Ironheart (5 page)

‘A group of locals, Mrs Brown,’ said Calculus. ‘Apparently they have found our motorbike and assumed we are southsiders. They demand the release of our
“hostages”.’

‘How many?’

‘I count forty-seven people in all. They have various farm implements, six projectile weapons, mostly shotguns, and one machine gun. But I very much doubt that it’s
working.’

‘Very reassuring,’ said Verity. ‘Well, so much for getting in and out without being seen. I’ll go and talk to them.’

‘Wait,’ said India. ‘They’re shore dwellers and they’re suspicious of strangers. Let me talk to them.’

She started down the path, with damp palms and a dry mouth. Most of the families in their village had lost people in the last year. If the crowd really thought they had the chance to take
revenge on a pair of southsiders, it might be difficult to control them.

At the front of the group stood Mehmet, picking his nose. Cromerty was next to him, grinning toothlessly as though she was out for a pleasant stroll.

‘Hello, deary, lovely evening, ain’t it?’

‘Where’s your mum, India?’ said Mehmet, ignoring the old woman.

‘Roshanne’s inside,’ said India. ‘She’s OK. We’re all OK. What are you all doing here?’

The constable wiped his fingers on the seat of his trousers and drew himself up to his full height.

‘We’ve come for the southsiders. Two of the boys found their
machine
.’ He pointed to the motorbike which lay overturned in the shallow waters at the bottom of the hill.
‘Now we’re going to teach them a lesson once and for all.’ The crowd grumbled and pressed forward. From the corner of her eye India saw Calculus shift his position slightly.

‘Wait, Mehmet, these people aren’t southsiders. They’re from Trans-Siberian Mining, where Dad used to work.’

‘Then why did they sneak into our village at night unannounced?’ He jabbed a finger towards Calculus. ‘With a military droid?’

‘It’s true what India says,’ said Verity, coming to her side. ‘We’re here on business. We just want some information, that’s all.’

‘We don’t give information to strangers,’ said a young man with a face full of ripe pimples. He yanked out an ancient pistol that was thick with rust. ‘A raiding party
took my sister last year,’ he said, pointing the gun at Verity. ‘So now I’m going to shoot me a southsider.’

India flinched. But before she could speak, a blur of motion rushed past her. Something impacted heavily with the boy, who went flying backwards. India blinked; a moment earlier, Calculus had
been standing ten feet behind her, but now he was crouching over the boy, who was groaning and clutching his chest.

The crowd pushed forward aggressively and a man at the front swung an axe at Calculus. He side-stepped it with ease and swept the man off his feet. A rock sailed over the heads of the crowd and
thumped on to the path beside India.

‘Stop it, stop it!’ she cried. But her voice was carried away on a tide of anger.

‘Come on, India,’ said Verity, pulling India away. ‘Let’s go – quickly, before someone gets badly hurt.’

‘See, I told you you’d be going on a journey, India,’ laughed Cromerty. She began waving a handkerchief in a gesture of farewell.

‘Calculus!’ Verity called out as they retreated. ‘Hold them off – but no fatalities, please.’ She dragged India back to the house and pulled her into the doorway,
out of sight of the crowd.

‘Will Calculus be all right?’ said India. ‘Shouldn’t we help him?’

‘Never mind about him,’ said Verity. ‘I’ve put you in danger by coming here. The sooner we leave, the better for all of you. Can you help me get to my bike?’

India’s mind raced. ‘What about Dad’s journals? That’s what you came for, isn’t it?’

‘You’d give them to me?’ said Verity cautiously.

‘I might, but you’d need to do something for me in return.’ India took a deep breath. ‘I want to come with you, I want to get away from here and go to Siberia to find my
dad.’

Verity shook her head. ‘Sorry, India, I don’t take passengers. I can see what’s going on here, but believe me, there’s far worse things that could happen to you than
marrying Mr Clench. At least here you’ll be safe.’

‘You don’t understand,’ said India. ‘Nobody knows what happened to my dad and nobody seems to care except me.’

