The White City

6

Mama was telling Dalip how smart her nephew was◦– one of her nephews, at least◦– when he noticed the first crow on the map box. That it fixed them with one beady eye was nothing out of the ordinary. Both of them were used to having one or other of Crows’ birds nearby.

It cawed and ruffled its feathers, and Mama looked around for something to throw at it. It didn’t matter that they weren’t discussing anything important. She just didn’t want Crows eavesdropping on every last thing they said.

‘Shoo,’ she said, flapping her fingers at it. ‘Go on, get.’

Then there were two, hopping and flapping.

‘This isn’t a joke, Crows.’ She levered herself to her feet and batted at the birds with her hand. They easily avoided the swipe, rising and settling as it passed. When they landed again, there were three.

Dalip stared at the crows just as another of them folded itself out of nothing and started to hop from foot to foot. He pushed himself upright and scanned the horizon. Crows himself wasn’t in sight◦– didn’t seem to be in sight◦– but there was clearly something wrong.

Mama’s cry made him turn around. A good dozen glossy black birds burst up from the lid of the box and into the sky. They cawed and called, their wingbeats clattering as they scattered.

‘Stay with the maps, Mama.’ He took a few steps towards the dunes. ‘Don’t let anyone near them. Especially not Crows.’

He started to run, across the soft dry beach and then up the unstable seaward face of the first dune. He’d almost broached the top when instinct made him duck.

Mary, flying hard and fast, flashed inches over his head. Loose sand, stirred in her wake, left him blind and spluttering. He spat and blinked, and tried to dust his face free. By the time he could see again, they were almost on him.

There was no finesse in the man’s first attack. He was out of breath already, red in the face and unsteady. He lunged with his heavy-bladed machete when he should have swung it, and all Dalip had to do was sway to one side to avoid the blow.

He reached out, pushed the man’s outstretched arm away and down, trapping it against the sand, and followed through with his open palm against the side of the man’s head. He went down, with Dalip on top of him.

He tried to free himself, while Dalip kept his weapon-hand pinned. He arched his body and kicked his legs, and scrabbled his fingers towards Dalip’s face.

Dalip punched him in the throat, and ended the argument. He now had a machete, weighty and long, which he took a second to scoop up before running back towards Mama. She was one side of the map crate, waving her small knife at the green-grey-garbed man on the other side. He was circling at the same speed she was, but he was just toying with her: he could have stepped over the trunk and batted her weapon aside without risk. Mary, back in human form, was running towards her, a writhing mass of seaweed lifted from the strand line building behind her.

‘Mama,’ she called. ‘Duck.’

She didn’t have a clear shot until Dalip had almost reached him. He skidded to one side to avoid being caught in the brown, slimy mass that smothered the other man.

‘Get the maps,’ he said. ‘Down the beach, go.’

Mama pocketed her knife and gripped one of the rope handles. She started off, backwards, dragging the box with her. Mary caught up with her, took the other handle and together they ran towards the sea.

The knocked-over man started to rise. The tendrils of seaweed slid slippery on to the sand, and he shook the last of it off. He was leaning on his knife-hand, and Dalip would never have a better moment.

All he had to do was raise his machete and bring it down hard on the man’s wet hair or sandy shoulders. He looked at the length of metal extending from his hand, clutched at the cord-bound handle, felt the weight drag his arm down. He hesitated, half-raised the blade, then lowered it again. He made a decision, stepped back, and let him stand.

The man wiped the last of the slime from his rough face and narrowed his eyes at Dalip.

‘Won’t save you,’ he said. ‘I’ll beat you like I did last time, and I don’t have to stop, either.’

Recognition flared. In the woods, by the river, where the Wolfman caught up with them all, this man had helped kick and punch Dalip insensible.

‘Where is he?’ asked Dalip. He set his feet apart, bent his knees, lifted the machete ready to either parry or strike.

‘He’s coming, boy. He’s coming.’ His own blade was shorter, but pointed and double-edged. He made a swipe at Dalip’s forearm, and steel rang against steel. He tried it again, and Dalip moved fast and countered with ease.

For Dalip, there was a gratifying moment of re-evaluation from his opponent, who tried to get past Dalip’s guard again, once, twice, and each time his blade was knocked aside. Dalip watched him closely, looking out for weaknesses or strengths just as Stanislav had taught him.

‘You can still leave,’ said Dalip. ‘Go. Run.’

That seemed to infuriate the man, who lunged wildly at him, grunting with effort.

Without having to even think, Dalip turned away and kept turning, using his momentum to swing his machete down and through the man’s unguarded wrist. The blade was blunt. It didn’t slice cleanly, but all the same, bones cracked and blood sprayed. The man staggered and fell, folding in on himself and shrieking.

It was the noise, rather than the injury, which turned Dalip’s stomach. He checked his position, and sprinted across the beach to Mary and Mama. The map box sat between them.

‘Are you hurt?’ Mary asked.

