The Spellbinder (Tom & Laura Series) (16 page)

Tom nodded. He would have been too embarrassed to tell anybody anyway. “Yes
Cam
, never,” he said when it became clear a simple nod would not satisfy her.

“And now the two of you will tell me exactly what you are doing here and why. Leave nothing out. Start now.”

So they told her everything that had happened to them, leaving out absolutely nothing at all.

Chapter 19
   
Death on the Tide

Later that evening Sir Ernest Trelawney received a message that so incensed him that he called his secretary into his office to discuss it with her.

They sat down around the coffee table, Belinda making herself comfortable and sorting out her knitting.

“You will not believe what the Prime Minister has done.” Trelawney waved a message at her as though its import might somehow be conveyed to her by semaphore.

“Nothing that Henry does would surprise me in the slightest,” Belinda. “But pray tell me, exactly what has the 3rd Viscount Palmerston done to vex you this time.”

“The Prime Minister has moved his annual trip to Hobsgate forward two weeks to this weekend, and worse, he will be taking Bertie with him.”

“The Prince of Wales? Why, are his studies going so badly?” Belinda was well aware of a number of the minor failings of Prince Albert Edward first-born son of Queen Victoria and Heir to the Throne.

“No, well yes, but that isn’t the reason. Bertie is determined to enter the army despite all advice. It was hoped that by showing him how important government work is that he might be dissuaded. Palmerston has decided that his visit to Hobsgate would be just the thing for him. Not that Palmerston should be going there in the first place. You know how hard I tried to stop him.” Trelawney subsided into silence with a grunt of annoyance.

Belinda waited, because as an Empath she could tell there was more to come. Empaths make excellent listeners.

“There is a girl involved. Of course, there is always a girl with Bertie. Eighteen years old and the boy is not controlled by his mind in the slightest, his blood is usually occupying somewhere lower in his body. The Queen and Albert wanted him distracted for a while and the best they could do was Palmerston.”

 
“And you? What does your talent tell you?” The fact that Trelawney was a Grade 3 Precog was not well known. It was something he had kept as a tightly held secret for a number of years, even going so far as to destroy ministry records to protect the information.

“That there is massive event coming soon. The exact same thing that my more talented Precogs have been telling me. Much is happening that I don’t understand. Why did I sent those two young people to Hobsgate, for example. But it seems I will be going to Hobsgate, along with the Prime Minister and the Heir, and I’d like you to come too.”

“It’s been said that even you don’t know where Hobsgate is?” Belinda was genuinely curious.

“That is true; I must have had a romantic flush. God knows, spying is ninety five percent boredom, so why not?
 
I thought it would be fun for the students if it was hidden. I entrusted someone to select someone they trusted to set it up, including the team that organizes the railway travel to it. And I’ve never seen the need to visit. It’s only a training school and not very important in the grand scheme of things.”

Belinda put down her knitting and made a decision.

“I shall go with you. Hobsgate has something very important there now, a Class A, and I’d like to meet her again and make sure she is well. I take it that the Prime Minister and Bertie will be well guarded?”

“With a carriage full of our finest troops, armed and travelling in civilian clothes. In some ways, Hobsgate might be the safest place for them. It had no value to the enemy before Miss Young moved there, and I will move her somewhere else long before any risk can become a reality.”

Trelawney relaxed and slumped deeper into his chair. Talking it through with Belinda had calmed him down. The PM moving his trip forward was a good thing as no one could have anticipated it, and Hobsgate was safer for the Heir than
London
. He wished his precognition didn’t keep sending warnings every single minute of the day. It was difficult to think with it in the background.

Two people stood at the top of
Hobbs
Tower
with a shielded lantern. It was a clear night and with field-glasses it was possible to see a light flashing out at sea. One of the two responded to the signal by moving the flap on the lantern so that light shone from it in reply.

“They are coming tonight,” the man with the lantern whispered to his companion. “They will follow the smugglers in through the Teeth and then they will kill them.”

There was the slightest of nods from his companion.

“The Captain is worried about the Class A. He wants her bound and gagged before events unfold tomorrow evening. He says he would prefer her unconscious, if possible.”

His companion sounded irritated and hissed a reply.

“We have two weeks before our guest is due. The Captain’s fear is misplaced. She is still a child and doesn’t have the knowledge to be dangerous. The mystique of Class A’s has frightened him.”

“He will be angry if we do nothing.” There was a pause while this fact was considered. Hissed words followed.

“Very well. Instruct Snood to tie her up and gag her tomorrow afternoon. Just keeping her away from pen and parchment will be enough once the Captain has taken over. She is a wonderful bonus. I will not have her damaged.”

The wind unlocked the flap on the lantern, and in its light, the man holding it was revealed as the Headmaster. He covered it again, returning them to darkness.

“You have your instructions,” his companion hissed in dismissal. The Headmaster turned and made his way downstairs. The other person stood for a time looking out to sea.

Snood paced the corridors in a near frenzy. He knew he had hit Laura far too hard and he was trying to work out the consequences. Twice he had gone to her room and stood by her door contemplating knocking on it. Twice he had retreated.

If the Headmaster saw the marks on her he would be dismissed, he was sure. She was an asset beyond worth and he had treated her like a scullery maid. Snood did not truly understand his actions. It was the first time in his life he had ever lost control.

