The Bonehill Curse (10 page)

The business of Arabesque Alley continued as normal, people bustling to and fro, street vendors crying their wares, except these weren’t the apples and vegetables or flowers and goods that were sold elsewhere in London. Ness could smell spices and incense; she could see curiously shaped fruit and brilliantly coloured cloth. She marvelled at how quickly Hafid moved considering his lack of sight.

‘I’ve known these streets for decades,’ Hafid said, as if reading her mind. ‘You don’t always need eyes to see where you’re going.’

‘I can’t believe that the Lashkars have been here for all this time and nobody knows,’ Ness said, weaving her way through the crowd after Hafid.

The old man paused but didn’t look back at her. ‘Some people know we are here. We cause them no problem, they ignore us. If you aren’t looking for something then you aren’t likely to find it. And Arabesque Alley isn’t somewhere you stumble across. I make sure of that.’ He tapped the side of his curved nose and gave a sly grin.

Ness stared after the old man. ‘Are you some kind of magician?’ she said.

Hafid stopped again. ‘Some may call me that but what I can do is nothing compared to the power of the djinn. I have but a small fraction of the wisdom and gifts Sulayman commanded – charms, minor enchantments. They keep us safe.’

They came to another whitewashed tenement. Hafid grunted as he clambered up the steps and pushed the door open.

Inside, Taimur stood glowering and his fury was mirrored in the eyes of Azuli next to him. Jabalah sat on a heavily cushioned sofa at the side of the room. He gave Ness a brief smile and glanced sidelong at Hafid as the old man slumped beside him.

‘So, Necessity Bonehill,’ Taimur said, ‘once more, you stumble into danger and Azuli has to pull you clear.’

Ness pursed her lips and stared at her feet.

‘My son risked his life against the Pestilents that the djinn left to finish Miss Bonehill off and he doesn’t even get a word of thanks?’ Taimur almost spat.

‘I didn’t ask him to follow me,’ Ness snapped back, staring Taimur in the eye. ‘I can look after myself.’

‘Ha!’ Taimur laughed. ‘Another moment and you would have joined Lumm, a mindless dead thing spreading contagion in the streets.’

‘We took care of that, Father,’ Azuli said, laying a hand on his arm.

‘Took care?’ Ness felt light-headed.

‘We burned the house down,’ Azuli said darkly. ‘And all those inside it.’

‘Lord above.’ Ness sat down heavily.

‘This isn’t some game we are playing,’ Taimur hissed through clenched teeth.

‘This is our solemn duty, Necessity,’ Jabalah said, his face etched with regret. ‘We must protect mankind from the djinn regardless of the cost. We cannot afford to take any chances.’

‘They were all dead at Gladwell Gardens long before you arrived,’ Hafid said softly. ‘The fire will slow the contagion. But every hour that the djinn is free is another hour for his poison to spread through the veins of this city.’

‘Then we must find him quickly,’ Azuli cried, slapping his fist into his palm. ‘Take the silver blade to him.’

‘As I said, we must think first,’ Hafid said, his voice rising, ‘then act.’ He rubbed his long fingers over his wrinkled face. ‘Why would the djinn kill Lumm? It doesn’t make sense. Unless . . .’ He balled his hands into fists and cracked his joints, deep in thought. ‘How many wishes did the djinn offer you, Miss Bonehill?’

‘Just one,’ Ness said, trying to follow Hafid’s train of thought. ‘And then he said he would return for me in seven days.’

‘Djinns are bound by the spell that traps them,’ Hafid muttered. ‘He had to offer at least one wish and then he’d be free. Yet we are sure that your father unleashed the djinn
and
succeeded in returning him to the bottle.’

‘How is that possible,’ Jabalah said, scratching his bald head, ‘unless he wished the djinn straight back into the bottle?’

‘I do not know,’ Hafid said, shaking his head. ‘It seems unlikely that Bonehill made such a wish because he came into great wealth soon after the time we think he released the creature.’

‘My father has always been wealthy,’ Ness snapped, frowning.

Jabalah gave an apologetic smile and shook his head. ‘Your father was a poor army captain in the Hinderton Rifles fourteen years ago. He married a rich heiress.’

