13 Treasures (16 page)

The girl took another step in her direction, silent and as sure-footed as a cat. She wore a simple, short, dark dress and worn but sturdy hiking boots. Strapped to her slim, freckled thigh was a knife. Tanya met her gaze, and knew with absolute certainty that if she needed to, the girl would use it.

“Who are you?” Tanya asked again. “And what were you doing in my grandmother’s house?”

The girl simply stared at her with unblinking green eyes.

“I need some answers of my own. First, your name.”

“Who do you think you are?” Tanya whispered. “That you can just—”

The girl had crossed the cavern and was upon her in one swift movement, her face inches from Tanya’s, lips drawn back over her teeth in a snarl. Tanya was forced backward against the cold cavern wall. All the calmness about the girl had gone. She looked feral, demented. Her breath was sour and rank, and her clothes reeked of sweat. She clearly hadn’t washed for days.

“You’ve cost me a great deal tonight, and lost time I can ill afford. Now we can do this the hard way, but I would advise against it. Or I can ask you once more,
nicely
. Your name.”

“Tanya.”

“Good. Now, Tanya. Did anyone else hear me tonight?”

Tanya hesitated. Something in the girl’s unfaltering gaze told her it would be a mistake to lie. “I don’t think so.”

The girl relaxed and leaned back a couple of inches.

“How did you know about the secret passages? Have you used them before?”

Tanya shook her head. “No. I’d… I’d heard stories… but I never really believed they existed.”

“So how did you find this one?”

“I followed you. You left a smear of butter on the panel that triggers the mechanism. It was just a fluke…”

The girl gave a cold smile. “So you followed and got trapped in the tunnel. Quite the little detective, aren’t you? Who else knows about the passages? You said this is your grandmother’s house.”

Tanya felt her head start to spin as she was hit by a wave of nausea. The girl’s breath was making her feel ill.

“I don’t know. My grandmother hasn’t ever spoken to me about anything like this. Please, I just want to get out. Tell me how to get back into the house—I won’t say anything about you.”

The girl ignored her. “How soon is your grandmother likely to notice you’re missing?”

“When I don’t show up for breakfast. About eight.”

The girl swore.

“What do you need?” Tanya began. “If it’s money you want, maybe I could—”

“Money?” The girl’s tone was incredulous. “I’m not here for money! You think I’m a thief?”

“You were taking food.”

“I only took what I needed. And not out of choice.”

“You’re hiding here, aren’t you?”

The girl’s face twitched involuntarily.

“That’s it, isn’t it? You’re using this place as a hideout.” Tanya stared around the cavern, trembling. “And you’re not alone.”

“What?”

Tanya met the girl’s emerald gaze. “Nice of you to join us.
Us
. That’s what you said when I found you. There’s someone else with you.”

Before she had even finished speaking, a terrible, bloodcurdling sound filled the cavern. Tanya froze as the noise grew louder. There was something horribly familiar about that sound… she had heard it before.

Something was moving on the bed beneath the pile of clothes. No.
Within
the clothes. Tanya’s back was pressed against the cold stone wall as the red-haired girl moved soundlessly toward the bed and pulled the bundle into her arms. Tanya watched, transfixed, as a tiny hand reached out from the bundle and stretched toward the girl’s face; a clenched little fist slowly unfurling as the noise continued.

“A baby? You’re hiding down here with… with a
baby
?”

The girl did not answer. Tanya wondered if she’d even heard. Instead the girl sank down on the bed whispering to the child, who did not appear to be taking any comfort.

“Why is it crying like that?” Tanya asked, wincing at the terrible noise. The wails had now escalated into piercing shrieks that echoed through the cavern and filled her heart with dread.

“He’s crying because he’s sick,” the girl replied unexpectedly. “He needs medicine. And I have none.”

Steadying herself with a hand against the freezing wall, Tanya’s fear was momentarily quashed by her desire to see the child. She took a slow, quiet step toward the bed. The girl didn’t notice. Emboldened, she took another.

“If he’s sick then why isn’t he in a hospital?”

“He was,” the girl muttered. “But it wasn’t safe.”

“Is he yours?”

The girl did not reply. Tanya took another step. The baby continued to writhe in the girl’s arms, tiny limbs flailing beneath the fabric it was wrapped in. Still she could see nothing of it, except for that weak little hand.

“What do you mean it wasn’t safe? How can a hospital not be safe compared to this…

an underground… underground
dungeon
with no warmth, no light, no fresh air…”

“Shut up, Tanya!” the girl whispered. “And get back where you were.”

Tanya retreated. But she could not shut up. Something was wrong here, something was niggling at her. “Why would you take a sick baby out of a hospital?”

“I said shut up! Shut
up
!” The girl’s face crumpled, and for a second it seemed she had been about to sob, but then she composed herself.

From the depths of Tanya’s memory something was stirring, hovering just on the edge of recognition. As she willed it, the memory began to materialize, slowly at first, and then without warning it cascaded upon her with such force she felt as if she’d been punched in the stomach.

“I remember. I heard it on the radio. A baby, stolen from the hospital…” Her voice was shaking. “It was you.
You
did it.”

The girl’s eyes were wild with anger.

“You took that baby away,” Tanya whispered, horrified. “And now you’re holding him here when he’s sick and needs medical attention…”

The nausea that had been threatening finally took hold. Tanya bent double, gripped by pain, and vomited. Yet even when her stomach was empty she was still retching out of sheer fear. She knew then that she would have to outwit or fight this girl to escape. At that moment, neither seemed likely.

Minutes passed, and along with them, so did Tanya’s nausea. Still she bent over, pretending to gag and spit. She was buying time while her mind raced and wrangled with ideas of escape. She glanced at the girl out of the corner of her eye. She had risen from the bed and was now stuffing clothes into her bag.

