The Mesmerist(28)

Inside the satchel is a leather strap with two buttonholes at either end. I find the pegs on the satchel and push them through. There is a length of extra strap, like a belt that is too long, but by adjusting and fiddling, I somehow find a way to sling it over my shoulder, where it bounces against my hipbone. It feels right, as if it has been waiting for me. My proper English side notices that the leather is a complement to my brown boots, which Darby has cleaned to a fine sheen. But now is not the time for frivolous thoughts.

A malevolent force that lived in darkness and fed on fear. They are necromancers.

We take the South Eastern Railway from Charing Cross to the town of Chislehurst, which lies to the southeast. I wonder what the other passengers think of our little band of travelers: A father with his children? A headmaster with some of his pupils? If only they knew the truth.

We are the League of Ravens, and we are seeking evil where it sleeps.

We arrive at Chiselhurst Station at dusk. It is nothing more than a small depot with a signal box. A few malnourished cats and dogs slink about the place. A sign above a small booth reads STATIONMASTER, but there is no one to be seen.

Balthazar leads the way. “It is a village, really,” he points out. “A very old one, where the people keep to themselves and shun visitors.”

The moon is bright and gives us plenty of light by which to navigate. We are surrounded by open fields and pastures, here and there a small cottage or farmhouse. I smell wood smoke on the air and spy a windmill some distance away, its massive arms creaking in the wind. It’s colder here, without the shelter of buildings and houses, and I feel exposed, as if someone could swoop down at any moment and carry me away.

“So where are the caves?” Emily asks.

“Just up ahead,” Balthazar answers.

We stop in the middle of the dirt path we are on. Balthazar looks left, then right. “This way,” he says.

We make a right turn and come upon a stand of trees as tall as towering giants. Up ahead, a jagged entrance looms like a terrible yawning mouth.

“The cave,” Gabriel whispers.

“Yes, Gabriel,” Balthazar says. “Be on your guard. Jessamine’s vision has led us here, but we do not know what we shall find.” He looks at each of us. “Follow me.”

The air grows even colder as we approach the entrance. It is wet and damp, like the sea back home. But is it simply weather, or the presence of something more foreboding?

Balthazar sniffs like a foxhound on the hunt. For a moment he says nothing at all, and then, “Light, Emily.”

I hear Emily exhale, as soft as a whisper. I turn to see a nimbus of light radiate from the top of her head and then surround her. In an instant, the darkness is flooded with brilliant luminescence.

The light spreads outward from Emily’s body like a candle, glowing brightest at the top of her head. Her hair floats away from her face as if she is underwater.

“I take it Emily told you of her gift?” Balthazar asks.

“Yes,” I say, still staring. “But I thought it was only—”

“She is a lightbringer,” he says proudly. “A very rare elementalist, one who can bend light and heat at her will.”

I continue to gaze at her. I hear her father’s words from when I looked in on her past: I seen the fire inside her. The light seems to surround her and come from within at the same time. It is truly remarkable. She smiles. “Neat, innit?”

“Emily and Gabriel discovered their abilities early on,” Balthazar explains. “In time, you, too, will learn to control your gift.”

I pull my gaze away from Emily as we head farther into the cave. Balthazar leads the way, with Emily behind him. I come next, with Gabriel taking up the rear.

We are in a winding tunnel, its walls made of a yellow chalky substance. The dirt beneath our feet crunches as if we are walking on small stones and pebbles. It’s stuffy and clammy and reminds me of being in the wardrobe at home, which already seems so long ago. Every now and then I hear the plink, plink, plink of water dripping from an unseen roof. If not for Emily, we would be surrounded by darkness.

“The ancients mined these caves for lime and rare minerals,” Balthazar quietly points out. “It was a different world then, and much harsher.”

I wonder about that and think on what it must have been like to live a thousand years ago, without the modern conveniences we have today.

At first, the path is wide enough for the four of us to walk side by side, but it soon narrows to form a crevice.

“We’re stuck,” Emily says. “We can’t get through.”

My heart catches, but then Balthazar exhales deeply, turns sideways, and slides in.

“Skinny, that one.” Emily snickers.

We hear Balthazar’s voice through the crack. “Come in,” he calls, his voice echoing. “One at a time. You first, Emily. I need light.”

Emily nods and squeezes through. I look at the narrow passage, then let out a breath and shimmy in, the same way Balthazar did. The walls of the crevice close against my ribs, pressing in so strongly, I feel I will be crushed. Gabriel follows me with a quiet grunt.

When we come out on the other side, we are met by walls covered in a black crusty material, as if hot lava has rushed over them. Water trickles through fissures and crevices. I peer up at a forest of ivory-colored spears. At my feet are objects of the same color, but round and blunt, bringing to mind a graveyard of broken teeth. My clothes are filthy. I can feel the cold seeping into my boots.