I hissed through my teeth. They should have come to me; I might have been able to help. Ange was too damn proud and Becky was too much of a kid. But this wasn’t the time for recriminations. I looked Becky up and down. Despite the mess she was in, she didn’t look too hungry. ‘Did you get food in the end?’
She nodded. ‘On Tuesday. Mum must have gone out when I was sleeping. I woke up early because I was hungry and she was already in the kitchen making pancakes.’ Becky swallowed and gazed at me with wide, frightened eyes. ‘She had maple syrup.’
Maple syrup? It was so long since I’d had maple syrup I could barely remember what it tasted like. Clearly Ange had performed some kind of miracle – or horrific deed – to get some. And no doubt she’d got this strange little box at the same time. I held it up to the light and examined one of the engravings on the lid. It was a simple Celtic knot, the sort you’d see anywhere. The snaking lines leading away from it detracted from the knot’s elegance, however. Pity. Turning the box over in my hands, I frowned to myself. Had Ange stolen it? Or was she keeping it safe for someone else?
‘We need to hide this. It might be nothing or it might be everything.’ I chewed the inside of my cheek. ‘With the goblins stationed outside, it’s probably better if we put it somewhere out of the way. Just in case.’ I gazed at Becky. ‘It’s also probably better if we put you somewhere out of the way too.’ It was a risk. The Filits wanted her to stay here; they wanted to know where she was. Discovering that she’d flitted from under their noses might set off a chain reaction that would lead to disaster. But they wanted her here for a reason; denying them the possibility of using Becky against her own mother seemed prudent.
‘Can’t I come with you?’ Becky asked in a small voice.
I shook my head. ‘It’s too dangerous. I’ll take you to a friend of mine. She’s … interesting. She’ll keep you safe.’ I handed the box back to her. ‘The first chance you get, hide that somewhere. Don’t tell anyone where it is.’
Becky swallowed but she nodded agreement.
‘We’ll get to the bottom of this,’ I said. ‘Somehow or other.’ I walked to my open window and peered down. Clambering down in full form was considerably harder than leaping out as a shadow. With those goblins in place at the front, however, we had little choice. I glanced back at Becky. ‘I hope you’ve got a head for heights.’
***
Sally Slate lived on the far fringes of the city, close to the city walls – and near to the imposing weaponry of the Gneiss goblins that loomed on the slopes beyond the river but was less than a mile away. When the first Gneiss shelling and bombardment had begun, her neighbours had gathered up their belongings and skedaddled. Sally had watched them, bemused, declaring that this neighbourhood was the safest. The Gneiss weren’t interested in targeting the poor outskirts of the city; they were aiming for the centre. They wanted to kill Filits.
In the end she was right. The majority of the buildings here were still standing. Before the heavy artillery attacks were abandoned, the Gneiss destroyed buildings and left piles of rubble in the middle of the town. Of course, had the Gneiss goblins pushed through and attacked in person, Sally would have been on the front line and caught between both sides. That prospect never seemed to bother her much; indeed, looking around her collection of old tins of food and paraphernalia looted from her departed neighbours, Sally didn’t seem to be doing too badly.
It wasn’t just the clutter in her house that was impressive; Sally was larger than life in more ways than one. In these days of strict rationing, it wasn’t common to come across people of her wide stature. Becky goggled at her but thankfully had the sense not to comment.
‘So you’ll be needing my help then,’ Sally said, settling in a chair. It groaned loudly as it took her weight but we all pretended not to hear.
There was no point beating around the bush. I pointed at Becky. ‘She needs a place to stay for a few days.’
‘Why? What has she done?’
Becky bristled, her cheeks colouring. ‘I’ve not done anything!’
‘Honey,’ Sally said, not unkindly, ‘people only come here for two reasons. You’re skinny and you need feeding up – but I’m guessing it’s not my supplies that you’re after. If it is, then you’re braver than most others.’
I gave her a long look. ‘Have you been having trouble?’