‘The Hinderton Rifles?’ Ness repeated.
Sergeant Major Morris’s regiment. Do Major Morris and Father know each other?

‘Your mother’s parents disowned their daughter for marrying a man with so few prospects,’ Jabalah said, his voice soft. He looked at the floor. ‘But within eighteen months, her parents were dead, your mother inherited everything and you were born. Bonehill was quite the respectable gentleman all of a sudden.’

‘I think we can safely assume that the djinn had a hand in all that,’ Taimur sneered.

Ness didn’t know what to say. She had been told that her grandparents had died in a coaching accident. Something had run out in front of them, startling the horses. The coach had turned over, throwing the coachman clear but killing the passengers.

‘But with only one wish, how would Bonehill have returned him to the bottle?’ Hafid mused. ‘Perhaps it was a pact of some kind, and I suspect that Lumm was involved somehow. That would explain why the djinn attacked him too.’

Ness knew that others were involved – she thought of the letter she had taken from Lumm’s desk. It warned Mrs Olwen Quilfy that the djinn was coming for her. If she could find this lady, then the djinn would appear eventually. If it wasn’t too late already. The vague inklings of a plan began to form in her mind.

‘You appear lost in thought, young lady,’ Hafid said, turning his ear to her. ‘Do you know of anyone else who might be involved?’

The words of the djinn echoed in Ness’s mind. Azuli may have rescued her at Lumm’s house but these old, decrepit Lashkars couldn’t stop the djinn. She had to do this on her own.

‘Only Uncle Carlos ever came to the house,’ Ness murmured, casting her eyes down. ‘I just knew Lumm by name. I can’t recall any other acquaintances. I was too young to notice.’

‘We waste time with this cross-examining, Hafid,’ Taimur cried, throwing his hands up. ‘We need to find that damnable creature!’

‘Patience, Taimur,’ Hafid said, rubbing his temples and frowning. ‘Believe me, I am trying to seek out the djinn by all means possible. I can sense him, but he is still weak. I reach out to him with my mind.’

‘And what if your great mind can’t find him?’ Taimur grumbled. Ness could see spots of red beneath Taimur’s grey beard. He trembled with frustration and rage.

‘The djinn gave Miss Bonehill seven days,’ Hafid whispered. ‘If all else fails, he will come for her when the time is up – and we will be ready.’

‘But what about my parents?’ Ness gasped. ‘I won’t just sit here and wait while they’re at that creature’s mercy!’

‘We will confront the djinn before then, Miss Bonehill,’ Jabalah said, clasping his hands together. ‘I am sure of it!’

‘But you must stay with us in the meantime,’ Hafid said, his voice low.

‘Azuli,’ Taimur whispered, ‘bring the silver sword.’

Azuli bowed and scurried into a side room, leaving Ness sitting in awkward silence as Taimur paced back and forth.

‘We cannot use the blade until we have found the djinn,’ Hafid said, shaking his head.

‘I just feel better with it in my grasp,’ Taimur replied. Ness could see that he had once been a great warrior but now his wrists were stick thin within the baggy cuffs of his shirt.

Azuli returned with the sword cradled in both his arms, a richly decorated cloth swaddling the blade. Taimur eased the cloth back. Ness could see a dull, tarnished blade swirled with intricate carvings. With a sigh, Taimur lifted the blade from Azuli’s outstretched arms and slashed the air. Ness recognised the curved scimitar shape from her lessons with Major Morris.

‘Careful, Taimur,’ Jabalah said, ducking theatrically. ‘You’ll take someone’s head off.’

‘I’d forgotten how heavy it is,’ Taimur panted.

Ness frowned, remembering Major Morris telling her how light a sword the scimitar was.

Taimur swung the blade again, carving a clumsy figure of eight above his head. With a curse, he lost his balance, stumbling towards Ness, who threw herself to one side. The blade whistled past her ear. Taimur landed with a loud thump and the clatter of the silver sword rang around the room.

‘Father!’ Azuli cried, leaping forward.

Taimur shook him off as he scrambled to his feet, embarrassment reddening his face. ‘I’m fine!’ he snapped, stooping to pick up the sword.

