The Skeleton Clock Page 14

  ‘We will,’ Revelle said. ‘There’s other things to sort out.’

  ‘Like a giant squid monster thing they keep chained up,’ Jake said.

  ‘A Kraken. And the Phibians,’ Revelle added. ‘But never mind that now. Let’s just concentrate on getting out of here.’ He led them back to the door, and peered cautiously out into the corridor.

  ‘Ga da ra pa…’ the Head murmured behind them.

  As he led them back to the main courtyard, Revelle described what he had found and his conversation with Marrianna Patterson. Jake put Sarah’s lack of comment down to tiredness after her ordeal. She must be exhausted, and frightened. He was a bundle of nerves himself, and he hadn’t been locked up.

  ‘She said it was some sort of training,’ Revelle finished. ‘But there has to be more to it than that.’

  ‘You think she’s got them looking for something?’ Jake wondered. ‘What can there be that she wants, out there under the water?’

  ‘They found the Head,’ Revelle pointed out.

  ‘But what are these Phibian things?’ Jake asked. ‘And what did she mean, they made them?’

  ‘Can’t we just get out of here?’ Sarah asked, her voice shaking.

  ‘Let’s hope so,’ Revelle said. ‘If they’re too busy with your monster to have warned the Defeaters at the gate not to let us out.’

  ‘That’s another thing,’ Jake said. ‘Two sorts of sea monster? Is that coincidence or what? Where did the squid thing come from? It was like the creature that attacked me down in the tunnels, only much smaller.’

  ‘You were attacked in the tunnels?’ Sarah said, concerned. ‘You didn’t tell me.’

  ‘We were kind of busy.’

  They had reached a door that opened out into the main courtyard. Revelle led them back to the gate. Jake was aware of the two Defeaters on duty watching them approach.

  Revelle didn’t slow down. He acknowledged the Defeaters with the barest nod. Jake did his best to pretend they weren’t there at all. He wondered what they made of him and Sarah – one kid in his shirtsleeves in the cool autumn evening, the other wrapped in a coat that was far too big for her…

  But the Defeaters said nothing, and Jake found himself walking down the cobbled slope from the White Tower towards the quay and the entrance to the tunnels. The cries of the seagulls filled the air.

  ‘We made it!’ Jake gasped in relief and astonishment.

  ‘So what do we do now?’ Sarah wanted to know.

  ‘You go home, and set your father’s mind at rest,’ Revelle said.

  ‘But will she be safe there?’ Jake asked. ‘This Miss Patterson knows who she is – and where she lives.’

  ‘So many questions,’ Revelle said. ‘You take Sarah back to her father. You may have to hide for a while after that. But leave word where you are.’

  ‘And what will you be doing?’ Sarah said. ‘They know who you are too.’

  Revelle nodded. ‘That’s why I’m going to be finding out some of the answers to those questions. I want to know what Marrianna Patterson is really up to, and what those creatures are actually doing on the river bed.’

  ‘How can you find that out?’ Jake asked.

  ‘I’m going to take a look for myself,’ Revelle told him.

  *

  It was getting dark, and the boats were coming in. There were gas lamps along the docks, casting a misty glow out over the fishermen and merchants unloading on the quays. There was a practised efficiency to it all, Revelle thought as he walked past a small fishing boat. An excitement too, presumably because the end of the working day was in sight.

  It had taken him a while to persuade Jake and Sarah they should head back to the Toymaker’s. They’d wanted to come with him, so of course he hadn’t told them where he was going. The last thing he needed was help. Or to endanger their lives again. The two of them had almost died in the Tower, he had no doubt of that, and Revelle had taken them both there.

  He wasn’t sure how he was going to do it, but he was determined that he was going to end whatever Miss Patterson was up to. If he had learned anything from his conversation with her, it was that the woman was completely mad. Even Jackson Albright would have to admit that, once Revelle had some evidence of what was going on.

  The Endeavour was moored in its usual spot. Boxes of fish were piled up beside it on the dock. Two of the crew were loading crates onto a handcart.

  ‘Captain Denson about?’ Revelle asked one of them.

  The man gestured at the boat. ‘In the wheelhouse. Doing the records. You find out who killed that Revenue man yet?’

  ‘Not yet,’ Revelle admitted.

  ‘Good,’ the man said, baring broken teeth.

  ‘But I will,’ Revelle assured him.

  ‘When you do, buy him a drink from me,’ the second man said, and both the crewmen laughed.

  Denson was sitting in the wheelhouse with his logbook open on his lap. In one hand he had a pencil, in the other was a glass of liquor.

  ‘Social call?’ he asked as Revelle came in. He held up the glass.

  ‘Not for me, thanks. I’m after a favour, though.’

  ‘A favour?’

  Revelle shrugged. ‘I could make it an official request, but I’d rather not.’

  Denson closed his logbook. ‘You after a ride somewhere?’

  ‘Sort of.’ Revelle pointed at the wooden decking. ‘Remember those lights in the water. Freak reflection or phosphorescence, or something, you said.’

  ‘I said that’s what other people say they are,’ Denson replied warily. ‘Are you asking what I think you’re asking.’

  ‘Probably,’ Revelle confessed.

  ‘Then you’re insane.’

  ‘Probably,’ Revelle said again. ‘But it is important.’

  ‘How important?’

  ‘Life and death important.’

  Denson considered this, swirling the last of his liquor round the glass. ‘Well, life and death aren’t as valuable and uncommon as they used to be, I’m sorry to say. Whose life are we talking about?’

  ‘Mine. And a couple of children.’

  ‘Children?’ Denson sighed and drained his glass. ‘I have children,’ he said. You know that, I told you that. Is that why you came to me?’

  ‘You know it isn’t.’

