Wintercraft: Blackwatch (9 page)
Baltin pointed to the poster in Kate’s hands. ‘So the man who left this …’
‘Was just the messenger,’ said Edgar. ‘You don’t want to be on the wrong side of these people. If you think the wardens are bad, trust me, the Blackwatch are worse.’
‘But how did the runner get in here?’ asked Kate.
‘Probably broke his way in. His orders will be to spread the same message all around the City Below,’ said Edgar. ‘I’ll bet he doesn’t even know that the Skilled live in this cavern. If he did, I don’t think he would have just upped and left so easily.’
Baltin pushed past Edgar and snatched the poster from Kate. ‘That makes no sense,’ he said. ‘If these “Blackwatch” are looking for something, why leave this? Why not just sneak in and take whatever they want? Or just let the runner do it?’
‘Because they’re looking for something in particular and they don’t know where it is,’ said Edgar. ‘They want to scare people into finding what they want for them and flushing it out into the open. Fume is much larger than most Continental cities. It would take forever to find something here. Add the City Below to that and you have months of searching on your hands. The Blackwatch want whatever it is quickly. They won’t want to risk the wardens finding them before they have it.’
‘But what do they want?’ asked Baltin. ‘They didn’t make any demands. They didn’t ask me for anything.’
Edgar snatched another loose poster up off the cavern floor and pushed it into Baltin’s hands. It was written in the same red ink as the first.
Deliver Kate Winters and be spared.
‘It’s you, Kate,’ said Edgar, turning to her. ‘They’re coming for you.’
Kate should have been surprised, or at least a little worried. Instead she just shrugged her shoulders. ‘Them and everyone else,’ she said.
Baltin read the poster again. ‘That’s settled, then,’ he said.
‘What is?’ asked Edgar.
‘There have been arguments about how best to deal with Kate’s unique position amongst us,’ said Baltin. ‘This just proves that she is even more of a threat than we first thought. Come back inside, both of you.’
Edgar stepped forward, but Kate held him back. ‘No,’ she said. ‘We’re not going in there with you. If the Blackwatch are looking for me, I’m not going to just sit in that room and wait for them to figure out where I am.’
‘What I have to say cannot be heard by just anyone,’ said Baltin. ‘If more people knew what I know, they would not be so friendly towards you here.’
‘Friendly? Every one of them hates me!’
‘They do not know everything,’ said Baltin. ‘Come inside.’
‘No.’ Kate backed away and Baltin’s face grew serious, any pretence of friendship fading at once. Kate felt the veil descending again and ghostly shapes moved behind Baltin. She tried to ignore them, but seeing them there sent a familiar chill through her bones.
‘Your uncle knew the dangers you might face if he brought you here,’ said Baltin. ‘But the consequences of leaving you out in the world, unwatched and untrained would have been far worse. He knew what had to be done, and I thought you were sensible enough to see it too.’
‘I want to understand what’s going on as much as anyone,’ said Kate. ‘I want to help.’
‘You gave up your right to a free life the moment you started dabbling in things that were none of your concern,’ said Baltin. ‘You allied yourself with Silas Dane and you still expected to find friendship amongst us? The only reason you were not thrown out of this cavern the night you arrived was because of threats like
this
.’ Baltin crumpled the Blackwatch poster in his fist. ‘You are a threat to everything we have tried to protect for hundreds of years. The veil responds more to you than it does to any of us, and it is clear we are not the only ones who have recognised it. This is not just about you any more. Do you know what could happen if the Continental leaders got their hands on you? I would hand you over to the High Council myself before I would live to see that day.’
this
.’ Baltin crumpled the Blackwatch poster in his fist. ‘You are a threat to everything we have tried to protect for hundreds of years. The veil responds more to you than it does to any of us, and it is clear we are not the only ones who have recognised it. This is not just about you any more. Do you know what could happen if the Continental leaders got their hands on you? I would hand you over to the High Council myself before I would live to see that day.’
‘Hold on,’ said Edgar. ‘That’s a bit steep, isn’t it?’
‘If we had recognised Kate’s ability when she was younger, things might have been different. As it is, her mind has been opened to the veil without proper training or care. With ancestry like hers that is disastrous. When we thought Kate had not inherited her parents’ Skill, we were relieved. The Winters family’s abilities are legendary. As Walkers, their spirits can enter the veil directly, but their link can become so strong that they do not just step into it, they
attract
it. If their spirit is powerful enough, the veil can become unstable around them, and bleed freely into the living world. When that happens, just being close to them can send the souls of people around them into death.’
attract
it. If their spirit is powerful enough, the veil can become unstable around them, and bleed freely into the living world. When that happens, just being close to them can send the souls of people around them into death.’
‘You think Kate can kill people, just by standing next to them?’
‘Given the right conditions, yes,’ said Baltin. ‘It has happened before. The Skilled have tried to prevent the Winters blood from being passed on for generations. Now Kate is the only Skilled Winters left. Exposing her mind to the veil unprotected was like pouring oil on a flame. Silas Dane ignited something inside Kate that will never stop burning. If she is not controlled, she could well be the death of us all.’ Baltine turned to Kate. ‘Why do you think Artemis never told you the truth about your family? He knew this could happen. Silas Dane ruined you, Kate. He made you dangerous and uncontrollable, just like him. It amazes me that you do not see that.’
‘I know what I can see,’ said Edgar, trying his best not to look as unnerved as he felt. ‘You’re scared.’
‘Of course I’m scared. I’m scared for all of us,’ said Baltin. ‘You might not have seen what Kate really is, but we are not fools. We know the signs. The silver in her eyes, the way the veil changes when she is nearby. We know what she is. Kate’s kind can be dangerous as much for what they don’t know as for what they do. All it takes is one mistake and people will die, just like Mina.’