‘Put it out of your head, India,’ said Verity firmly. ‘Siberia is the most hostile place on Earth and I’m afraid Mrs Bentley was right: your dad is probably
dead.’

‘Everybody says that! But you don’t know my dad – he’s smart and he knows how to survive. Besides, I made him a promise that if he was ever lost, I’d come and find
him.’ She stopped. For the second time that evening she had said more than she meant to. ‘All right then,’ she bargained. ‘If you won’t help me find my dad, how about
you just take me as far as Angel Town? I’ll give you the journals in return for a cut of the money and then you’ll never have to see me again. But if you don’t take me, I’ll
make sure you never get the journals. I’ll burn them myself if I have to.’

‘Jeez,’ said Verity, blowing out her cheeks. ‘You do drive a hard bargain, don’t you? All right then, get me the journals. I’ll take you to Angel Town and give you
ten per cent of my fee, but then you’re on your own, understood?’

‘Fifty per cent,’ said India, giving her a hard look.

‘Twenty, and that’s my final offer. Otherwise you can stay here and become Mrs Clench, for all I care.’

India nodded and they shook hands solemnly.

Back inside the house, Roshanne and Clench stood behind the kitchen table looking like frightened animals. India looked into Bella’s wide, unblinking eyes and tried to give her a
reassuring smile.

‘I’ll get the journals,’ said India. She moved towards the stairs but Clench grabbed her.

‘Now, wait just a minute,’ he said, looking at Verity. ‘Mrs Bentley is the proper owner of those journals and they’re staying here until I can negotiate a fair price for
them on behalf of the family. As for my fiancée –’ he took a tighter grip on India’s arm – ‘she will learn to do as she’s told.’

India twisted frantically in Clench’s grip. ‘Get off me, you pig!’ she shouted. ‘I’m not staying here! You don’t own me and I am NOT your
fiancée!’

‘Damn it, India,’ he said. ‘If I’m going to be your husband you need to understand what obedience means.’

He struck her hard across the face. The slap made a noise like a pistol shot and everyone froze in shock. Bella turned deathly pale and even Clench seemed taken aback by his own action. India
stared at Clench in disbelief and touched her red-hot cheek. Then a rage took hold of her. She flew at Clench and raked his face with her nails. He struggled to control the spitting, screaming girl
and raised his hand to strike her again. But she was too quick for him. In an instant the shock stick was in her hand and she jabbed him with it hard between his eyes.

There was a sound like a piece of dry timber being snapped in half and the smell of electrical burning filled the room. Clench’s body flew backwards with a violent spasm. He crashed across
the table and lay spreadeagled on the floor, twitching and jerking, a string of snot running from his nose. There was silence, save for the crackling of the shock stick.

‘Stay here,’ said India to Verity. ‘Don’t you
dare
move.’

Upstairs, she collected her father’s satchel and stuffed it with the things she thought she might need in Siberia. Clean clothes, bottled water, her father’s hunting knife. Then she
went to her father’s bookcase, which held twenty identical black journals, one for each year he had worked in Siberia. She pulled out the last two and put them into the bag before dashing
downstairs, pulling on her thick, waxy jacket as she went.

Clench was still on the floor, groaning. India stepped over him and went to Bella, who sat hugging her knees in an armchair.

‘Are you leaving?’ said Bella in a small, frightened voice.

India nodded. ‘I’m sorry, Bella, but I have to.’ She looked at Clench. ‘You understand why, don’t you?’ Bella nodded dumbly. ‘I’m going to find
Dad, Bella. I’m going to find him and bring him back – then we’ll be a family again. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?’

‘Can I come with you?’ said Bella in a whisper.

‘I’m sorry, it’s too dangerous,’ said India, trying desperately not to cry in front of her sister. A thought struck her and she pulled out her pendant from beneath her
shirt. ‘Here, do you have your pendant? The one Dad made you?’

‘In my room,’ said Bella.

‘I want you to do something for me. Every night when you look at the stars, I want you to hold your pendant and think of me and I’ll do the same. Every night until I get back with
Dad – can you do that?’

Bella nodded miserably. India hugged her little sister and then turned away so that Bella wouldn’t see her tears.

