Rise of the Darklings (37 page)

J
ack was freezing cold and surrounded by darkness. He could feel mud oozing through the weave of the sack, squelching between his hands and seeping into his clothes. He pushed his finger into the hole he’d managed to pick in the stitching along the seam. He wiggled it about, pulling the small gap wider. He finally got it big enough so that he could insert two fingers, then he pulled.

The stitching gave way with a loud, tearing noise. Jack froze, but neither Jenny Greenteeth nor Black Annis came to investigate. He then painstakingly pulled the rest of the stitching apart until he thought he could fit through the gap. He looked through the opening. He was surrounded by trees. Black Annis had dropped him in a large puddle.
He could see another sack close by—that must be Corrigan.

“I’m hungry, Black Annis,” whined a voice he recognized as Greenteeth’s. “Can’t I eat them? Just a little bit? A leg, maybe? Or a juicy finger.”

“No,” replied Annis. “We can’t harm them yet, Jenny. The Dagda said so.”

“But I need
food.”

“Jenny!” snapped Annis. “Just hold on to your horses till Ravenhill gets to the meeting place. Then you can eat the entire Invisible Order for all I care.”

Jack frowned. What was this? Why was Ravenhill coming here?

“Can I have Ravenhill?” asked Jenny. “I don’t like him, Black Annis.”

“I don’t like him either, poppet, but no. He’s the Queen’s man now. Seems he’s seen sense and switched sides. You’re not allowed to touch him.”

Jack felt a cold thrill run through his body. The Queen’s man? Had Ravenhill betrayed them all? Betrayed the Invisible Order? It certainly sounded that way.

He had to warn Emily—

Jack paused. No, he couldn’t. He had no idea where Emily
was
.

He had to get word to Sebastian. He would know what to do.

“Hss,”
said Black Annis. “You hear that?”

Jack froze, holding his breath. Had they heard him?

“It’s someone on the path, Black Annis. Looks like a bobby. Can I have him? Please?”

Black Annis chuckled. “Go ahead, poppet. But make it quick.”

Jack breathed a sigh of relief and pushed his head through the gap in the sack. There was no sign of Jenny Greenteeth. Black Annis was some distance away, moving in slow circles, dancing with an invisible partner. She wasn’t paying him any attention.

Jack shrugged off the sack and stood up. He turned quickly, getting his bearings. He hesitated, wondering if he should just leave Corrigan where he was, then decided the irritating creature might still come in handy and grabbed the sack from the ground.

Then he ran as if all the bobbies in London were after him.

Jack burst out of a copse of trees and frantically looked around. There was a path just ahead, weaving through the grass. He suddenly realized where he was: Hyde Park.

Jack followed the path at a run. He thought he heard a screech of anger some way behind him, but he didn’t stop. He just kept on running till he got through the gates and
into the street. Only then did he glance over his shoulder for signs of pursuit.

Nothing.

He sucked in great mouthfuls of air. Then he shook the sack. “You all right in there?”

There was a moment’s silence. Then a suspicious voice said, “Jack?”

Jack untied the sack and tipped it upside down, spilling Corrigan onto the pavement. The piskie scrambled to his feet and looked around, then glared at Jack. “What are you thinking, running around like that? You nearly broke my neck!”

“Why don’t you show some gratitude, you little wretch! I rescued you!”

“I didn’t ask you to, did I?”

Jack was tempted to simply turn around and leave the aggravating piskie to his own devices, but he had more important things to think about at the moment. He raised his hands in the air. “Enough,” he said. “A truce, yes? I overheard something back in the park. It’s important.”

Corrigan grudgingly nodded. “Fine. Truce. But it’s only temporary, mind! Now, what’s so important?”

“Ravenhill has betrayed the Invisible Order.”

“Rubbish,” scoffed Corrigan. “Why would he do that?”

“I’ve no idea. But I heard what I heard. Annis said
Ravenhill was the Queen’s man now, that he had switched sides. And that Greenteeth could eat as many of the Invisible Order as she wanted when they got to the meeting place.”

“Where’s the meeting place?”

