The Midnight Mercenary (7 page)

Amelia dropped to her knees beside him and helped scrub the mucus off James.

When James at last stopped groaning and was able to sit up, Lady Naomi was deep in thought, looking at the slimy patch where Len had lain. Mary had fetched a clean, dry towel and now gave it to James.

‘What happened?' said Lady Naomi.

James shook his head. ‘I don't know. I was just sitting here –'

Freaking out and crying
, Amelia thought, but without any actual irritation now.

‘– and Derek was talking to Len …'

‘Talking about what?' said Lady Naomi.

‘At first he was just telling Len he'd get better soon, and everything would be OK, but when he saw I was listening, he bent over and whispered into Len's … whatever … and then Len exploded slime all over me.'

James closed his eyes at the memory and shivered.

‘And then?' Lady Naomi prompted.

‘I couldn't see anything. The slime was all over my face, and then it started burning me, and I was screaming, but no-one helped me, and then –' James opened his eyes and looked at Lady Naomi. ‘I heard glass smash, and lots of screaming, but I couldn't do anything. That's when you guys came. Thanks, by the way,' he added to Charlie.

‘So you didn't see what happened to Len or Derek?' Lady Naomi pressed.

‘No. I was too busy thinking my eyeballs were on fire,' said James.

‘Did Krskn take them both?' Amelia asked.

‘Both?' said Lady Naomi. ‘No, just Len.'

‘But what happened to Derek?' said Charlie. ‘Did Krskn vaporise him? Or has he gone after Krskn to get Len back?'

‘Look –' Lady Naomi pointed to the smashed window. ‘Where's the glass? If Krskn smashed in from outside, there should be broken glass all over the floor right where Len was lying. But –'

‘Nothing,' said Amelia. ‘Where did the glass go?'

‘It's all over the veranda outside.'

‘You think Derek smashed through the window to escape Krskn?' said Charlie. ‘Or are you saying he let Krskn in?'

‘I'm saying Derek
is
Krskn,' said Lady Naomi.

‘But Derek is the Keeper!' said Charlie.

‘How do you know that?'

‘Because he said so!' Charlie shot back, then realised how weak that argument was. ‘Oh.'

‘It was Derek who gave Len the salty cookie!' said Amelia, suddenly realising. ‘He handed it to Len himself. He made him sick on purpose!'

‘Sounds like the perfect test to see who was Lellum and who was human.' Lady Naomi's expression darkened. ‘And the perfect excuse to separate Len from the group and get him into the annexe.'

‘… where he could smash
out
through the window and drag him away,' Charlie finished.

Lady Naomi nodded. ‘Yes, that's exactly what Krskn wants us to believe. But that's not what happened here. The smashed window was just a distraction – an attempt to put us off his real escape route.'

‘What escape route?' said Charlie. ‘Through the library, you mean?'

‘No.' Mary was certain. ‘That door didn't open.'

‘Then where did he go?' said Charlie.

Amelia looked up at the ceiling. Just in case Len had crawled up there, or was floating in a bubble like Grawk's. For all she knew, Krskn could fly. But nothing was there.

Lady Naomi sighed. ‘He was very clever to bring Len here, but what I don't understand is how he could have known about it. Unless …'

She paused and then put her hand to her forehead. ‘The rats!'

‘What?' said Charlie.

‘The cybernetically enhanced rats the Brin-Hask destroyed,' she said.

Amelia's stomach swooped. ‘The rats were being used by someone else. They were spying on the whole hotel. Passing on our secrets –'

‘Yes,' said Lady Naomi. ‘And now it looks as though they were passing them on to Krskn. Or at least, someone who was selling information to Krskn.'

‘What information?' said Amelia. ‘Where do you think Krskn went?'

‘And when are we going to stop
talking
about it, and go and rescue Len?' said Charlie.

Lady Naomi looked grim, hesitated, and then crossed to the very place James was standing. Swollen and lumpy as he was with mucus burns, he still blushed as he moved out of her way. She reached up to a little framed picture of fish swimming through coral, and tilted it to sit at an angle.

Without a sound, a trapdoor fell open in the opposite corner of the room, leaving an ominous black hole in the floor. Lady Naomi carried the candle over to it and, following her, Amelia saw two rough wooden steps inside the floor cavity. A dank stone staircase had been cut directly into the rock of the headland beneath them, the same headland that was riddled with natural caves and tunnels.

‘How did you know about that?' Charlie blurted out.

‘I've been here a long time,' said Lady Naomi quietly.

After ten or fifteen more seconds, the trapdoor silently closed again, and turning to look behind her, Amelia saw the picture had straightened itself on the wall.

What kind of place
was
this?

‘So what do we do?' she said.

‘You do nothing,' said Lady Naomi.

‘But what about Len?' Charlie protested.

‘
You
do nothing,' said Lady Naomi. ‘
I
will go and track Krskn down. If he's already got away with kidnapping Len, then unfortunately there is nothing any of us can do. But I'm betting Krskn will be unwilling to leave with just one Lellum. I think he's probably still on the hunt. Which is dangerous for all of us, but offers a slim chance for Len. It gives me a tiny window to try to rescue him.'

‘Well, if nowhere is safe,' said Charlie, ‘I might as well come with you.'

‘And me,' said Amelia.

‘No, Charlie!' said his mum. ‘You're going to stay right here! You promised me – you both did – that you wouldn't leave the hotel again.'

‘And we won't,' said Charlie. ‘We won't even leave this room, if you think about it.'

‘Don't play the lawyer with me, Karolos Floros!' Mary's voice was shrill. ‘This isn't a game.'

‘I'm not,' he said gently. ‘But you know I'm right. If we sit here and do nothing to help Len, we're in exactly the same amount of danger. And if we're going to get kidnapped anyway, I'd rather at least be trying to stop Krskn, not just giving up and hoping he doesn't notice us.'

