City of Lies (16 page)

“It is halfway through Old Mine Shafts.” Broo’s hackles rose. “We will trap it there and I will
kill
it!”

“No,” whispered Sinew, inching toward the door that led to Old Mine Shafts. “We’re not killing it.”

“What else can you do with a slommerkin?” said Broo in a low growl. “They are very stupid. All they think about is food.”

“It doesn’t matter. This creature is probably the last of its kind, like you. We’re going to try to drive it toward the Dirty Gate. Dan and Olga Ciavolga are up there waiting for us.”

Broo flattened his ears. “Slommerkins cannot be driven like geese.”

“You’re probably right, but we have to try nonetheless.” Sinew stifled a sneeze. “Whew, it does stink, doesn’t it!”

He pulled a kerchief out of his pocket and wrapped it
around his face, covering his long nose. “I hate to think of what must be happening to the children to bring something like this out of the woodwork. I keep hoping it’ll go to sleep in a corner somewhere and we’ll know that everything’s all right, that the children are safe.” He grimaced. “But I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

“It does not smell sleepy.”

“No, it doesn’t.” Sinew paused. “Do you think it’ll fight when it sees us, or will it keep running?”

“It will run. And
then
it will fight.”

Sinew unslung his harp. “Well then, we’d best get on with it. Are you ready?”

The brizzlehound stiffened. His great shadow swooped up the walls, as black as a nightmare. His eyes glowed.

“I am
rrrready
!” he growled.

And he and Sinew leaped out of hiding and raced toward the slommerkin.

“G
unna be a warm night,” muttered Pounce, poking at the fire. “Don’t reckon we’ll need no more wood.”

He pushed past Toadspit and disappeared down the tunnel. As soon as he had gone, Toadspit turned to Goldie. “So how do we get out of Spoke? And don’t lie, it’s just us.”

Goldie looked at the nest of quilts beside the fire, where Bonnie and Mouse were sound asleep with the cat curled up between them. “I’m not sure,” she whispered. “I don’t know who we can trust. The man who had you imprisoned—”

“Harrow?”

The cat’s ear flicked as if it had been stung. “Shhhhh!” said Goldie. “He’s got people everywhere.”

“Not
here
,” said Toadspit.

“Maybe not, but—” Goldie remembered the bandmaster’s terrified face.
“You’ve signed my death warrant, and that of all my fellows!”

She shivered. Harrow was like a black shadow hovering above the city. She wished—oh, how she
wished
she could catch one of the Big Lies, and use it to take her friends to safety.

“Did you see him?” she whispered.

Toadspit shook his head. “I heard Cord say that he was busy on another job. The woman in the green cloak seemed to be running things.”

“Who is she?”

“All I know is that her name’s Flense. She stayed away from us most of the time, and when she was there she wore a mask. I never even heard her speak.”

“Did Cord say why they stole Bonnie?”

“No. Not a word.”

Goldie lowered her voice even more. “
I
found out something. Harrow’s a murderer. He’s killed at least a dozen people. And you know the bomb that destroyed the Fugleman’s office? That was him! Or his men, at least.”

Toadspit stared at her. “Are you
sure
?”

“N-no. But I think it’s probably true.”

“Why would he bomb the Fugleman’s office?”

“I don’t know.”

Silence fell between them. Goldie chewed her knuckles, wondering how on earth they were going to get back home without being caught.

Presently Toadspit said, “Look, we’re going to have to trust
someone
.”

“Are we? The fortune said we’re going home by sea. If we Concealed ourselves and stowed away on a ship—”

“You and I could do it easily enough, but what about Bonnie? If Harrow’s—if
his
men caught her—”

He stopped as the blanket that covered the tunnel was pushed to one side and Pounce entered, his arms piled high with fence palings.

“Don’t worry ’bout me,” said Pounce. His mask glared at Goldie and Toadspit. “These old things is light as a feather.”

He unloaded the palings into a corner, then sat down and poked at the fire. Toadspit leaned forward. “Listen, Pounce. If we
didn’t
want to go to Jewel—”

Goldie shook her head at him, but Toadspit ignored her. “If we didn’t want to go to Jewel, and we didn’t want to go soon,
really
soon, what’s the worst way to get there?”

Pounce jabbed at the fire. “This your job?” he said to Goldie. “The one that don’t pay?”

Goldie didn’t answer. She didn’t trust Pounce, and wished that Toadspit hadn’t asked him for help. But it was too late to do anything about it now.

“Anyone else involved?” said Pounce. “Like, anyone who might want to
stop
ya gettin’ to Jewel?”

“No,” said Toadspit, meaning yes.

“Yes,” said Goldie, meaning no.

“Make up yer minds,” sniggered Pounce. “Someone chasin’ yez or not?”

