and shoved me towards the end of the tunnel. I stumbled a few steps and my feet caught on something. I fell and smacked my head on a rail.

My ears rang as I touched the huge egg-shaped lump growing above my eye. My legs were moving though, as if I was still running. They knew what I should be doing.

“Get up!” Justin pulled at my elbow and I let him help me to my feet. Then a whoosh of air yanked my hair into a stream behind me. A McDonalds wrapper tangled on my ankles on its way into the tunnel and I tried to spin.

Suddenly the rush of air reversed. The train was on its way into the station.

Dimly, I heard more screaming. It wasn’t coming from me. My mouth was open, but no sound emerged. The sounds were from above; from the platform.

“Go. You can make it.” I couldn’t see Justin, or the panic in his face, but I could hear it in his voice. I broke into a run.

When I scrambled out of the tunnel entrance the man who had offered me his arm was still there, shouting and cursing at me. I reached for him, but he was too far away.