Night Shade (18 page)

‘Any time. And Zoe?’

‘Yes?’

‘Do be careful. We wouldn’t want to lose you when you’ve only just found us.’

I lick my lips and pretend that I’m not nervous. ‘Sure.’

I’m even more confused when I leave the little shop. I shake myself and spot the familiar figure of Bron on the other side of the street. Perfect. I can chat to him while I wait for my opening.

He doesn’t appear particularly happy to see me. ‘Hey, Zoe,’ he mutters.

‘Hey. How are things?’

‘Good.’

‘I wanted to thank you for your help the other day. I know I probably came over as quite ungracious.’ I laugh. It’s a high-pitched, false sound.

‘I guess you didn’t find the mares then?’ There’s neither surprise nor curiosity in his voice. Interesting.

‘Uh, no.’

‘It’ll be safer if you stay away from things like that, Zoe.’

I bristle. ‘Safer for whom?’

Bron sighs. ‘Go to the pub, walk along the river, pick mushrooms in the forest. Enjoy your time here.’ He’s certainly changed his attitude towards me. ‘I mean it, Zoe. Ashley was looking for you before. She’s round by the square.’

His eyes flick upwards, and I know the last part was a lie. ‘Bron,’ I say slowly, ‘what are you doing here?’

‘I’m a Traveller.’

‘No. I mean here. In this spot.’

He instantly looks guilty. ‘I’m waiting for a friend.’

‘Who?’

‘No one you’d know.’

‘I’d like to meet them.’

He runs a hand through his hair in exasperation. ‘They’re shy.’

‘Bron, are you planning to storm that little building there and free the mares?’

His mouth drops open. ‘What? No!’

I step back, my eyes travelling up and down his body. He’s holding himself rather stiffly, just as if... I whip my hand round to his back, my fingers brushing against cold steel concealed under his T-shirt. ‘Is that a weapon?’

He doesn’t meet my eyes. ‘No.’

‘Bron,’ I exclaim, throwing my hands up in the air, ‘you know I want to help the mares. I admit I went about it the wrong way yesterday by confronting the Mayor. But I’m here now, for the mares.’ It occurs to me how similar both words sound. ‘The horsey ones, not the scary dictator one. I know they’re being kept in that building across the street.’

‘It’s too dangerous.’ For some reason he still won’t look me in the face.

‘I can look after myself.’ At his sceptical expression, I lean forward and whisper, ‘I’m a dreamweaver.’

Bron jerks back and stares at me. ‘What? You can’t be!’

I fold my arms. ‘Probably not. I don’t even really know what a dreamweaver is. But I can help you. Or you can help me.’

‘If the Mayor catches you, it’ll be really bad.’

I reach out and touch his shoulder. ‘Bron, he’s capturing wild animals so he can give people nightmares. It’s already really bad.’

He looks down at the ground then, eventually, nods. I give a sigh of relief. From what I’ve understood from Dante, most people can’t venture near the mares for fear of getting seriously hurt. At least I’ve still got sugar cubes in my pocket.

‘The thing behind your back? Is it a knife? Where did you get it from? Did you bring it with you?’ I fire the questions at him without giving him a chance to answer. I really do need to practise speaking to people again.

‘You can’t bring anything with you when you apparate, only the clothes you’re wearing,’ Bron says, confirming what Esme told me. ‘I stole it from the pub.’

‘You can be pretty sneaky when you want to be,’ I say admiringly.

He blushes slightly and glances over my shoulder. ‘There,’ he says.

I turn round to follow his gaze. Two uniformed men are standing in the street exchanging greetings. The first one waves goodbye and wanders off while the second heads inside. Bron stiffens. I reach into my back pocket and extricate a marble.

Praying I’ll get this right, I draw my hand back and throw. The marble hits the guard smack bang on the back of his head. He lets out a cry of surprised pain and immediately starts looking for the culprit. Bron and I hastily look away as the guard marches down the street. He spots a teenager who’s walking in the opposite direction and takes off after him.

Bron grabs the doorknob, wrenches it open and ushers me inside. As soon as we’re in, we lean against the wall, panting.

‘He won’t hurt that kid, will he?’ I ask nervously.

‘Nah. Not when he can’t prove anything.’

I hope he’s right. ‘Come on,’ I say, ‘let’s find the mares and get out of here as quickly as we can.’

Bron nods, grabbing my hand just as the door opens. There’s no time to run or even react. I squash down my anxiety and prepare to attack.