Goldie leaned forward fiercely. “Stick your nose in our business as much as you like, Pounce. Can you help us, or can’t you?”

“All right, all right,” said the boy, holding his hands up. “I reckon—I reckon maybe I can’t.” He hesitated. “Any money in it?”

Goldie shook her head. “Definitely not. Not if we get home safely.”

“Mm,” said Pounce. “That’s nasty. Maybe I won’t go and talk to someone.” He stood up and slouched toward the curtain.

“Pounce,” said Goldie.

The boy turned around. “What?”

“Don’t keep this to yourself. Tell everyone.
Everyone.
”

Pounce saluted mockingly. His eyes glittered behind the mask—and he was gone.

When Goldie woke up some hours later, the lantern was guttering and Pounce was leaning over her.

“I didn’t find a ship,” he whispered, sounding pleased with himself. “Captain’s not a mate of mine. Ain’t leavin’ in an hour. Ain’t goin’ straight to Jewel.”

Goldie scrambled to her feet. “Will you take us to him?”

Pounce snorted. “Course I will.
I
ain’t got nothin’ better to do than take foreign snotties on a guided tour of the city.”

“How are we going to find him, then?”

“A map’d be no use.” Pounce turned away, then swung back again. Something clinked in his britches pocket. “You make lots of noise while yer gettin’ ready,” he hissed. “Mousie ain’t tired, don’t need ’is beauty sleep. You make as much noise as ya like.”

While Goldie tiptoed around the little room, waking Toadspit and Bonnie, Pounce stuck another stub of candle in the lantern and drew a map on the wall of the tunnel in charcoal. When he had finished, the three children from Jewel crowded around him.

Pounce stabbed at the bottom of the map with a blackened finger. “We ain’t ’ere,” he said. He stabbed again. “And the wharf ain’t ’ere.”

Goldie bent closer and saw five stick figures. Farther up was a picture of what might have been a boat.

“This,” continued Pounce, tapping a squarish blotch near
the wharf, “ain’t a deserted stableyard. Me mate won’t be waitin’ for yez there.”

His finger went back to the beginning. “Now, ’ow do yez get to the stables from ’ere? It’s real ’ard. First, don’t go up this street. Then—”

His hand moved up the map. His britches pocket clinked.

Clink. Clink clink clink …

Goldie would have liked to have said goodbye to Mouse, but he was still asleep, and whenever she looked in his direction, Pounce’s mask glared at her. So she whispered her thanks and farewells to the pram instead, and hoped that somehow the mice would understand and pass her message on to their boy.

It was hard to leave the warmth of the little room. But at least they were not alone—the cat went with them, just as the fortune had promised. Goldie was glad. Harrow and his men were still out there somewhere, and she wanted her allies around her.

We’ll have Morg too
, she thought.

But when they reached the mouth of the tunnel, there was no sign of the slaughterbird.

Toadspit bit his lip. “We should wait for her. She won’t be far away.”

“We can’t afford the time,” said Goldie. “Don’t worry; she’ll catch up with us. If she found us once, she can find us again.”

“Are you lying?” said Bonnie.

Goldie smiled. “No, it’s just us now. We don’t have to lie.”

“What do you reckon the time is?” said Toadspit.

“I don’t know,” said Goldie. “Two o’clock in the morning? Half past?”

With the cat trotting beside them, they set out along the dark streets, following the directions they had memorized from Pounce’s map. The rain had stopped, but streams sprouted in all directions, as if the earth was so full of water that it was leaking.

There weren’t many people around, and the only sound of the Festival was the occasional distant popping of thunderflashes. As the children approached the wharf, the streets became even more deserted.

The stableyard was halfway along a row of derelict houses. It had a high stone wall around it and only one gateway. There was no light showing.

The children and the cat stopped several houses away. “I thought Pounce’s friend would be here by now,” whispered Goldie.

“He’s probably inside, waiting for us,” said Bonnie. “Let’s go in. I’m freezing.”

Toadspit shook his head. “If he’s here, why isn’t he showing a light? I don’t like it. That yard’s a good place for a trap.”

In the back of Goldie’s mind, the little voice whispered,
Beware.…

She turned to Toadspit. “I’m going to have a closer look. You two wait here.”

Toadspit nodded. “Be careful.”

With the cat trotting beside her, Goldie circled around the block so that she could come at the stableyard from behind. Her feeling of danger was growing, and she pressed her mask firmly in place and wished that she had thought to bring masks for her friends. But it was too late now. Silently, she climbed the stone wall, slid down into the yard and opened her senses to the night.

The moon was covered by cloud, and her eyes told her very little. She could see the dark bulk of the deserted stalls and something that might have been an old cart. Nothing else.