By now the child had exhausted himself and was lying quietly in his blankets. Tanya watched as the girl zipped up the bag and then collected a plastic bottle about a quarter full of water from the table. Unscrewing the lid, she walked over to Tanya and offered it. Tanya eyed it warily.

“Take it,” the girl said impatiently. “Unless you like the taste of your own vomit.”

Tanya took the bottle and swilled a large mouthful of water around before spitting. Then she took another smaller mouthful and swallowed.

“I know what you’re thinking,” the girl said suddenly.

Tanya put the bottle down and regarded her. “What am I thinking?”

“That I’m a bad person. And you’re probably trying to think of a way to escape. Correct?”

Tanya nodded.

The girl was silent for a moment.

“What if I told you I’m not a bad person? That I’ve just done some bad things in the name of trying to do something else, something good. Would that make a difference?”

“I don’t know,” Tanya answered. “Why don’t you tell me? Tell me why you stole the baby. Then maybe I’ll understand.”

“You wouldn’t. You’d just think I’m even madder than you do already.” She gave Tanya a long, hard look. “You’re just trying to keep me talking so you can distract me and try to escape. I don’t blame you. I’ll do whatever else I have to in order to get away from here with that child—and not you or anyone else will stop me. So go ahead. Draw your conclusions.”

“If you’re so convinced what you’re doing is right then why not tell me?”

“Because you wouldn’t believe me,” the girl replied simply. “And because I have to leave, now. Before it gets light.”

“So where do I fit in with this?”

“You don’t. When I’m a safe distance away, I will send message of your whereabouts to the house.”

“You can’t leave me down here!” Tanya gasped. “How do I know you’ll keep your word? Or that you won’t get caught by the police? Or… or run over and killed? Anything could happen! And then no one would find me!”

“No,” the girl said. “I don’t suppose they would. But maybe this will teach you a valuable lesson about minding your own business in the future. After all, you know what they say about curiosity. And if you’re thinking of following me, or attempting to find your own way out of these tunnels, don’t.

“If you follow me I’ll hear you and I’ll make sure you can’t follow any farther. As for finding your own way out, there’s not a chance. These tunnels are an intricate maze, and parts of them have caved in. Of those that remain, only a few actually lead somewhere.” She paused and looked Tanya straight in the eye. “The rest are decoys, looping back on themselves to prevent anyone from being followed. It’s what they were designed for when the property was built. Pretty ingenious, really.”

Tanya bit back tears and a torrent of abuse.

“What are you going to do with the baby… sell him? Hold him for ransom?”

“Neither. He was abandoned in the first place, so who’d pay the ransom? And selling him would be impossible given that it’s probably been all over the news.”

The baby began to howl again. Tanya jumped at the sudden noise. It was a horrible, gurgling wail. “Can’t you stop him from crying?”

“We’ll be gone in a minute.”

The child screamed even louder. This time even the redheaded girl flinched. For a moment she paused, then reluctantly stopped what she was doing and looked up.

She gave a small cry and flew to the bed.

From between the folds of the blanket the child’s hand was visible. Blood ran in rivulets from minute crescents in the baby’s palm: he had pierced his own skin with his fingernails. At the girl’s touch, the shrieks subsided as he was comforted. The girl wrapped him up tightly and gathered him in the crook of her arm. On her other shoulder she hoisted the bag. She strode over to Tanya.

“I’ll need a couple of hours before I notify anyone of your whereabouts. I’m warning you again—don’t try to follow me. If you get lost down here you will die.” She tossed a blanket on the floor. “Here. You’ll need this to keep warm.”

Tanya did not answer her. She was staring at the child, lying quietly in the girl’s arms. It was the moment that changed everything. The moment when she saw the child for what it truly was.

The child stared back at her, unblinking. What happened next turned her stomach with fear. As the baby watched her its features warped and then morphed. The tips of the ears elongated and pointed and the skin took on a greenish hue. The eyes in their entirety flooded black, as if with ink, sparkling eerily. All this in the briefest of moments before the ghoulish vision was gone—but Tanya knew what she had seen.

And so did the redheaded intruder.

“You saw.” Her voice was a throaty whisper.

Tanya lowered her eyes to the thing in the girl’s arms and swallowed a scream.

“I don’t believe it,” the girl murmured, eyes fixed on Tanya. “You
saw
. You can see them too.”

Tanya stared back. A moment of clarity and quiet understanding passed between them as the girl whispered something softly.

“You have the second sight.”

Tanya recoiled. “Who
are
you?”

There was a short pause.

“You can call me Red.”

Tanya nodded toward the fairy child. “What are you doing with that baby?”

“Good question,” Red replied. “Sit. I’ll tell you my story. I’m sure it’s one you’ll find interesting.”

Red leaned across the table, her eyes fixed on the candle. Light and shadow flickered across her face as she held her hands to the warmth of the flame. Numbly, Tanya watched her pale, slender fingers moving up and down, absorbing the heat as gracefully as a butterfly would dance in the sunlight. They looked like they should belong to a pianist. Or an artist or a musician. The reality now seemed quite different.

She did not trust the girl an inch.

“How did you get past Oberon?” Tanya whispered tentatively. “I… I don’t get it. He would’ve barked.”

“The dog? That was easy. He did start to growl the first time I got into the kitchen, but after a few scraps of food we were practically best friends.”

Tanya’s eyes widened in fear. “You’d better not have… have—”

“What? Drugged him? Poisoned him?” Red finished. “No. I’m not lying. I bribed him with food. Simple. And anyway, I happen to like animals. A lot more than I like people, that’s for sure.”