‘No. No, I’m not.’ He was surprised. Neither of his attackers had so much as touched him. ‘Where’s Crows? Where are Luiza and Elena?’

‘I don’t know. I mean, there are crows, but no Crows. I couldn’t find the other two.’ She sounded desperate. ‘Crows! Crows! Fuck it!’

‘What did I tell you, girl?’ said Mama.

‘All right. But if the Wolfman gets the maps, Crows doesn’t. He’ll be here somewhere.’

‘The Wolfman? These are his men?’ Mama looked at her stubby knife. ‘God preserve us and send his saints to protect us. We are in so much trouble.’

Dalip was more immediately concerned about where the two men were going. The one who’d attacked him first was making his way unsteadily back up the dune. The other, finally realising that he wasn’t going to die immediately, was stumbling between being on his feet and crawling on his knees. His injured arm was pressed hard against his curled body.

‘How many of them were there?’

‘Four, five. Maybe six. They’re almost impossible to see in the forest until they move.’ Mary scanned the horizon for Crows again. ‘Where the fuck is he?’

A head bobbed into view, lean and lupine, and a wolf stood on the crest of the dune. Dalip nudged Mary and pointed. A second wolf joined it, and behind, walking almost casually, came the Wolfman. Behind him, struggling, was Luiza, pinned in the grip of one of the Wolfman’s followers.

‘Well, shit,’ said Mary.

‘What are we going to do?’ Mama dry-swallowed.

‘We’re going to do whatever it takes to save our friends,’ said Dalip.

Elena was pushed roughly over the edge of the dune by another man. She ran the first few steps to steady herself, then began the slow walk towards the shore.

‘The maps in exchange for Luiza?’ said Mary.

‘Looks that way.’ Dalip also started to look around for Crows. ‘Do they even know he’s here? If they didn’t hear you shouting for him, then… he might be planning something.’

‘But we don’t know what that’s going to be, do we?’

‘We’re too far away to do anything to them.’ Dalip looked for confirmation from Mary, and she gave a tight, terse nod. ‘Then, as much as I hate the idea, we’ll have to hope Crows has something up his sleeve.’

Elena closed the last of the distance between them with an apologetic run.

‘I am sorry. So sorry.’ She dropped to the ground, and Mama helped her on to the crate. ‘They were everywhere, like before. We could not stop them.’

‘Hush, girl, and tell us what they said.’

‘They want everything.’

‘The maps, right?’ said Mary.

‘No. That is what they want us to believe. That we will give them the maps, and they will give us my cousin. But I heard them say that once they have the maps, they will take all of us too, to kill or keep.’ Elena took several trembling breaths. ‘The only thing they care about is the maps, not keeping their word. I wish we had never taken them.’

‘Avarice, that’s what it is, girl. Avarice and greed.’ Mama rested her hand on her shoulder. ‘We’ve got ourselves a whole passel of trouble here.’

‘Can we fight them off?’ asked Mary.

Dalip clenched his jaw. ‘There are three of them left worth worrying about. And two wolves. If they didn’t have Luiza, then yes. They know us too well, though. We’re not going to try anything with her captive.’

‘What,’ said Mary, ‘what if we threaten to throw the maps into the sea?’

Mama baulked: ‘Those maps are our way out of here.’

‘They’re useless at the moment,’ said Dalip. ‘We can’t even exchange them for Luiza, because as soon as we do…’ He frowned. ‘Hold on. If we give them the maps, they give us Luiza: we can then just take the maps straight back. They can’t fight Mary, and us, at the same time.’

‘What are we missing?’ Mary straightened up and looked around. ‘There has to be something.’

‘This exchange, Elena. How’s it supposed to be done?’

She shuddered and managed to control herself for long enough to say: ‘Take the maps to the middle. Luiza walks to us, they collect the maps.’

‘And they think we’ll trust them to do that?’

‘They will kill her if we do not do as they say.’

Already, there were signs of impatience on the crest of the dune. Shouts drifted across the beach, words blown into incoherence by the wind and the distance, but the gesturing with knives close to Luiza’s stretched-out neck were clear enough.

‘We’re going to have to do something soon,’ said Mary. ‘They won’t wait for ever.’

‘They won’t kill Luiza. Not while we have control over the maps.’ Dalip squared his shoulders, and started towards the Wolfman.

‘What? Wait. Dalip, where are you going?’

‘I’m going to reason with them. If◦– if it comes down to it, are we prepared to throw the maps into the sea?’

‘No,’ said Mama.

‘Yes,’ said Elena. ‘If it will save Luiza.’

‘I don’t know!’ Mary grimaced. ‘I’ve never been rich before. I don’t know how it feels to just give it all up.’

Dalip kept walking until he was at the base of the dune. The Wolfman’s wolves strained on their chain leashes, baring their teeth at him, but the Wolfman himself laughed.