‘Is this a private party,’ Dante asks, his silver eyes glancing at our clasped hands, ‘or can anyone join in?’

I pull my hand free and glare at him. ‘What are you doing here?’

Dante raises his eyebrows at Bron. ‘What is she doing here?’

‘I couldn’t stop her. It was either bring her along or risk getting caught.’

My mouth drops open. Bring her along? He makes me sound like a piece of baggage. ‘Hey!’ I protest. ‘I’m the one who distracted the guard. I brought you along!’ I stare at them both. ‘What’s going on with you two?’

‘We don’t have time for this,’ Dante growls.

Bron meets my eyes. ‘We work together against the Mayor. Me and some others.’

‘You mean like the Resistance?’

He shrugs. ‘I guess. We have to be careful though. There aren’t many of us and we can’t risk getting caught.’

I look at Dante suspiciously. ‘But he used to work for the Mayor.’

‘And it wasn’t until you showed up that he stopped hiding out in the damn forest,’ Bron mutters under his breath.

Dante sighs as if annoyed. ‘Let’s get a move on.’

I narrow my eyes. ‘What? You’re going to let me tag along? What if I tell the Mayor? After all, I’m the one who works for him now, aren’t I?’

Bron starts but Dante just gazes at me expressionlessly. ‘I think, upon reflection, I made an error of judgment accusing you of that.’

‘You think?’ I mutter. Annoyed with the pair of them, I start walking away.

‘You should keep back, Zoe,’ Bron calls after me. ‘Mares can be dangerous.’

‘Yeah, yeah.’

I round the corner and halt in my tracks. Both Dante and Bron come up behind me. ‘Fuck.’

There are six mares in total. Taut silver chains bind their legs and necks, cruelly pinching into their skin. I gasp in horror at the dribbles of blood. Each mare wears some kind of hood. Dante marches over to the first one and whips it off. The mare tries to rear but the chains hold her back; she makes no sound because of the tight steel muzzle around her mouth.

‘How could they do this?’ I whisper, staring at the pain-dulled expression in the mare’s eyes. ‘It’s so wrong.’

‘Let’s get this over and done with quickly,’ Bron says.

I turn towards him and see the knife gleaming in his hand. For a moment I stare at him uncomprehendingly.

‘Put the hood back on, Dante. It’ll make it easier.’

‘No.’ I shake my head. ‘No.’

‘It’ll be quick and humane.’

‘I thought you brought that to fight the guard, not to kill the mares.’ I stare at him, horror-struck.

‘Zoe, this is the only solution. We can’t bring the mares out to the town. They’ll attack everyone. If Travellers die here then...’

‘Then they die in real life. Yes, I know. That doesn’t mean it’s right!’

‘If we leave them here for the Mayor to use, he’ll have too much power at his disposal. We can’t let them stay here alive.’ His tone is heavy but there’s not the slightest hint of doubt. ‘It’s the only way.’

‘No, it’s not!’

‘Zoe...’

‘He’ll just go and get more from the forest!’

‘And we’ll come back here and take care of those too.’

‘You can’t!’

‘Yes,’ he says quietly, ‘we can.’

‘Stop.’ Dante’s voice cuts through the air. ‘She can do it. She can free them.’

‘What are you talking about?’

‘I’ve seen her. Besides, she’s a dreamweaver.’

‘She said that too. It can’t be true though.’

‘Why not?’

I’m getting tired of being spoken about as if I’m not here. ‘Would this be a good time to ask what a dreamweaver actually is?’

Bron turns his head towards me and I lunge for the knife. It takes him a second to react, giving me enough time to claw at his fingers and force him to drop it. It clatters to the ground but before I can reach down and pick it up, Dante pushes Bron backwards and grabs my arm. I open my mouth to yell but he places a finger across his lips. That’s when I hear voices outside. It sounds like they’re on the other side of the door.

Dante shoves the hood back over the mare’s head while I reach for the knife, glaring at Bron. All three of us move quickly behind the miserable shape of the last mare, just as the door opens and several people walk in.

The Mayor’s voice is clear. ‘They really are stupid creatures,’ he says. ‘We’ve tried training them several times but it doesn’t work. It doesn’t matter though, we just need to let them loose behind the right doors and all our wishes will come true.’

‘I’m not sure it’s a good idea. You’re messing with people’s subconscious minds. Allowing mares to attack them that way might create lasting damage that cannot be undone.’

I hiss softly. That was good old Doctor Miller.

