Note: Another wonderful entry to the cover competition in this week’s post, this time from Kayleigh Fulbrook.
Underground. Why was she surprised? You’d figure if you could afford to hire some crazy, knife-wielding freak to collect people for you, you’d live in some fancy penthouse in Chelsea. But oh no, it had to be underground. They were bustled through the chained up gates on Shepherd’s Bush green and down the wet stone steps.
She tried to step over the leaf mulch that clogged the bottom, but there was nowhere else to put her feet, and within moments her converse were soaked through. She sighed. The one item of clothing mum got right, and this was a second pair ruined in six months.
The thin man was in front of them for a moment, muttering something before he shoved the rickety doors inward, and they swung smoothly open, belying the impression given by the knackered rusty hinges. Then she felt the knife in her back again and with a whimper, stepped forward into the darkness.
Martin nudged her as the lights of the green faded behind them. ‘We’ve come to the right place.’
She looked at him, just making out the silhouette of his profile. ‘Huh?’
‘This is the Underworld. I haven’t used this entrance before, but it is all linked. I am intrigued to know who wishes to see us.’
‘Intrigued? Is that like, frightened, wet and angry?’
His chuckle got lost in the gloom, before lights appeared before them, and the darkness crept quietly away as they walked closer.
(c) Kayleigh Fulbrook
Minutes later, the tunnel opened up and they were in a place that reminded her of the Winter wonderland in Hyde Park. A corridor of stalls, on both sides, lit by hanging bulbs and candles, random lamps and fairy lights. From above, she could hear the snickering of what she thought, or hoped, were bats.
The floor was covered in a sort of hessian mat thing, and every footstep squelched as the water escaped from her shoes. Their guide was talking to a man stood at the junction, and Scarlet took a moment to look around.
The nearest stall was covered in wooden cabinets, each filled with tiny drawers. She opened one at random, and found a dark, pungent-smelling weed, that made her eyes water.
‘Are you buying, or just trying to steal something?’
She jumped, shoving the drawer closed. ‘Sorry, just looking, I didn’t know what was in there, my bad.’
She looked up, over the cabinets, and gasped, mouth dropping open. The owner of the voice, and she assumed, the stall, was green, and suspiciously warty, and was, quite possibly, a goblin. An actual goblin.
He was glaring at her, and she gave him a smile. ‘Are these, like, spell ingredients?’
He continued to glare for a moment, then nodded reluctantly. ‘Finest in London, excellent prices. You need anything?’
‘Well…’ she checked her pockets. She had a few quid, and hauled her spell book out, flicking through it. She’d been wanting to try this levitation spell for ages, only Martin didn’t have any… where was it, oh yeah, ‘avrid root.’
‘Um, yeah, have you got ‘Avrid root please?’
The goblin nodded knowingly. ‘Fancy having a fly, do you? Popular this one, here you go.’
He leaned over the stall, pulling out one of the drawers and she took out a small chunk of spongy root, so dark it was almost black. ‘Um, how much?’
The goblin looked at what she held, rocked his head back and forth, and sniffed. ‘Say, half a pint.’
‘I’m sorry, half a pint of what?’ She knew before she asked, but she really wasn’t willing to even entertain it. Maybe it was beer, maybe. Nah, not a chance.
The goblin gave her a look. ‘Blood.’
She sighed. Always with the gross, always. ‘Look, I’ve got like, three pound, fifty, will that do?’
Another look, then he stuck his hand out and she dropped the coins in. She couldn’t help noticing the long, ragged finger nails and browny-red stuff stuck beneath them. With a shudder, she thanked him, and stuffed the root into one pocket, before the thin man appeared beside her.
‘No time for shopping.’
‘Oh, but time for you to have a natter, right?’
That earned her a glare, and she noticed the knife was out again, back and forth, back and forth. He motioned with his head and they set out, moving slower now as they wound their way through the shoppers. The market was busy, and it wasn’t just the sellers who were weird. They passed all sorts, from more goblins, to tiny creatures travelling in groups on these sort of trolley things that got them up to the right height, to people who looked like trees, towering above the stalls.
They were stuck in the press for a moment, and she watched one of the tree guys bend over, his head coming in close to the stall. His voice was deep, and growling, and she shook her head in wonder as he chatted about the weather to the woman behind the counter. The woman was as wide as Scarlet was tall, and it took her longer than it should to spot the third eye, nestled amongst wispy hair on her forehead.
They moved on, Scarlet staring in every direction at once, her fear momentarily displaced by the wonders they were passing. Martin nudged her again. ‘This stall, on the left? Anything look familiar?’
She paused, eyes lighting up as she saw hundreds of necklaces draped over cushions covered in velvet. It looked like a typical jewelers, until she looked closer, and noticed that many of the chains supported pieces of bone, or miniature demon charms, or even teeth. Uh.
Martin had moved ahead, tapping the thin man on the shoulder, and the two of them began talking. Scarlet stared at the necklaces, trying to check them one at a time, until a cough made her glance up. The man who ran the stall was disappointingly normal, but he was holding a necklace up, the faintest of smiles on his face.
She stared at it, making sure. It was the right one. ‘How did you know?’
His smile widened. ‘It is my job to know.’
She waited for something more, but that was it, apparently, end of explanation. There was something refreshing about the simplicity of it. A bit creepy, too.
‘How much is it?’
The man rocked his head to one side, far further than normal, and smiled. ‘What is your name?’
It came naturally this time. ‘Joanna Slater, how about you?’
‘Call me Howard, for now. Well, Joanna. There is nothing I need right now, but how about if I needed something in the future? Perhaps I could call on you?’
Her skin was crawling, something about the way he was looking at her, like her cat stared at his dinner. It sounded like a deal, but that was like believing when a teacher told you the lesson was going to be fun. She glanced back, and saw Martin and the thin man finish their discussion, both turning to look at her.
‘Yeah, sure fine, whatever, sounds like a deal.’
The smile stayed fixed as he passed her the necklace, and as it touched her hand, it hissed, like her skin was hot and the chain, freezing. She held it up, staring at it as it spun slowly before her eyes. She slipped it over her head, and as the jewel touched the skin of her chest, voices leapt into her mind.
‘We are nearly there, soon we shall have him.’
‘Be not too eager, accolyte, there is work to be done still.’
‘Does anyone want a cup of tea?’
‘She needs to be found, this Slater girl, before she discovers the charms of Undoing.’
‘But what will we do when we find her?’
‘What will we do? We will kill her of course.’
Next Instalment Wednesday 12th February
