Julius and the Soulcatcher (9 page)

‘He called them soulcatchers, Mr Flynn,' whispered Julius. ‘Like in Darwin's diary.'

Tock went to the lowest-hanging cage and stooped to hold his face close to the bars.

Julius started, expecting the soulcatcher's tendrils to shoot out towards him. But they remained still, as if Tock were not there.

‘What a wise little soulcatcher you are,' said Tock. ‘You know I have no soul for you to catch.'

‘What did he…?' whispered Mr Flynn.

‘He said he has no soul, and that the soulcatcher knows it,' whispered Julius.

‘You like your food still warm, don't you? Don't you?' said Tock. He poured some of the liquid from
the beaker into the soil around the orchid.

‘Grow strong, my friend. Grow strong,' said Tock. ‘And capture all those souls.'

‘What did he say?' said Mr Flynn.

‘He said it's going to capture souls,' said Julius.

‘The man's insane,' said Mr Flynn.

What the Hell is going on, Higgins?

Tock suddenly spun around to face the dark corner.

‘Abigail, my dear,' he said. ‘Are you well? Are you? Are you?'

He beckoned to the metal creature, who climbed cautiously over the table and lowered her head for him to pat.

‘You've been a good girl? Have you? Have you?' he said, stroking her gently.

Abigail nuzzled Mr Tock's side, making an almost-melodic metal scraping sound.

‘Oh, she certainly has, Mr Tock, sir,' said Rapple. ‘Never a peep from her, sir.'

‘Such a beautiful creature, don't you think? Don't you? Don't you?' said Tock, as he patted her razor-blade snout.

A movement near his foot made him look down. ‘What have we here?' he said, stooping to pick up a wriggling object.

Rapple cast a furtive glance at Baines. ‘Oh yes, Mr Tock,' he said. ‘Er, we've been meaning to tell you…'

‘Tell me what?'

‘It's Abigail, sir. She's been making things again,' said Baines.

Mr Tock peered at the object he held between his fingers. From where Julius stood it was just a squirming black dot.

‘Abigail, my dear,' said Mr Tock, in a singsong voice. ‘What did I say about making little things? What did I say? What? What?'

Abigail hung her head low. A metallic sound rattled around the interior of the house as she began to tremble. Mr Tock put the squirming thing in his pocket. Everyone was silent, even the rats. Abigail became still too.

Julius blinked.

A moment passed.

‘Come closer, Abigail,' said Tock.

Abigail pulled back an inch.

‘Abigail,' said Tock. ‘Do I have to repeat myself ? Do I? Do I?'

She raised a foot and took one step closer. Then she lifted her face towards his. Tock stroked her snout.

‘There, there,' he said. ‘Nothing to fear, my dear, nothing at all.'

Abigail's body loosened.

Then Tock took a hold of her head. Abigail flinched. Her knees buckled slightly.

‘I am the Maker, not you,' said Tock. ‘Do you understand? Do you? Do you?'

Abigail nodded her head.

‘Good,' said Tock. Then he stabbed his finger through her eye.

Baines jumped. Abigail shrieked, making the glass in front of Julius's face vibrate.

Tock held her head firmly and pulled his finger out. Shards of glass fell to the floor.

‘Shall I blind you? Shall I? Shall I?' he said, like a spoilt child, furious with his tin soldier. Abigail trembled as he held his finger over her other eye.

Cripes, Higgins. The man's deranged.

‘I think I've seen enough,' whispered Mr Flynn. ‘Let's go.'

Julius and Mr Flynn crept across the yard. Mr Flynn edged through the gate first. Julius opened it a little wider.

It creaked.

Julius froze. He and Mr Flynn listened. There were no sounds.

That was close, Higgins.

Julius turned his head to look at the house. Tock's pale face appeared at the window and smiled at him with his too-small teeth.

‘Run,' said Mr Flynn.

He grabbed Julius by the shoulder, and hoisted him into the dark fog. They would have to use memory to find their way back, there was nothing else to help them.

Julius held tight to the flap of Mr Flynn's coat pocket. He concentrated on Mr Flynn's sounds and movements, as he could barely see him.