‘You know, Steven, you often find reasons to argue against my plans. I’m starting to think that you’re working against me.’

‘No, no! That’s not the case at all! I’m just suggesting caution...’

‘Tell me,’ the Mayor continues, as he comes round the corner to where we and the mares are, ‘why does the serum not work?’

‘Wh – what?’ Miller stammers.

‘I tried it on my wife,’ the Mayor continues. ‘Goodness knows, I’d do almost anything to stop her incessant yapping. I reckoned about twenty-two hours a day ought to do it; I need her awake for the rest because someone has to do the cleaning. But no matter what I did or how high the dosage was, it wouldn’t take. Darndest thing.’

‘I told you that it won’t work on everyone–’

‘It didn’t work on my neighbours either. Or their dog. It didn’t work on the annoying kid who drives past me every morning in his souped-up Fiat. It doesn’t work on anyone.’

‘Maybe I need to take it back to the laboratory and have another look.’

‘And then,’ the Mayor says, completely ignoring Miller’s response, ‘there’s Ms Lydon. I can’t believe that you can’t find her medical records to establish where she lives. “In Scotland” is not good enough.’

My heart is thudding so loudly in my chest that I’m sure everyone can hear it. Bron takes my hand and squeezes it.

‘I hadn’t realised locating her was a matter of urgency. As soon as I disapparate, I’ll try again.’

‘Is she the dreamweaver?’

‘What? No! I–’

‘Doctor Miller.’ The Mayor’s voice hardens. ‘Is Zoe Lydon the dreamweaver?’

‘She can’t be. There’s not been a dreamweaver here since–’

‘Since Albert Hall. Who, incidentally, is no longer the focal point of the town square,’ muses the Mayor. ‘Interesting, isn’t it?’

‘But he’s been replaced by Salib! He wasn’t a dreamweaver.’

The Mayor tuts. ‘Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Such a shame. I was prepared to give you the benefit of the doubt, you know.’ He pauses. ‘But I’m afraid you’ve just given yourself away.’

‘What do you mean?’ Miller’s nervousness is becoming palpable.

‘Salib wasn’t a dreamweaver? Wasn’t?’

‘Um...’

‘You’ve clearly been poking your nose into matters that don’t concern you. I tried to kill him here. The wound he received should have caused almost instant death. He was a tough bastard though and he clung on, returning to reality before I could make sure the job was done. I assume that the reason he’s not been seen here since is because he did indeed die. The question remains, however – how do you know he’s dead?’

Oh God. I close my eyes. Because of me; Miller knows Salib is dead because of me. I twist my body so I can see what’s going on from underneath the belly of the chained-up mare next to us. Miller’s face is pale but the Mayor looks positively cheery. He beckons to one of the uniforms standing beside him who passes over something. I crane my neck, trying to work out what it is. When I do, I suck in a breath. It’s a knife, far longer, sharper and more deadly than Bron’s kitchen knife that I’m clutching.

In that moment, I realise what’s going to happen. I have to do something to stop it. I start to stand up. If I use my knife first, even if I only stab the Mayor in the arm, Miller might have a chance. Before I’ve barely moved, however, Dante yanks me back down. For the umpteenth time since I’ve known him, his steely arms wrap around my waist.

‘Don’t,’ he breathes in my ear, ‘there are too many of them.’

I try to pull away but it’s already too late. With one swift movement, the Mayor thrusts the knife into Miller’s stomach with a sickening wet sound. Miller groans loudly but, thanks to the two goons who’ve grabbed his upper arms, he doesn’t fall down. The Mayor twists the knife deeper.

‘Sorry it had to come to this.’ He laughs. ‘Actually, who am I kidding? I’m not sorry at all.’ He laughs again and walks out, as Miller finally collapses, landing face first in front of the motionless mare.

The last thing I hear the Mayor say as he opens the door back into the world of sunshine and light is a query about where the mares’ guard has gone. When the door finally closes and we’re alone, I can barely see through the hot tears that scald my cheeks and blur my vision.

Dante releases me and I half run to Miller. I crouch down by his head and try to turn him over. Both Bron and Dante come to help. It’s obvious there’s nothing we can do though; his eyes stare up at us, unseeing and glassy. I let out a muffled cry. Bron pulls me into his arms and I cling to him while Doctor Miller’s corpse lies at my feet.

Killing is not so easy as the innocent believe.

J. K. Rowling,
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

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B
ron and Dante speak over my head. ‘I can’t believe he just did that.’