Night Shade (28 page)

‘Zoe? You again?’

‘Yup. Can you grab my legs and pull? I’m a bit stuck.’

There’s a moment of stunned silence before Esme helps me out. I feel a sharp tug around my ankles. Using my fingers to scrabble against the bricks, I shove myself through. There’s a popping noise as the air above me is freed, then I’m crashing into the fireplace in an ungainly heap of limbs.

‘Well, this is certainly unorthodox,’ I hear Esme say.

I wipe my eyes and give her a weak smile. ‘Hi.’

‘You know there’s a door, right?’

‘I’ve been travelling incognito,’ I tell her, scrambling to my feet.

She sighs heavily. ‘The Mayor again? I told you I didn’t want to get involved.’

‘I’m not here about him.’

‘Then why? If you want something, you’re not going to get it for free. Not this time.’

‘Actually,’ I say, dusting off my hands, ‘it’s about the castle.’

‘What about it?’

‘Well, I thought you said people tended to avoid it.’

She puts her hands on her hips, clearly running out of patience. ‘So?’

I shrug as nonchalantly as I can when I’m covered from head to toe in black soot. ‘I saw Ashley walking inside a few minutes ago. She was marching through the door very purposefully.’

Esme frowns. ‘Ashley? She has no reason to go in there.’

‘From what little I know of her, she’s always keen to help people out.’

‘She has a big heart,’ Esme agrees.

I nod and step over to a shelf to examine an old-fashioned phone. I pick up the receiver and hold it to my ear as if I’m expecting to hear something. I hold my breath. Come on Esme, I plead inwardly.

She tuts. ‘That foolish girl is probably trying to help the sleepers. She should know by now that they can’t be woken up.’

‘Oh?’ I say innocently. ‘Well, it’s probably nothing to worry about then.’

I turn away from the phone and glance at Esme. Emotions flicker across her face and she shakes her head, irritated. ‘I’d better go and stop her before she does something to disturb them. Stay here and look after the shop. Those kids are hanging around outside again.’ She flings open the door and throws me a glare. ‘Don’t touch anything!’

I give her a mock salute. When the door closes behind her, I heave a sigh of relief. ‘Watch out, Mayor,’ I whisper. ‘I’m coming for you.’

***

D
espite Esme’s order for me to stay put, I count to one hundred in my head then leave. This time, I don’t hide my presence. I want the Mayor to find me.

It’s not long before I’m noticed. The group of teenagers have moved further down the street but a tall brunette on the periphery of the group spots me. She nudges the boy next to her and heads swivel in my direction. Unlike more circumspect adults, they waste no time in confronting me. Their leader is a lanky boy who swaggers up to me. ‘You’re the one who controls the mares, right?’

I don’t stop walking. ‘They’re wild animals. No one controls them.’

‘They’re not just wild animals. They’re vicious creatures that’ll eat you as soon as look at you. Which makes you either Doctor Doolittle or a witch.’

I flick him a lazy smile. ‘Well, I guess I’m a witch then.’ I see a suited and booted guy stare at me before taking off at high speed round the corner, no doubt to inform the Mayor or his guards. Or both. I speed up: it’s imperative I get to the square for all this to unfold.

‘Are you trying to run away from me?’ the boy inquires.

I almost snort. There are plenty of things I’m afraid of; this kid isn’t one of them. ‘No. But I have a prior engagement in the square. In fact,’ I say, ‘you might want to come along.’ I glance at his buddies who are close behind us but bunched up together. Safety in numbers. ‘You lot too.’

‘Why?’ one of them asks. ‘Are you going to bring out the mares again?’

I give him a wink. ‘Come and find out.’

I start jogging, aware that other people are falling in behind the teenagers. Apparently rubber-necking is as much of a hobby here in the Dreamlands as it is in the real world. It suits my purposes though, so I don’t react.

‘Do you think she’s a dreamweaver?’ I hear someone whisper.

‘Nah,’ someone answers. ‘She ain’t strong enough.’

‘If she is, we’re pretty screwed. She looks kind of shifty to me.’

I tighten my lips into a grim smile. I wondered whether I was doing the right thing getting Ashley involved but my gut instincts were correct. No one is going to trust me; I’m a stranger who’s only been apparating for a few weeks. And I’ve hardly gone out of my way to be friendly and get to know people.