A sharp hiss cut through the darkness behind them, like a hundred Lucifers being lit at once.

Then another.

Julius looked back as they ran. Through the fog he saw two pale yellow lights rise up as if they had been thrown. They hissed over their heads and landed on the ground between them and the way out of the wasteground.

‘They'll see our position if keep going that way,' whispered Mr Flynn.

The gate groaned. Another light ignited and hissed, then another. They landed to the left and right.

They're making a cordon to cut us off, Higgins.

Julius heard running feet across the boggy ground—heavy footsteps and light ones, and the sound a giant creature might make if it was made of metal.

More lights ignited and flew through the damp fog. A single red light glowed dimly, showing Abigail's position.

A dark figure ran at them. Mr Flynn jumped aside and Julius heard the crack of bare knuckles against bone, immediately followed by a grunt and the thud of a limp body hitting the ground.

‘Julius,' hissed Mr Flynn.

Julius stepped three paces towards his voice. He found Mr Flynn crouched over Baines and extracting a meat cleaver from the fallen man's hand. Baines's face was splattered with blood.

‘Over here,' called out Baines weakly, before Mr Flynn hit him with another bare-knuckle blow.

Julius grabbed Mr Flynn's coat and they hurried into the darkest corner of the foggy night.

‘Mr Baines? Are you there,' called out Rapple's rasping voice.

‘Over here,' came the muffled sound of Baines trying to speak through broken teeth.

Another light ignited almost directly in front of Julius and Mr Flynn. They froze. Mr Tock stood smiling at them, his blue eyes glowing. He held a giant Lucifer in his hand, apparently unconcerned about the meat cleaver in Mr Flynn's.

‘How nice.' he said. ‘Have you come to call? Have you? Have you?'

A sound behind Julius made him start.

Where's Abigail, Higgins?

Baines groaned out in the fog somewhere.

Mr Flynn held the cleaver ready.

‘Why? It's our young friend from the bookshop,' said Tock. ‘Mr Rapple, are you there? Are you? Are you?'

‘Yes, Mr Tock, sir. I'm right here, sir,' said Rapple.

Rapple emerged from the fog, wielding a machete
in one hand and a giant Lucifer in the other. Julius heard the metallic sound of Abigail moving closer.

‘Step aside and let us pass,' said Mr Flynn, in a voice that would normally have produced obedience from even the most hardened bruiser. It only made Tock smile wider.

‘We can't do that,' said Tock. ‘Can we, Mr Rapple?'

‘No, we can't, Mr Tock, sir,' came the reply.

Julius saw the red light of Abigail's remaining eye through the fog.

Mr Flynn swung around so that he had both Tock and Rapple in his sight. Rapple was as tall as him, but Tock barely came up to his watch chain. ‘I'll not say it again,' said Mr Flynn. ‘Step aside or I'll be the one who's chopping limbs off.'

Tock chuckled.

Julius prepared to duck behind Mr Flynn.

‘Did you like my gift? Did you? Did you?' said Tock to Julius.

‘Your what?' said Julius.

‘The orchid,' said Tock. ‘Did you give it away? Did you? Did you?'

How does he know, Higgins?

The red spot of light was coming closer.

‘Why are you spying on me?' said Tock. ‘Tell me. Tell me.'

‘I'm not,' said Julius. ‘I just—'

‘That's enough,' said Mr Flynn.

Julius tightened his grip on Mr Flynn's coat tail. He instinctively knew Mr Flynn's plan—go for Rapple, floor him, then run across the wasteground to Bermondsey.

‘Kill them,' said Tock.

Rapple threw the light at Mr Flynn, and lunged at him with the machete raised.

Mr Flynn was too quick. He dodged the light and sidestepped his attacker. Julius leapt out of the way. Rapple checked himself and turned back to strike. But Mr Flynn was quicker still. He swung the meat cleaver and the blunt side caught Rapple squarely on the cheekbone. Rapple's legs buckled, and the machete fell.