What was done was done though. Perhaps he had not hurt her to the extent he feared or the Carter boy had healed her. That way everything would all be all right. She would be frightened of him in future, but that was a good thing. The Brotherhood would not be amused if he was dismissed from Hobsgate, they might decide he had outlived his usefulness. These thoughts went round in his head, which was why he paced.

It is also why he didn’t see the Headmaster until he ran into him.

“Snood, come with me,” the Headmaster commanded as they disentangled themselves. When Snood followed he noticed that the Headmaster was walking like a soldier. The doddery uncertain steps he usually affected were gone. He wondered if MM3 played games even with its teachers, or perhaps the Headmaster was another double and his contact?

They went through the servant’s quarters and down to the cellar. The Headmaster carried a shielded lantern, which he opened it so they could see as they walked down the stone stairs. Snood noticed that the ramp to the outside was open.

“You there. Come here at once,” the Headmaster called to someone outside. Whoever it was decided not to obey and ran towards the clump of bushes. The Headmaster moved with a speed that amazed Snood. In mere seconds, he was at the top of the steps standing with arm outstretched.

There was a pistol shot and the man running away grasped at his back before falling to the ground. He was perhaps twenty five yards away, which impressed Snood as it required expert shooting to hit someone with a pistol at that range. The Headmaster took careful aim and fired the second barrel of the pistol. The man on the ground screamed and lay still.

The Headmaster waved Snood back down the steps. “We will deal with the garbage later, come on.” He took Snood to the corner of the cellar. With surprising strength he began to shift the heavy barrels and motioned Snood to help him.

Snood found the work heavy going. He was not a man who felt exercise was essential to health, and was soon covered with sweat while the Headmaster seemed to be unaffected by his exertions.

When they finished they had revealed a small door set deep in the wall, the Headmaster pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked it. He whispered to Snood.

“Be quiet now, our guests may have not yet arrived.”

He proceeded to reload the twin barrels of his pistol.
 
When that was complete, he opened the door and walked down the steps that were revealed beyond. Leaving the lantern where he had placed it on a barrel, he motioned for Snood to follow him down into the darkness.

The steps soon became a narrow tunnel cut through solid rock. Snood bumped into him at the bottom of the steps and the Headmaster moved Snood’s hand to his shoulder so he could follow him. The tunnel was lower than Snood’s height so he had to walk bent over.

There was a dim light in the distance. The Headmaster shifted his position so that Snood could walk level with him and look out beyond the tunnel.

They were in the biggest cave Snood had ever seen. The tunnel came out at the top of a winding set of steps cut into the rock. At the bottom was a natural harbor; there was even a little sand visible at the far end. Someone had turned the cave into a dock by building a long wooden quay.

The timbers looked as though they had been in place since the dawn of time, though there were signs of repair. The quay was designed so a boat could dock at low or high tide. The end of it was just contained by the cave, finishing at its jagged mouth.

A fishing boat was entering the harbor. Two men waited on the quay ready to grab ropes thrown by men on the boat.
 
The dock was long enough to accommodate another two such boats at the same time.

The cave was lit by two large flaming lamps, set so they could not be directly seen from the sea, though the reflected light at the cave entrance must have been visible for miles in the dark.
 
Snood was wide-eyed with amazement as he watched the men on the quay tie off the boat and go to extinguish the lamps. When they doused them, only the dim light from the lanterns on the boat and one on the quay remained.

Snood stood up to go and greet them, but the Headmaster pulled him back and shook his head. When he got back into position he saw the men below staring towards the mouth of the cave. A black shadow slid across the water into the cave. It looked freakishly rectangular. A small tower in the center of the shadow glided towards the dock.

Then, without a word of warning, all hell broke loose.

Snood watched with a growing sense of horror, though in the pale light from the lanterns, only occasional glimpses of what was happening below him were possible. It seemed the black shadow was an underwater vessel with only a few inches of it above water. Crew stood on the deck, forward of the tower, and opened fire with a weapon from hell.

All Snood could tell was that there was impossibly rapid gunfire from the deck and screaming smugglers on the dock. He saw parts of the deck of the fishing boat ripped apart as the unnatural weapon continued to fire. Two of the smugglers managed to escape its onslaught, hiding behind a box on the dock where they were clearly visible from where he stood. They had several rifles and one of the men was loading for the other, who took aim and fired before taking a newly loaded weapon from his companion.

The smuggler with the rifle was an excellent shot. Screams came from the deck of the black vessel and the demon weapon stopped its incessant beat of death. The cave echoed with screams and moans from the wounded. It looked as though this battle had reached an impasse.

The Headmaster stood up, carefully aiming his pistol. He discharged one barrel and then the other and the two smugglers behind the box fell dead.

Moments later, renewed fire from the black ship killed those who still screamed on the dock. Then there was a silence. The Headmaster cupped his hands to his mouth and made three bird calls. Men shouted on the black ship as crew jumped to the dock and made fast their vessel.

The Headmaster made his way down the stone steps and Snood followed. The black boat’s crew hung lanterns on the dock so they could see. The crew wore black uniforms and moved purposely. Navy men of some kind, Snood was sure. Two crew from the black boat lay on the dock, wounded, and from their cries, in some pain.

A man wearing a white flat cap climbed onto the dock from the black boat. Snood recognized him as the Captain of the vessel from the way his men moved around him. He strode over to his injured crew and looked at their wounds. Then he casually took a revolving pistol from a holster hung low from his belt and shot them.