Chapter 10
“What is your plan?” Mercury’s eyes darted between his gathered ghosts, anxious to get to the other side of the door to Tacey. If they could help him manage that, he was all ears.
“Weeping William will pass through the corner of the room,” the Cream Canary said, “but it will seem like a ghost simply wandered across the room rather than looking for it specifically. But the guard should notice him.”
“And be distracted by him,” Mercury guessed aloud.
“And to let Tacey know that we are here,” Gary the Green said.
Mercury suspected she already knew. Her Invisible might very well be standing among them.
“After that,” the Cream Canary continued, “the Captain will float inside, his head under his arm. That is very difficult to look away from.”
Mercury looked over at Captain Capitate. “You are decidedly memorable.”
“I’m also selfless,” the Captain said. “I’m willing to pretend I’m lost so the guard’ll be busy giving me directions. I’m a sea captain. My sense of direction is impeccable.”
“While the guard is occupied, Testy Tolver will unlock the door,” the Cream Canary said. “The guard will be unlikely to hear the small noise that it might make.”
Not a bad plan so far.
“And then what?” Mercury asked.
From behind him, a whisper that was somehow still deep and rumbling answered, “Then Miss Wilde gets shot.”
Mercury spun around. The Violet Giant stood in the corridor. The top few inches of his head passed through the ceiling. His gaze didn’t waver from Mercury.
Behind him, Mercury could sense panic tiptoeing over the gathered ghosts. But the enormous specter had warned Mercury about the Vanns while they’d been at Aventine Manor. Mercury was choosing to believe that the mountainous phantom would not betray him now.
“The guard is armed,” the Violet Giant said. “If Mercury steps through that door or Miss Wilde attempts to leave, the guard will be able to end your rescue very quickly.”
“We cannot leave her in there.” Mercury wouldn’t allow it. “The Vanns have said they intend to ‘motivate’ me to reveal myself, which I suspect involves mistreating her. We have to get her away before they move her again.”
“There is a second door in that room, opposite this one.” The Violet Giant looked at the gathered ghosts.
“Those of you able to move objects, make your way over there, unseen. I will go inside and tell the guard that I saw someone suspicious in that other corridor. If you will then make distant noises, that will help me convince him to leave and investigate.”
The ghosts dispersed, obeying his instructions.
“Thank you for helping us,” Mercury said. “And helping her.”
“We will meet again, Mercury Raine. When we do, remember this moment.” The Violet Giant turned and floated down the corridor.
Mercury caught Testy Tolver’s eye. “Once the Violet Giant has led the guard out, you’ll likely have mere moments to unlock the door.”
Testy Tolver nodded, moving at Mercury’s side as they caught up to the Violet Giant. After the length of a breath, the enormous ghost passed through and out of sight. Testy Tolver moved near enough to the door to slip a fraction of an inch into the wood. Mercury waited.
He was wholly unaccustomed to being useless, but waiting was his only option.
From inside the room, the Violet Giant’s voice rumbled, though Mercury couldn’t make out all of his words. He caught “suspicious” and “shadows.” Testy Tolver must have been able to hear better. His expression turned to one of concentration. The tiniest clink indicated the door had been unlocked.
A moment later, the ghost whispered, “Now.”
Mercury opened the door and peered inside.
Tacey was already there, ready to hurry out.
Her Invisible had, no doubt, told her all that had transpired in the corridor.
She moved immediately out of the room. He closed the door quietly behind him, not wishing to draw the guard’s attention in case he was not very far down the other corridor.
They were swiftly out the exterior door and up the stairs leading to it. The courtyard beyond was cast in dim light, with so few lanterns that it was mostly shadow. That would help tremendously.
Mercury held his hand out to Tacey, and she took it without hesitation.
He allowed himself not even the length of a breath to feel the relief and comfort of that connection.
He had her back, safe, with him. But that wouldn’t last if they didn’t make good their escape.
He refused to lose her again, which meant keeping his focus.
They crossed the courtyard to the alleyway. His ghosts had the presence of mind to keep a distance rather than give them away by clumping around.
He glanced back at the tavern to make certain no one was following. A glowing amber light moved from a second-story window to the next. Nothing odd in that, yet it sent a chill over him.
Tacey held tightly to his hand as they moved in silence into the dark of the alley and out onto the street beyond.
He’d lived on the streets of the sprawling city long enough that he knew them well.
He could navigate nearly every parish and knew without thinking how to get from one area of Town to another.
He turned in the opposite direction of his house. Misdirection was a useful strategy.
Two more turns brought them face-to-ghostly-face with Granny Grey, Tacey’s ghost.
“They’ve discovered Tacey’s missing. You have to hurry.”
Mercury met Tacey’s eye. No fear. No hesitation. She just silently urged him to continue.
“We’re less likely to be found if our path takes us through some seedy areas of London,” he said in a quick whisper of warning.
“I’m not afraid,” she said with the same volume but with undeniable steel in her declaration.
He gave a quick nod and rushed ahead. Disreputable areas pressed up next to opulent ones all over London. One was never more than a few streets from poverty and crime, but also from unimaginable wealth. Mercury and Tacey wove through both.
They spilled out onto a street at enough of a circuitous distance from the Forever Flame for Mercury to feel safe hailing a hackney.
Mercury gave the driver directions to a spot a few streets away from his house. He climbed inside the carriage right after Tacey, then snapped the door closed.
The vehicle lurched forward and began rolling down the street. Beside him, Tacey released a tense breath. The interior was dark, and he could only just make out her silhouette.
“Are you whole?” he asked. “Did they hurt you?”
“No. They didn’t even truly threaten to hurt me. The guard had a gun, but it was never pointed at me. I wasn’t permitted to leave the rooms I was kept in, but I wasn’t tied up or punished for anything.”
It was Mercury’s turn to push out a relieved sigh.
“I don’t think they actually wanted anything from me.” She turned and looked at him. “I was bait for you.”
“You were.”
She didn’t speak for several minutes as she studied him. He didn’t flinch under the scrutiny.
“Where are we going now?” she asked. “Surely not all the way back to Aventine Manor.”
“I have a house in London.”
“Will the Vanns know to look for you there?”
“No. The house is under a false name.”
Another drawn-out silence stretched between them. Mercury clutched his hands together, resting them on his lap. He wished he were holding her hand still, but she didn’t give any indication that she felt the same way.
He’d gone his whole life without losing even the tiniest bit of his heart. Now, someone had claimed a corner of it, and she likely was discovering she didn’t want it.