Mr Flynn jumped aside as Abigail came towards them. Julius fell and rolled over, colliding with Rapple who reached out to grab him. But Julius kicked out madly, and his foot connected with Rapple's chin. The man cried in pain. Mr Flynn grabbed one of Abigail's claws and smashed the sharp edge of the meat cleaver into the side of her head, shattering what remained of her broken eye and leaving a deep gash in the razor scales.

Abigail let out a screech of metal grinding against metal and fell back.

Julius scrambled to his feet and searched for the machete.

‘Come on,' said Mr Flynn, reaching past the fallen
Rapple and grabbing Julius by his shoulder.

‘Do call again,' called out Tock, as they ran through the cold fog, using the faint lights still burning about the wasteground to find their way.

At the Bermondsey rookery Mr Flynn tossed the meat cleaver over a wall. Julius's body was like a blancmange on a merry-go-round—quivering and fragile.

‘That was one frightening customer,' said Mr Flynn. ‘I've never met a man I couldn't put the wind up if I put my mind to it.'

‘He was completely without fear.'

‘How did he know you gave the orchid away?' said Mr Flynn, leading the way through the dark alleyways.

‘I don't know,' said Julius. ‘At least he doesn't know who I gave it to.'

‘Aye,' said Mr Flynn. ‘Let's keep that way.'

‘Tock walked through the wall,' said Julius. ‘One minute it was there and the next it like some sort of liquid.'

‘Aye.'

‘Do you think he came from a parallel realm, like the Grackacks?' said Julius.

‘If he did, he's found a doorway between the realms.'

‘That's not very reassuring,' said Julius. He shuddered when he recalled the Grackacks' realm and his terrifying time there. He wondered what Tock's realm
would be like. Would it be full of short, frightening people with staring blue eyes?

‘The soulcatcher orchid didn't go for him like it went for Rapple,' said Julius. ‘What did he mean when he said he didn't have a soul?'

‘Damned if I know,' said Mr Flynn.

They arrived at the bank of the Thames and stopped. Across the river Julius could see the faint silhouette of the dome of St Paul's Cathedral.

Mr Flynn took the jar containing the orchid from his pocket. He shook it lightly and held it up to catch what light there was. It wriggled and writhed behind the glass.

‘It certainly wants to get at you, Mr Flynn,' said Julius. ‘But the one in the birdcage didn't even know Tock was there.'

‘But it made Edward Rapple flinch like a shepherdess,' said Mr Flynn. ‘And what was that he said about getting away when they're let loose?'

‘What if Tock's planning to release the soulcatchers in London?' said Julius. ‘There was a painting in Mr Darwin's diary of a them growing out of a man's mouth and nose and eyes. It looked like he was screaming in agony. We can't let that happen here.'

‘Let's hope that was just a painting,' said Mr Flynn.

‘The Watchmakers will want to know about this,' said Julius. ‘I think we should get the pocketwatch, Mr Flynn.'

Mr Flynn put the jar away. ‘You're right, Julius,' said Mr Flynn ‘It's time to get the pocketwatch.'

A spasm of new life ran through Julius, as if someone had called out his name in a crowded room. His skin tingled as if fireworks were going off inside him. He was going to hold the pocketwatch again.

‘Do you think you could summon the Watchmakers with it, Julius?'

It took Julius a moment to realise he was been spoken to. ‘Yes,' he said. ‘I'm sure. I saw the professor do it.'

You're going to hold the pocketwatch again, Higgins.

Its porcelain face was as clear in his mind as if it was right there before him, as white as sunshine on snow. Its tick-tock was the beating of his heart.

‘We should get it now,' he said.

CHAPTER 8

Saturday 20th January 1838

1:13 AM

Julius and Mr Flynn climbed the steps of St Paul's. Julius lit a Lucifer to help Mr Flynn as he sorted through a ring of keys.

‘You have a key to the cathedral?' said Julius.

‘Of course,' said Mr Flynn.

The city was silent, as if it was watching them open the cathedral door.

Inside, it was as black as a coalmine on a Sunday. Mr Flynn struck another Lucifer and lit a nearby candle for himself and one for Julius. The darkness receded into the corners and alcoves.