When I pivot to my left, I spy four uniformed guards striding in my direction. They’re about a hundred feet away so I swerve down the next small street to avoid a head-on collision that’ll end up with me being dragged back to the Department’s grim headquarters. I hear some shouting as they start to pursue me and I try not to react. The crowd behind me might create a buffer until I reach the square.   Unfortunately for me, the guards are smarter than they look and another set of four appears, using a pincer manoeuvre to block me in.

‘We’re taking you to see the Mayor,’ one shouts.

I walk up to them while the people behind me fall back. They don’t leave; they’re obviously curious about what’s going to happen but they’re not willing to get directly involved.

‘I’m on my way to see him now,’ I say calmly.

‘Yeah, right.’

I sigh. ‘It’s the truth.’

The guard leers at me nastily and holds up a pair of handcuffs. ‘Then you won’t mind putting these on.’

‘I’ve not done anything wrong though.’

‘You unleashed dangerous creatures in public. People could have been killed.’

‘But no one was. No one was hurt. In fact those dangerous creatures, despite having been kept in appalling conditions, ignored everyone. They just wanted to get back to the forest. If they wanted to terrorise people, I’m sure they would have done it before now.’

Doubt creeps into his face, then his eyes harden. He gestures to his three companions and, like a well-rehearsed dance troupe, they simultaneously raise their batons.

‘Why does the Mayor get to decide what’s right and what’s wrong?’ I ask, holding up my wrists so he can snap on the cuffs.

‘Because he’s the Mayor.’ He fastens them tightly and the cold steel pinches at my skin. I wonder why things like knives and cuffs and batons appear in the Dreamlands; even without the Mayor and his Department, there must be something sinister here for them to exist. But then, if this place is fuelled by the subconscious minds of the world, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.

I think about willing them to vanish but I’m not sure whether I have that sort of power or control. Equally, I don’t want this to be about me. If I’m the centre of attention, then I’ll probably lose.

I drop my head meekly to show the guards that I’m not about to fight them. It doesn’t do me much good; out of the corner of my eye I see something careening towards me. Realising it’s a baton, I duck down but it still smashes into the side of my head. A wave of pain judders through me.

Several of the onlookers hiss. Perhaps the blow wasn’t such a bad thing, after all. It’s one thing to ‘arrest’ someone, it’s quite another to hurt them when they’re trussed up and helpless.

Two of the guards grab my arms and drag me away. ‘You lot clear off!’

The crowd mutter. The last thing I want them to do is follow those orders. I tilt my chin and take a deep breath. Then, with as much force as I can muster, I dig my elbows into my captors’ sides.

It helps that they’re not expecting it; surprise rather than pain makes them let me go. The second that I’m free, I run for it, sprinting down the narrow street towards the square. I can hear the guards pounding after me and I run faster because I’ve got more at stake than they do. Satisfyingly, I hear the crowd running too, albeit more slowly.

In the square I make a beeline for the fountain and Salib’s stern stone visage. Leaping into the water, I place my foot on his knee and clamber onto his shoulders, hooking my legs round them. It’s not easy with my wrists bound but I manage it. The guards are barely three seconds behind me.

‘Get down!’

I tighten my grip. ‘Why? So you can throw me in a cell?’

More Travellers are arriving from every direction. I look anxiously for Ashley but there’s no sign of her. The guards start advancing menacingly towards me. ‘If you don’t get down, we’ll have to come and get you. And it’ll hurt,’ one of them shouts.

‘Yeah?’ I taunt. ‘Eight big burly guys to bring down one woman? What do you think this lot will make of that?’

Some of them exchange nervous glances; the bolder ones don’t seem to care. ‘The Mayor’ll take care of them,’ one grunts.

Something flickers in the corner of my eye and I swing my head round. It’s Dante. I wonder where he’s fallen asleep in real life. Is he in a corner of the police station or did he check into a B&B? Then I see how stiff his body is and I feel a ripple of unease. When he shrugs off his jacket, revealing a tight T-shirt and well-toned muscles, my unease changes to alarm.

‘This is between me and you!’ I shout, ostensibly to the Mayor but really for Dante’s sake. ‘No one else can get involved!’

‘No one else is stupid enough to get involved, girlie.’

If only that were true. Dante steps forward and I grit my teeth in annoyance. ‘I mean it.  No one else!’

His eyes search my face. I twist away from him, focusing on the guards. ‘I’ll get down!’ I tell them. ‘Just give me a minute! Please don’t hurt me.’ I inject as much emotion into my words as possible. I must be a better actress than I thought because several people in the crowd look worried.