She ignored Roshanne, who scowled angrily but made no move to stop her as she went to the door. But as India stepped over Clench, he reached out and grasped the leg of her trousers.

‘You won’t get far . . .’ he croaked. ‘You’ll come crying back to me before you’ve gone ten miles.’ Then he flopped backwards on to the floor, gasping for breath.

India stopped and kneeled down beside him. You’d better not be here when I get back,’ she hissed into his ear. ‘Because I’m going to fetch my dad.’

She stared at him contemptuously for a moment, then stood and hefted the bag on to her shoulder. ‘Come on,’ she said to Verity. ‘We’re done here.’

She hitched up the window in the hallway and threw her leg over the sill in a practised move. After helping Verity, she led her swiftly through a thin line of trees down to the shoreline.

They waded as silently as they could towards the upturned bike and turned it over. It was caked with thick mud and the sidecar was partially filled with water. Verity cleared the mud from the
exhaust pipe and swung her leg over the saddle as India kept an anxious eye on the crowd at the front of the house.

‘Get in, quickly!’ said Verity. ‘They’ll hear us as soon as I start her up.’ India threw in her bag and clambered into the watery sidecar as Verity applied her
weight to the kick-starter. The bike turned over noisily but didn’t fire. She tried again without success. By now they had attracted the attention of the crowd and fresh shouting broke out. A
group of men ran towards them, led by Mehmet. There was a loud pop and an angry insect snicked past India’s ear.

‘India, get your head down, they’re shooting at us!’ Verity kicked the starter again and this time the engine roared to life. She twisted the throttle and the bike accelerated
through the shallow waters, scattering the villagers like a flock of birds. As they gunned up the hill, Calculus seized the opportunity to jump on the back of the bike and they swept past the mob
and into the surrounding darkness.

‘Nice to see you, Calc,’ shouted Verity. ‘Did you miss me?’

‘I’m glad you could get here, Mrs Brown,’ he said.

Verity leaned over the sidecar and shouted to India. ‘You still in one piece, kid?’

India swallowed hard and nodded. ‘I think so. Is everyone all right – back there, I mean?’

‘Some broken bones and superficial injuries,’ said Calculus. ‘Nothing major, but I suspect your neighbours will not welcome us back any time soon.’

India sat back in the damp seat and waited for her heart to stop thumping as the bike slithered down the mud track, away from the village. That was true, she thought, that was very true.

Verity drove like a woman possessed, and the motorcycle slithered and fishtailed along muddy tracks, barely slowing for bends. India got the impression that Verity had not been
riding a motorcycle for very long and she had to throw her own weight around in the sidecar to stop them from overturning. Calculus had climbed off the bike and was running alongside them, easily
keeping pace no matter how fast they went.

They drove for an hour through the broken streets of the dead city until the shattered buildings gradually gave way to open fields and muddy tracks. India longed to stretch her legs and she was
glad when they finally pulled to a halt beside a broad estuary. They looked out over a sheet of oily, black water and stinking, tidal mud. Verity checked her watch.

‘They’re late,’ she muttered. ‘The
Aurora Queen
is supposed to be here by now.’

‘The
Aurora Queen
?’ said India. ‘Is that a boat?’

‘Better than that,’ said Verity, scanning the skies. ‘A plane, the fastest way to the cold country – and so it should be for what I pay the Smiley Brothers.’

Verity inspected the bike and kicked at the front wheel, which had gone flat.

‘Damn! I’m going to have to repair it. The villagers took the spare.’ She set about removing the wheel and dragging the punctured tyre down to the water’s edge.
‘Stay alert, Calc,’ she called out. ‘This is dangerous country.’

Calculus had taken the opportunity to build a fire. He opened a small tin and tipped some black leaves into boiling water. ‘Would you like some tea?’ he asked India.

India took the steaming mug gratefully. The tea was black and scalding and felt good as it slid down her throat. She watched the android carefully as he sat down. ‘Are you all
right?’ she said. ‘You were very brave taking on that lot on your own. Weren’t you scared?’