Mary stared at him, speechless, but then her expression softened to one of reluctant pride.

‘I haven't said you can come with me,' said Lady Naomi.

But Amelia knew Charlie had won. They'd be safer with Lady Naomi than with his mum, and both the adults knew it.

‘What about me?' said James shakily. ‘What do I do? Am I going with you, too?'

Lady Naomi frowned at him, and Amelia knew what she saw: a wreck. It wasn't just the red welts left by the burns, or the way James's eyes had swollen to painful slits, still streaming tears. No, the real problem was that James had simply been through too much tonight. He was trying to accept reality, but he'd avoided so much of it for so long, it was too big for him to take in one go. He looked about ten seconds away from a total nervous breakdown.

‘I need you to stay here,' said Lady Naomi kindly. ‘You and Mary have to keep the hotel secure and be ready to bring the Scouts back inside whenever they get over their panic. Will you do that for me?'

James nodded.

‘Right.' Lady Naomi tipped the picture on the wall to the side once more. ‘Stay close behind me, you two. And no more talking once we get into the tunnel, OK?'

Charlie put a finger to his lips, Amelia picked up the string of Grawk's containment field, and one by one, they followed Lady Naomi into the darkness beyond the trapdoor.

It's all very well for Lady Naomi
, thought Amelia.
Anyone could be silent and stealthy if they could see in the dark.

For Amelia and Charlie, though, following Lady Naomi meant feeling their way inch by inch, hands tracing the rough stone walls, feet probing the empty air in front of them for the next step down into the caves. Grawk's luminous eyes gave off enough light for Amelia to see the texture of the walls beside her, but not enough to show the steps below.

It was slow, frustrating work, with nothing to hear but her own footsteps, Charlie's just ahead of her, and the occasional hiss from him when he accidentally bumped one of his welts. From Lady Naomi there came no sound at all. She might as well have been a ghost. Or not there at all. They could be walking into the centre of the Earth all on their own …

At last the floor levelled out, and there were no more steps to navigate. Amelia felt something touch her and pulled away, but Charlie murmured, ‘It's me. Here, take my hand.'

He pulled her forward, and Amelia realised Lady Naomi must be leading him along.

The narrow stairwell had widened into a cavern broad enough that Amelia could no longer touch the walls beside her. The ground was hard and flat under their feet – like tiles or floorboards – and every now and then, when Grawk's head turned in the right direction, Amelia thought she could make out shapes in the darkness – the shadowy outline of a workbench or a glint of light reflecting off glass.

‘It's some kind of laboratory,' breathed Charlie.

Lady Naomi said nothing.

‘It is, isn't it?' Charlie pressed. ‘This is where you do your research!'

‘
Shh,
' said Lady Naomi. Then, ‘No, but if you can't be silent, go back
now
.'

She was quiet, but so fierce that Charlie didn't dare speak again.

They kept walking and soon the floor gave way to rough, sandy ground. Somewhere in the distance, Amelia could hear waves crashing. Lady Naomi led them along a winding path, deeper and deeper into … wherever this was. Sometimes there was a drop in temperature for a second, or a louder sound of the sea in the distance, and she guessed there were tunnels branching off in different directions along the way. Without a torch or a map or even a ball of string to guide them back, Amelia knew they'd be completely lost without Lady Naomi.

She gulped and reminded herself that they'd already proven Lady Naomi was Lady Naomi, and not Krskn with a holo-emitter.

Amelia blinked, peering again into the dark. Was she imagining things, or could she see slightly? Maybe a whole night without light was making her brain play tricks on her – or maybe she was just seeing spots from the glow of Grawk's eyes … but no, she could definitely make out the faint grey line of Charlie's head in front of her. She gazed at the walls. She could
see
them. The caves were
glowing
now. Blue and yellow lichens on the rocks were emitting a pale light.

As they walked, the lichens grew thicker and the light strengthened until Amelia could easily see the ground ahead. She and Charlie dropped hands. They passed into a little grotto where the lichens were especially bright, with feathery pink fronds. It was so beautiful, and somehow knowing they weren't allowed to speak made it seem almost magical.

Amelia could see now where the tunnels split off. Often Lady Naomi had to choose between two or three forks in their path, but she seemed to know exactly what she was doing.

They had walked so far that Amelia wondered which part of the headland they could be under now. Had they gone as far as the hedge maze? As the old magnolias? As Lady Naomi led them around a corner, Amelia saw a carved archway, and beyond it a vast chamber, like a cathedral, bigger than the concourse at the airport. It was set with glass along the walls, and two rows of huge pillars, thicker than palm tree trunks, holding up the roof.

Stepping through the archway, Amelia noticed a heavy metal door raised up like a guillotine blade and ready to drop closed behind them. An identical door was open in an archway at the opposite end of the chamber, and beyond that, a pitch-black space that she guessed was another tunnel. The sandy ground had given way to a stone floor, not solid, but cut into complicated patterns. It was like one enormous storm-water drain cover, but done as beautifully as a Persian carpet. Overhead, the raw rock had been carved into a handsome vaulted ceiling, archways crisscrossing each other as they spanned the distances between the pillars. Lichen alone couldn't have lit such a massive space. Behind the glass walls, Amelia saw dozens of glowing glass spheres.

She started in surprise. Those weren't glass walls – they were doors. Dozens and dozens of different sized glass doors, each one covering an empty, carved space behind. They were
rooms
.

Amelia looked around in amazement. It was dry and empty now, but if you filled all this with water, it would look exactly like the lobby and guest wings of a hotel designed for
fish
. In fact, looking more closely, she could see metal tubing and blocks of pumice in each room, like giant versions of the air-stones in the aquarium at school.