‘She’s obviously a bit loopy,’ someone shouts. ‘Just help her get down. There’s no need for anyone to get hurt.’

Two of the guards peel off in the direction of the voice. Damn it. I don’t want any violence. A bloody coup – successful or not – will only cause more problems.

Thankfully, the commotion finally brings the Mayor out of hiding. I guess he doesn’t want the Travellers to see how brutal his methods really are. He strides out of the Department building with his hands knitted together in front of him and a concerned expression on his face. Some of the crowd look relieved; others, the more canny and aware among them, tense up.

‘Goodness me!’ he booms. ‘What sort of trouble is this? Guards, stand down.’

They obey instantly. The Mayor steps up to me. ‘Zoe, this isn’t necessary. We can get you the help you need. We have some doctors here, you know.’

His words have an instant effect. The Travellers who have been sympathetic towards me change their expressions to ones of pity. It’s the smartest move the Mayor could make. If I’m the mad woman who’s a danger to herself and others, then he can contain me. Except he doesn’t realise that I’m smarter than he is.

The timing is perfect. From towards the back, Ashley’s shining blonde hair appears. She pushes her way gently through and when she sees me, her mouth drops open. ‘Zoe, what are you doing?’

I bite my lip hard. I’ve never been good at crying on demand though, so when tears fail me I’m forced to rely on the tone of my voice and my expression instead. ‘Ashley! You’re the kindest person I know! You’ll help me, won’t you?’

Naturally she is confused. ‘Of course. But what’s going on?’

‘Ashley, it’s very kind of you to offer to help but I have this under control,’ the Mayor interjects smoothly.

No, he hasn’t. Esme is already elbowing her way towards us. ‘What have you done?’ she shouts.

Everyone turns in her direction. Most people think she’s addressing me but she is looking at Ashley. She stomps up, completely ignoring everyone else, and grabs Ashley’s arms. ‘What did you do?’

Esme’s eyes are wild. She’s oblivious to me clutching on to the statue, the Mayor frowning and the crowd agape. I know a little about what happens when emotions overrule your rationality; if Esme took a moment, she’d realise I was behind all this – not Ashley. The fear she feels at the disappearance of her sleepers, however, subsumes everything else.

‘Where are they?’ she screams.

The Mayor looks from Esme to Ashley to me. Before he has time to grow suspicious, Esme starts shaking Ashley. ‘Where are they?’ she repeats. ‘Where are my sleepers?’

The Mayor motions silently to the watching guards to move back and surround me. He gently pulls Esme away. ‘What’s the problem here? I’m sure we can sort it out.’

Esme points at Ashley. ‘The sleepers have gone! All of them! And she was just there, in the castle. She’s done something!’ Her bottom lip trembles. ‘Did you wake them up? Are they safe?’

‘I ... I ...’ Ashley is completely baffled.

I see Bron sidle up to Dante. His brow is furrowed in confusion but, from the way Dante tilts his head down and mutters, it’s clear that someone has worked out what’s really going on. Bron’s face clears. Then he says loudly, ‘Dreamweaver!’

Everyone turns to him then back to Ashley. There are wide eyes and astonished expressions. Esme steps back. ‘He’s right,’ she whispers. ‘It’s the only way you could do it.’

Ashley shakes her head. ‘But I didn’t...’

The Mayor’s eyes narrow. He stares at Ashley before grabbing hold of Esme. ‘What happened?’ he demands.

‘I was there this morning, in the castle. They were all fine. Then she goes in. Now there’s no one left. They’ve all disappeared.’

‘Ashley freed the sleepers,’ someone in the crowd says. ‘All those people...’

‘Oh my God.’ A woman towards the front claps her hand over her mouth. ‘It’s a miracle.’

‘I’m sure there’s a sensible explanation for all this,’ the Mayor states, his back suddenly ramrod stiff. ‘Let’s go inside and we’ll get to the bottom of it.’ He makes the mistake of moving towards Ashley. She jerks back nervously, her coat flapping open to reveal Bron’s knife. I don’t think anyone other than the Mayor and myself see it.

His expression hardens. ‘What’s the meaning of this? You have a weapon? They’re forbidden! You know that!’

Panic is overtaking her and her hand goes automatically to the knife. That’s enough for the Mayor; he lunges forward to grab her.

‘Stop it!’ someone yells. ‘You can’t do that to Ashley!’