She hadn’t done this one, not yet, but it needed no ingredients, and sounded impressive, and that was enough for now. Maybe. The others around the room were watching her, leant forward, arms resting on legs as they stared.
She was a performing monkey, or soon would be. And to think, she used to get nervous when she had to give a drama performance. Her hands were shaking as she lifted the spell book. This was no good, she wasn’t even going to be able to say the words properly.
She let the book drop, looking around at the eager, greedy faces. ‘OK, which one of you did the invites for this thing? I mean, really, these outfits, have you even used a mirror?’
That was better. She was met with a chorus of hisses and sneers, but no one got up, or challenged her, and she managed a weak smile. The guy on the throne was the real deal, whatever that meant, but these others? Wannabe was pretty close to the truth she reckoned.
She spoke the words, slowly, carefully, putting her weight behind it, just as Martin had taught her. She squeezed her eyes closed, as soon as she said the last word, and was pleased she did. She heard the gasps as light filled the room.
Holding the book up as a shield, she peered out through slitted eyelids. A ball of light, bright enough to make her eyes water, hung in the air before her. She stepped back, glancing around the room. Many of those hissing at her moments earlier were smiling and clapping. The few who had remained silent when the big man was holding court were still silent, watching her.
The big man himself was on his feet, applauding along with the rest, climbing down again from his throne. ‘Excellent, outstanding. It appears you are the entertainment after all. Not quite what I imagined, but entertaining nonetheless.’
He stepped closer and she got a whiff of him, the faintest scent of hospitals and burning rubber, hidden behind some nasty aftershave that made her nose wrinkle. He came around the light, a huge silhouette that blocked it out. She lowered the book and waited, hands on hips.
His voice was lower, no longer meant for the others in the room. ‘Who is your father, girl?’
She raised her eyebrows, ignoring the shaking in her legs. ‘The name’s Scarlet, man… thing. And actually, who my father is is none of your business.’ OK, that was stupid, just plain, mum-level stupid. She coughed. ‘Where is Martin?’
The big man rocked back on his heels, folding his arms before him. She strained to see his expression, but the light behind still painted his face in black shadow. He chuckled, the sound climbing up her back and stroking her neck so she squirmed. ‘You have spirit. I will know who your father is, and from where you came.’
‘No you won’t. And ‘from where I came?’ Really?’
The light was fading, just enough for her to see his forehead crease, massive eyebrows meeting above his clear eyes. They stared at one another for a moment, long enough for Scarlet to realise the room had gone silent. The others might not be able to hear, but they knew something was happening.
The shaking had become quite serious, and her palms were slippery against the cover of the book. She put it into her pocket, and put her hands back on her hips. The room was silent. This was like one of those awkward moments at a party, when she realised she didn’t have a clue what to say, or how to say it. Like all parties, then, really.
The big man’s face changed, like flipping channels, and he threw back his head and roared with laughter. The tension broke and she surreptitiously wiped her hands on her jeans, glancing around the room. He stopped abruptly, and spread his hands before him. ‘Martin isn’t here.’
What? ‘What? You said he’d come to visit, you said you’d let him go.’
Tears stung the corners of her eyes and she blinked them away, taking a step forward as she waved her finger at him. He shrugged. ‘You are in the Underworld. I would have thought the name might have given you some clue as to the honesty of its denizens.’
‘Huh?’
‘I lied.’
‘But, but… hang on, my spell brought me here, it said he was here.’
The man shook his head, smiling. ‘Spells can be tricksy, and unreliable. Martin was here, not so long ago, but he and I, we have an understanding now. Maybe this is the last place the spell could track him to.’
She stepped back, turning from the big man and staring into the darkness above the assembled watchers. What the hell was she doing here? She was sixteen, inept at pretty much everything except social media and quoting Harry Potter, so what was she going to achieve? Everyone here was older than her, by quite a long way.
She turned back to him, grinding her teeth together. ‘Would it have hurt you to just tell me the truth?’
The big man rocked his head side to side. ‘In truth, perhaps not, but then I would not have known whether your tales of being a magician were true. Martin is teaching someone…’
He trailed off, still watching her with that amused air that made her want to punch him, like, really hard. What a dick. She pulled the book out and turned back to the rescue spell. Perhaps she just hadn’t thought about him hard enough.
She realised, with a sinking heart, that she had no ingredients with her. She couldn’t do it, even if she wanted to. The big man was still watching her, one chunky eyebrow higher than the other. She glared at him. ‘How do I get out of here?’
For a second, she thought he was going to laugh again, and she swallowed hard, the tears threatening once more. Instead, he nodded. ‘I can help you with that. Where would you like to go?’
‘I need to find Martin.’
‘Well, perhaps he did mention where he was heading when he left here. Let me see…’
He didn’t say anything, but a bright light appeared before her and she took a step toward it. His voice chased her from the Underworld. ‘Such a pleasure to meet you, Scarlet. A word to the wise, be careful in who you give your name to, not everyone is as kind as I am.’
She stepped through, and into the driving rain. The clouds of earlier had lived up to their promise and she could barely see the lights that blurred before her eyes, barely see anything but the wall of water. She turned slowly, looking for something she recognised, and froze, staring in amazement at Camden Town Tube Station.