‘Mina was stabbed,’ said Edgar. ‘The veil had nothing to do with it.’
‘If Kate were allowed to explore her abilities and develop them, she would eventually
use
them,’ said Baltin. ‘That must not happen. If she is kept in the dark there is at least a chance that the veil will draw back from her permanently. Her link with it may simply … wear off.’
use
them,’ said Baltin. ‘That must not happen. If she is kept in the dark there is at least a chance that the veil will draw back from her permanently. Her link with it may simply … wear off.’
‘Wear off?’ said Kate. ‘That is what you’re all hoping for?’
‘If it doesn’t, people like these Blackwatch will keep hunting you,’ said Baltin. ‘They will force you to influence the veil in the way they want and that will put us all in danger. You could be a brutal weapon. We cannot let that happen.’
‘So, I’m meant to stay down here in that room until I’m “cured”. That’s what you’re saying?’
‘I wish it was,’ said Baltin. ‘This attack changes things. We do not have time to wait any more.’
He moved before Kate realised what was happening. Ducking behind her, he pressed a short blade up against her throat.
‘What are you doing?’ Edgar demanded.
‘Making sure I have your attention. I never wanted it to come to this, but I have a responsibility. I have to do what’s right. Now, step inside.’
Edgar did not move. Baltin’s hand was shaking, the blade brushing against Kate’s skin. He did not look like the kind of man who had hurt anyone before, but he was nervous enough to make a mistake and cut her without meaning to if things got out of hand.
‘All right,’ said Edgar. ‘Let her go.’
‘Get inside!’
Edgar raised his hands and started to walk. ‘What are you going to do?’ he asked.
‘What someone should have done weeks ago.’
‘Does Artemis know about this?’
‘Move!’
‘He doesn’t, does he?’
‘I said move!’ Baltin pointed the dagger at Edgar in anger, and Kate got away from him as soon as the weapon left her skin.
Baltin faltered, not knowing what to do, or whom to threaten next. Edgar threw himself at him and tackled him to the floor, pinning him on his side and forcing him to stay still as Kate prised the dagger from his fingers.
‘
Guar
—’ Baltin tried to shout for help, but the struggle had stirred dirt up from the floor and he choked on it, his shout becoming a hacking cough.
Guar
—’ Baltin tried to shout for help, but the struggle had stirred dirt up from the floor and he choked on it, his shout becoming a hacking cough.
‘Is he all right?’ asked Kate.
‘He’s fine. Help me put him in the room.’
‘Wait,’ Baltin wheezed as the two of them took an arm each and dragged him along. ‘Think about what you’re doing.’
‘I’ve thought about it,’ said Edgar, lifting a bunch of keys from the pocket of Baltin’s dressing gown. ‘You attacked us. We defended ourselves. Sounds fair enough to me.’
‘Kate can’t leave this cavern. She can’t!’
Edgar closed the door, sealing Baltin inside.
‘You don’t understand!’ Baltin’s fist hammered on the other side of the door and Edgar left the key hanging in the middle lock.
Kate looked in through the upper keyhole. ‘You turned Artemis against me,’ she said. ‘What did you say to him?’
Baltin’s eye appeared at the lock. ‘I told him the truth,’ he said. ‘He did not believe it at first until we showed him what we knew. But Artemis is a logical man. He could not deny what he had seen with his own eyes.’
‘What did you show him?’ asked Kate.
‘We showed him the veil,’ said Baltin. ‘We gave him proof. He knows that you are not a simple girl any longer. He know how dangerous you will become.’
‘Why didn’t you show me this?’
‘Because the veil would never show you what we can see,’ said Baltin. ‘You cannot witness your own future, Kate. We can.’
‘Don’t listen to him,’ said Edgar. ‘We can go, right now, before anyone realises he is gone.’
‘What did you see?’ asked Kate.
‘We know you can never leave this cavern,’ said Baltin. ‘We cannot protect you if you do. We gave you a chance, Kate. If you run now, we will have no choice but to hunt you down, for your own safety and to protect the future of Albion.’
‘Why?’
‘I cannot tell you that.’
‘You were going to kill me.’
‘I was willing to do what must be done.’
‘I will never trust any of the Skilled again,’ said Kate. ‘I don’t know what you saw in my future, but I know I won’t be spending it here, however long it lasts. Goodbye, Baltin. Tell Artemis he’ll never have to worry about “protecting” me again.’
‘Wait!’ Baltin shouted as Kate turned away from the lockhouse. ‘Guards!’
Kate kept her eyes straight ahead, walking along a street she had once thought was safe, not wanting Edgar to see the tears on her face. ‘There is no place for me here,’ she said. ‘They can keep the veil and Artemis to themselves. I don’t want anything to do with them any more.’
She could hear the dull thuds of Baltin’s fists hammering on the inside of the lockhouse door as she and Edgar hurried away. It wouldn’t be long before one of the guards heard him, and when they found him locked inside and their only prisoner missing there would be no convincing them that she was not a threat. Any safety that had existed in that place was gone now.
‘Are you serious about leaving Artemis behind?’ asked Edgar, following Kate along a path between two houses and emerging in a small rock garden on the other side.
‘He’ll turn me over to them the moment he sees me,’ said Kate. ‘And you can’t come either. What about Tom?’
‘He likes it here,’ said Edgar. ‘He’ll be safe enough. And I’m not letting you go out there alone.’
Kate did not say anything. No words would be enough to say how grateful she was to have at least one person left whom she could trust. Edgar hoisted his bag on to his shoulder and Kate hurried along with her head down as the guards’ warning bell sounded behind them.
‘They’ve found him,’ said Edgar. ‘Let’s go.’
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