‘Well met, Dalip Singh. As you can see, your friend is unharmed, and lively.’

The man holding Luiza had one hand tight in her hair, dragging her down to a hunched half-squat. His other held a long, thin knife that hovered against her kidney.

‘Let her go,’ said Dalip, ‘and face me like a man.’

‘Though you didn’t lack courage when we first met, I could have broken you like a twig. Now, I’m not so sure. So why don’t you stay down there, and do what we told your little friend to do. Give us the maps, and we can go our separate ways.’

‘I don’t believe you,’ said Dalip. ‘I don’t think you’ll stop at the maps, because once we have Luiza back, there’ll be nothing stopping us coming after you.’

‘Good luck with finding us, lion man.’

‘We found Crows. We can find you. And you know that. So stop lying and tell me what you really want.’

The Wolfman jerked at his wolves’ chains to stop them growling. ‘Gloves off, is that it? Cards on the table? Bit of plain speaking needed? It’s like this: we’ll take the maps, and anything else we fancy. If we leave you with anything, you can be grateful for our mercy.’ He laughed again. Mercy was a joke for people like him.

‘Bell wouldn’t have accepted that,’ said Dalip. ‘Certainly not what you’re intending.’

‘She had odd ideas about what you can do to slaves. I don’t share them.’

‘I noticed.’

‘So what’s it to be, lion man? Do we get to stick a blade in your gypsy friend, or do you give us the maps?’

‘You can’t use the maps for anything but starting fires. You’re too stupid, too scared to work out what they mean.’

Crows, rope over his shoulder, pulling the almost-finished boat behind him, crested the dune. ‘I, however, am neither.’

Despite the size and weight of the hull, and Crows’ stick-thin limbs, the boat seemed to move easily enough. The keel balanced on the dune’s apex before the bow tipped towards the sea.

‘You. You’re behind this?’

‘I know, I know. I am betraying everyone yet again, and for what? A few lines on a few sheets of paper or skin. Walk with me, Dalip, while I try both an explanation and an apology.’ He adjusted his grip and leaned against the drag of the rope. ‘Luiza will be perfectly safe. Isn’t that right, Daniel?’

‘Just as long as there’s no shenanigans, Master Crows.’

‘No shenanigans indeed. No more than have already been conceived and put into motion, at least.’

Dalip stared at Crows’ back, then had to move aside for the passage of the boat.

‘Luiza. Just…’ He shouted his frustration and ran to catch up.

‘You will ask me what am I doing?’ said Crows.

‘I was going to put it more strongly than that.’

‘It is very straightforward. I do not want you to make copies of the maps. I do not want to share them with you at all. So I want to take them from you and go to the White City by myself. Daniel seeks someone new to serve, now that you have driven Bell away. I have offered my services as his lord, and he has graciously accepted. So there you have it. When we are safely away, we will drop Luiza off, perhaps on one of the islands out in the bay. In time, a new boat will grow, and you can go and pick her up. That is, in the circumstances, the best I can offer.’

‘The best? The best?’

‘My preference is that you all live, Dalip. I do not wish you dead, any of you.’

Dalip raised the machete, and Crows carried on hauling.

‘If you attack me, Luiza will die. I do not think you want that weight on your soul.’ He glanced around. ‘If you do not lower your weapon, there may be a tragic mistake. Please understand, you have been tricked into giving up what you do not need in exchange for what you most dearly want. Accept it for what it is.’

‘How can I accept this?’ But his arm hung by his side again. ‘This is an outrage.’

‘You are right. Of course you are. You have no choice, though. You are a better man now than I will ever be. You will not risk the life of your friend, and I would, though it shames me greatly to do so, let alone say it.’ He sighed. ‘This would be quicker if you helped me.’

‘No. Pull it yourself.’

‘As you prefer,’ said Crows.

The keel cut a lengthening line through the sand, while the distance to both the map box and the sea was diminishing with every step. Dalip thought so furiously that sweat started to bead on his forehead. He could think of nothing, though, no way out of the trap Crows had so carefully constructed.

And if the others imagined that Crows had, in his own fashion, managed to pluck a victory for them all from the salty air, then they were going to be disappointed.

‘There is one ray of sunlight in the darkness, of course. When you give me the maps, I will take Daniel and his men along. They will never bother you again. Is that not fair? And if I discover the secret of the portals, then surely that will benefit all? Yes: you can go to whichever time you wish. Come and find me, and collect your favour.’ He nodded to himself. ‘You see? I am actually helping you, even though you refuse to help me.’

Dalip was in agony. He knew◦– knew in his heart◦– that the maps needed to be saved, not just in exchange for Luiza, but for their own sake. The answer to Down was hidden somewhere in their ink-scratched surfaces. Yet to capitulate so thoroughly? Defeat was as bitter as bile.

As they came down to the strand line, where Mary and Mama and Elena stood, hopefully, expectantly, he could barely bring himself to speak.

‘Give him the maps.’