“She didn’t say. We have to get back to Somerset House and warn them before they leave.”

Corrigan said nothing.

“What, you don’t want to help?” said Jack.

An uneasy look flashed across the piskie’s face. “I’ve stayed alive this long by trying to keep to my own business, boy. Getting involved only leads to trouble.”

“Don’t you think you owe us? After all the trouble you’ve caused Emily, don’t you think it’s your duty to stick with this till the end?”

Corrigan thought about it, then reluctantly nodded. “Fine. I’ll see this through. But for her, not you.”

“Fine by me,” said Jack.

Corrigan held out his hand.

Jack stared at it. “I’m not your friend, piskie. I think you’re a sneak, a liar, and a backstabber. I don’t want to shake your hand.”

“That’s good. Because I don’t want to shake yours, either. I just want a lift onto your shoulders.”

Jack ran all the way back to Somerset House. Part of him was hoping that Emily would be there. He remembered Black Annis said that the Dagda only wanted to talk to her. If that was the case, then maybe she had been released and had returned here to check on William. If not, he could warn Sebastian about Ravenhill, then head out to search for her.

At the wide stairs leading up to the doors, Corrigan hopped from Jack’s shoulders. “I can’t go in there,” the piskie said. “Too much iron, remember?”

“Fine. I’ll warn them, then we can find Emily and try and sort out this second clue.”

“Don’t dawdle,” shouted Corrigan as Jack jogged up the stairs.

Jack ignored him and headed for the window Emily had left ajar. It was now wide open. Jack paused. She hadn’t opened it this widely, had she? Maybe she really
was
here.

Jack slipped into Somerset House and retraced the route to Sebastian’s office. The Royal Society was eerily quiet. He didn’t see a single soul as he hurried through the corridors.

He hurried through the library to the door leading into the rooms of the Invisible Order. He could hear banging. And muffled shouting.

Jack hurried along the corridor. As he drew nearer, he realized the noises were coming from Sebastian’s office. Puzzled,

Jack turned the key he found in the lock and opened the door, to find himself standing face-to-face with a very angry William Snow.

“Will?”

“Jack! Thank goodness. Em locked me in here. She said I couldn’t go with her. That it was too dangerous.”

Jack’s heart sank. “She’s not here?”

“Not anymore. She left about an hour ago. Jack, Em said our ma and da are still alive. That she might be able to get them back.”

Jack stared at Will, surprised. How had their parents come into all this? But at least the Dagda had released her. That was something. “What about Sebastian? Is he around?”

“No! That’s another reason she locked me up. The Invisible Order is going to ambush the Queen and the Dagda at Hyde Park. I heard Sebastian say so. They’ve all gone to fight.”

Jack’s heart sank. “Ravenhill, as well?”

Will nodded. “Sebastian said it was Ravenhill’s idea.”

He was too late. Ravenhill was leading the Invisible Order into a trap. It would be a massacre.

“Come on,” he said to Will. “Ravenhill’s betrayed them. We’ve got to warn them.” He held up a hand to stop Will’s questions. “I’ll explain as we run,” he added. “Unless you want to stay here?”

William stepped out of the office and slammed the door behind him.

“Thought so,” said Jack wryly.

They found Corrigan waiting for them outside and explained the situation.

“Maybe we should just stay out of it,” said Corrigan.

“We can’t!” said Jack. “Em told Will that their parents are still alive, that she had a chance to save them. It had to be the Dagda who told her that. Remember what Black Annis said? That the Dagda only wanted to talk? He must have offered her a deal.”

“The key to Faerie in exchange for her parents,” said Corrigan softly.

“But if she takes the key to him, she’ll be caught up in this ambush,” said Jack. “We have to stop it.”

“I think it’s too late for that,” said Corrigan. He looked at William. “Didn’t you say the Queen and the Dagda were meeting at dawn?”

William nodded. “That’s what Sebastian said.”

“Dawn’s not far off,” said Corrigan.

“But we have to do something!” said William.

“Calm yourself, boy.” Corrigan looked thoughtful. “There may be another way. But we’ll have to move quick.”

C
HAPTER
T
HIRTY