‘Let me carry the sword, Father,’ Azuli said, extending his hand.

Taimur pulled away from him, his breath ragged, his eyes wide. ‘You think I’m too old and infirm, is that it?’ he growled.

‘No, I just –’

‘He didn’t mean anything by it, Taimur,’ Jabalah cut in.

‘I swung that blade before you were born,’ Taimur raged, flecks of spit flying from his lips. ‘When our children stood at our sides.’

‘But that was a long time ago!’ Azuli pleaded, paling. ‘Father –’

‘Before we found you, abandoned at the dockyard,’ Taimur yelled. ‘You think I’m no longer strong enough to carry the last sword of Sulayman but I am a true Lashkar.’

‘Taimur, enough!’ Hafid croaked, raising his hand.

Jabalah jumped to his feet but the anger had fled from Taimur.

Taimur slapped the flat of the blade against Azuli’s chest. ‘Polish it,’ he hissed. ‘I want that djinn to see his own terrified reflection in that blade before I hack the head from his plague-ridden body.’

Azuli gripped the sword, his face taut. For a moment, Ness thought he was going to say something but he turned on his heel and stamped out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Ness paused in the stunned silence that filled the room, then she hurried after Azuli. She had one chance and she was going to take it now.

A wolf hungers after the lamb even with his last breat
h
.

T
raditional proverb

Chapter Fourteen

T
he
B
loo
d
y
V
i
c
ar

Ness found Azuli sulking by two huge barrels at the side of the courtyard. The sword lay on top of the barrels and he smoothed the cloth over the carved metal. Ness couldn’t read the script along the blade.

‘What does it say?’ she muttered, standing awkwardly next to the sullen boy. His thick mop of black hair and scowling expression made him look like a sulky eight-year-old.

‘
It is not wise to name the djinn until you are about to strike
,’ he mumbled, sliding the fabric down the blade. ‘Not that I will ever get to use it.’

‘I think they are wrong to overlook you,’ Ness said.

Azuli stopped polishing. ‘Really?’ He sighed and dropped the cloth on to the barrel. ‘They are so weak now,’ he said. ‘These last few years have taken their toll on the Lashkars. Harsh winters, the damp and stink from that foul river. You saw my father just now. He could barely hold this thing above his shoulder. How is he to fight a djinn?’

‘But he can’t see beyond his own pride,’ Ness agreed. ‘None of them can. Not even Hafid and he’s meant to be wise!’

Azuli’s face darkened. ‘He is wise,’ he muttered, then sighed again. ‘I feel so disloyal. I wish I could just take the sword and hunt the djinn myself!’

‘And why don’t you?’ Ness asked, raising her eyebrows at him.

Azuli’s eyes lit up. ‘Take the sword?’ he said, lifting the blade so that the morning light glinted on it, dazzling Ness. ‘If I knew where the djinn was then –’

‘I found a name at Lumm’s house,’ Ness interrupted, excited at how easily Azuli accepted the idea. ‘Probably the next victim. We could go together, lie in wait for the djinn . . .’

‘And kill him!’ Azuli hissed, his eyes aglow.

‘No, I need to know where my parents are first,’ Ness said. ‘If you kill him, how will I ever know that?’

‘Then what do you suggest?’ Azuli sneered.

‘Surely the djinn will fear the sword?’ Ness reasoned. ‘He may make some kind of deal, perhaps agree to be bound or return to his bottle rather than die.’

‘I’m not sure,’ Azuli snorted, wrapping the sword and thrusting it into his belt. ‘But we must certainly leave before we are missed.’

‘That may be easier said than done,’ Ness said, grabbing Azuli’s arm. ‘How do we get out through the main gate?’

‘We don’t.’ Azuli winked at her. ‘I know another way out.’

He led her through the silent alleys, their footsteps echoing as they went, until they came to a dead end. Barrels and old packing cases cluttered the passage.

‘This is a joke, I suppose?’ Ness grumbled. ‘How can we get out here? Do we climb over that wall?’

Azuli grinned and dragged a large barrel from against the wall to reveal a small square doorway about waist height to Ness.

‘I used to sneak through here as a small boy,’ he said, crouching down and pushing the rotten wooden door open.