The Empty Grave (Lockwood & Co. #5)(71)

‘Look at me,’ he said. ‘Upright again! Things can’t be so bad, surely.’ He gave us a wonky, mottled smile. ‘Hey, and there’s the proof of it! Are all those chocolates for me?’





18




Dubious as Flo’s gift undoubtedly was (my theory was that she’d found the box floating down the Thames and had dried the chocolates out individually on riverside stones before repacking them), it was good to see George taking an interest in it. It helped sustain him during the long argument that followed his arrival.

No one could fault Lockwood’s ingenuity, or the audacity of his plan. But the dangers involved seemed almost more terrifying than the ones we already faced, and it took all his charm and forcefulness to persuade us to even discuss it. The idea of making a spirit-gate in our own house gave everyone pause.

It had long been known that a single psychic object or Source, such as the skull in the jar, provided a small hole through which a ghost could pass from the Other Side. The idea of a spirit-gate, as made by the shamans in their spirit-houses, and as created in secret by the Rotwell Agency and (we guessed) by Marissa Fittes as well, was essentially an extension of this principle. If a great number of Sources were placed in a single location, their powers combined to rip a much larger hole between the worlds. If it was big enough – and if you had sufficient protection, in the form of a spirit-cape – it was possible to pass through and back again. But the assembled ghosts that thronged the gate itself had to be kept in check by vast amounts of iron, and the Other Side itself was perilous, as Lockwood and I knew full well.

‘There’s the freezing cold, for starters,’ I said. ‘And the physical effort it takes to cross over, even with the capes. Would you willingly put yourself through that again?’

‘If it was a question of survival,’ Lockwood said, ‘of course I would.’

‘Plus there’s the threat from the ghosts at the gate. I know Rotwell ringed them with lots of chains … but what if they broke out here?’

‘They wouldn’t break out. We’d build the circle carefully.’

‘Forget the ones at the gate!’ Holly cried. ‘What about the dead on the Other Side? The place is packed with them!’

Kipps gave a hoot of agreement. ‘Right! We get enough trouble from a few stray spirits over here! Stepping across is like stamping on a hornets’ nest. Judging by what you and Lucy experienced, they get drawn to the presence of the living. You only just escaped them.’

Lockwood shook his head. ‘That was only because Lucy and I were wandering about the countryside. If we went through here, we’d just be in another version of thirty-five Portland Row. We wouldn’t leave it. We’d just stay put.’

‘Have we even got enough Sources to do this?’ I asked.

‘Think about the energy already coming from the death-glow over my sister’s bed,’ Lockwood said. ‘I bet that would do half the job on its own. And we’ve got a whole cluster of psychic objects in Jessica’s room already, plus the things hanging all over the house.’ He looked through the open door into the hall, where the shelves of pots and gourds could just be seen. ‘My parents collected them for us,’ he murmured. ‘They’re there to be used. And I believe my sister would want us to use her room too. She’d want to help us escape.’

There was another silence. We didn’t know quite how to respond to that.

‘What about George here?’ Kipps persisted. ‘He’s practically dead already. How would he survive going through?’

‘We wouldn’t be over there for very long. Besides, think about those old duffers at the Orpheus Society. They clearly do it all the time, and it hasn’t killed them yet.’

‘They had a lot of extra equipment,’ I put in. ‘Those weird weapons, for a start. You can bet they’re all designed to keep spirits at bay.’

‘And those crazy mechanical stilts,’ Kipps said. ‘We haven’t got any of them.’

‘Who needs mechanical stilts?’ Lockwood rolled his eyes. ‘Or those stupid weapons? We’d only be nipping across for a few minutes! Take it from me, one look at the gate and Winkman’s men would run a mile. And it is possible to build one – don’t you think so, George?’

George had been busily working his way through the second layer of chocolates, listening intently but keeping his own counsel, with Flo sitting at his side. Whether it was his quiet air or his poor bruised face that did it, he carried a certain authority. We all looked at him as he toyed with a walnut whip and placed it carefully back in the box. ‘We can certainly try making one,’ he said. ‘We can make the circle, put the Sources in it, do all that before sundown. I don’t see what we’ve got to lose.’ He adjusted his broken spectacles. ‘Personally, I’d love to do it. I’d love a chance to glimpse the Other Side.’

‘That’s the spirit,’ Lockwood said. ‘Well done, George.’

‘There’s also the incentive of staying alive,’ George went on haltingly, ‘so that we can bring Marissa and her friends to justice. It may interest you to know,’ he said, ‘that overnight I’ve read Occult Theories, that little book you so kindly brought back from the Orpheus Society. It wasn’t a wasted journey, you’ll be pleased to hear. I’ll tell you why, if someone puts the kettle on.’