Sally waved a hand in the air, her bangles jangling against her wrist. ‘When do I not have trouble? Every so often some likely lad thinks that he can better me. He’s always wrong.’
As if to add credence to her words, there was a hesitant knock on her living-room door. A moment later a young, nervous face peered round. He couldn’t have been more than sixteen but he possessed none of the swagger you’d expect in a teenage boy. He simply looked terrified.
‘Tea,’ Sally snapped. ‘Use the good china.’
Becky’s mouth hung open.
‘Stay like that, dearie,’ Sally said, ‘and you’ll catch flies. Martin is one of the many who thought he could get the better of me. Now he’s paying me back for disturbing my peace.’
I dreaded to think what kind of hold Sally had over the kid that she could keep him here against his will and make him do her bidding. Then it occurred to me that it probably wouldn’t take much. She forced to him stay around to serve her in retaliation for attempting to rob her blind; in return, he probably received three square meals a day. It was more than a lot of kids his age would get. By punishing him, she was saving him – and from the gleam in her eye as she watched me, she knew that I’d worked out her game.
‘It’s a hard life,’ I murmured.
A smile played around her plump lips. ‘It certainly is.’
‘I don’t think…’ Becky began. She fell silent when Sally frowned at her and her head drooped. ‘It would be very kind of you to let me stay. I can find my own food. You won’t even know I’m here.’
‘She’s smart,’ Sally said to me. ‘I like this one.’
‘The Filits have her mother,’ I said. If Sally was going to give Becky the sanctuary she desperately needed, she should know what was going on. ‘They want Becky as well.’
‘They want to use her against her mother?’
I nodded. ‘That’s what I believe.’
‘Interesting.’ Sally reached into her pocket, drew out a lacy handkerchief and dabbed at her forehead. ‘What are you, girl? Six? Seven?’
Becky glared. ‘I’m nine.’
‘Even better. Nine year olds are excellent gardeners. Weed my plants and keep them alive and I’ll feed you.’
‘If I’m not back by this time next week,’ I said, ‘then—’
‘Don’t worry,’ Sally interrupted. ‘You’ll be back.’ She glanced at Becky. ‘Go to the kitchen and make sure that Martin isn’t destroying anything. That boy is as clumsy as a drunken one-night stand.’
For a brief moment Becky stared at her before springing up and almost running out of the room.
‘Now, Saiya,’ Sally said, leaning forward and knitting her fingers under her chin, ‘are you quite sure about this? There’s no guarantee that the girl’s mother is still alive. By going up against the Filits, even by asking awkward questions, you’re placing yourself in the mouth of the proverbial dragon. I’d hate for you to get burned.’ Her eyes grew sharp. ‘There aren’t any others like you left in Stirling. We might need your skills.’
I stiffened. No one knew I was a wraith but if anyone was going to guess at the truth – and guess accurately – it would be Sally. Rather than confront her and deal with the consequences, I slid past her comment and focused on her concern. ‘She needs my help.’
‘Her mother isn’t the only one who’s disappeared recently,’ Sally cautioned. ‘There have been others.’
I grimaced; I’d heard as much. You couldn’t spend as much time as I did in the shadows listening to secrets and not know that the Filit goblins were taking a more proactive interest in their citizens than usual. ‘Just because we’re at war doesn’t mean we shouldn’t stand up for ourselves.’
‘We’re not at war.’
I didn’t react. There wasn’t any point.
Sally sighed. ‘Very well. Watch the corners though, Saiya. Dangerous things are afoot.’
I tried to smile. Yeah. But one of those dangerous things might also be me.
Chapter Three
After downing Sally’s overly sweet tea, and trying not to wonder where she’d managed to procure sugar, I took my leave. Dawn wasn’t far off and there was a man I had to find before he sloped off to sleep away the daylight hours.
I nipped through the silent streets, keeping my senses alert. This was prime mugging time. I might not have had anything on me that would delight a would-be robber but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t try. Fortunately I managed to pass through the city unimpeded – at least until I reached the road next to the old bowling alley and just started to relax.