  Denson nodded and got to his feet. ‘Going to cost you,’ he said.

  *

  Two of Denson’s crew agreed to stay and operate the winch. They were intrigued to know what an officer of the Watch was up to commandeering a diving bell. And they were keen to earn a little extra money, which Denson happily promised them on Revelle’s behalf.

  ‘Thank you,’ Revelle said. He and Denson were sitting out on the deck, in the shadow of the great metal cylinder that was the diving bell.

  ‘Guess I’m keen to know what’s going on down there too,’ Denson said.

  The two of them were huddled into their coats as the evening got colder. Denson wanted to wait until it was completely dark. He’d brought Revelle a mug of fish stew, which was hot and tasty.

  ‘We’ll start out in a few minutes,’ Denson said at last. ‘You can’t see the lights till you’re almost over them. From here it just looks like a reflection. But Wymark from the Queen of the Coast says if you get right over them it’s as if there’s something glowing under the water. Only trouble is, you’re close to the White Tower then. Hang around and the Defeaters aren’t averse to firing a few warning shots at you.’

  ‘So how do we avoid that?’

  ‘Show no lights. Hope they aren’t watching too closely. Or listening, for that matter. Though the generator for the pumps and the winch isn’t that loud, luckily. Worst case, we have to haul you back up quick.’

  ‘Shall we get started then?’ Revelle asked.

  ‘Just one thing to take care of first. You said a couple of children were in danger. You helping them?’

  ‘In a way,’ Revelle said. ‘Doing what I can.’

  ‘And this w
ould be a boy and girl?’

  ‘Yes,’ Revelle said. ‘Why?’

  ‘Both about fourteen, boy with wiry dark hair. Girl with long fair hair and a coat that’s far too big for her?’

  Revelle met the captain’s steady gaze. ‘How do you know that?’ he asked quietly.

  ‘Because they’re hiding round the other side of the diving bell. Sneaked aboard soon after you arrived, according to Mike.’ Denson stood up. ‘Thing is, I’ll have to offer them some of that stew before they either freeze or starve. So, you want to set off now, or put them ashore first?’

  *

  It was apparent very quickly that whatever Revelle said, Jake and Sarah were not leaving. It didn’t help that Captain Denson seemed to find their argument amusing. Eventually, Revelle gave in and agreed they could come with him.

  ‘Well, I reckon it’s as dark as it’s getting,’ Denson said. ‘And if you’re coming I reckon you need warmer clothing, you’re both shivering fit to fall apart.’ He sent them below decks with one of the crew to find heavy jumpers.

  ‘Give the girl some trousers too,’ he added, seeing Sarah’s bare ankles and slippered feet beneath the long coat as she followed the man.

  ‘Thank you,’ she called back to him. ‘And I sent my father a note,’ she told Revelle. ‘So he won’t worry. Jake gave it to a roof rider.’

  ‘And you think he’ll deliver it?’ Revelle said.

  ‘I think she will,’ Jake told him. ‘Seen her before. And I gave her a sovereign.’

  ‘Wish I was as well paid for as little effort,’ Revelle muttered.

  A few minutes later, the four of them – Sarah, Jake, Revelle and Denson – were standing at the front of the boat as it pulled away from the quay. It was a moonless night, and the water below them was black as tar. The dome of Whispers and the shattered remains of the Twisting stood like sentinels over the water. Ahead of the boat, the White Tower was illuminated as usual and its reflection shimmered beneath it.

  ‘Is there room in that thing for all three of us?’ Jake asked.

  ‘Now hang on,’ Revelle told him. ‘You’re staying up here on the boat.’

  ‘No we’re not,’ Sarah said. ‘We want to see what’s down there.’

  ‘Course we do,’ Jake said. ‘That’s why we came.’

  Denson waved his hands in mock despair. ‘My kids are just the same,’ he said. ‘You’ve got no chance.’

  ‘They’re not my kids,’ Revelle protested.

  Denson grinned. ‘Might as well be. I’ll check the winch.’ He left them to it.

  ‘You’re not coming down and that’s final,’ Revelle said. ‘I need you up here, in case Denson decides just to dump the diving bell and leave.’

  ‘He won’t do that,’ Sarah said.

  ‘Oh?’

  She shook her head. ‘It’s expensive. And we remind him of his own children.’

  ‘Yes, well, maybe he wants to be sure he’ll see those children again,’ Revelle said. but he knew he’d lost. ‘Come on then.’

  The diving bell was secured behind the wheelhouse. The way in was through a circular hatch in the side. There was several large glass portholes, and another in the floor. Revelle went in first. The inside was bare metal, just big enough for the three of them. Beside the hatch was an intercom.

  ‘That’ll be useful,’ Revelle told Denson.

  ‘Would be if it worked,’ he agreed.

  ‘Terrific,’ Jake muttered, pushing past.

  ‘You don’t have to come, remember,’ Revelle told him.

  ‘The call button works,’ Denson said. ‘But that’s all. Any problems and I need to haul you up, I’ll call down twice, like this.’

  He pressed the small button beside a similar intercom mounted on the base of the metal gantry holding the diving bell in place. The intercom in side the bell buzzed loudly twice.

  ‘You want to come up, you do the same, OK?’

  ‘OK.’ Revelle tried it, and heard the faint sound of another buzzer in response.

  ‘Right, I’ll shut you in and we’ll get you winched up ready. We’re nearly over the lights now, whatever they are.’ He swung the heavy hatch closed. Denson paused as it was still open a few inches. ‘Last chance – you sure about this?’

  ‘Sure,’ Revelle said.

  The hatch clanged shut. The last thing Revelle, Sarah and Jake heard was Denson’s chuckle as he said: ‘It’s your funeral.’

  The whole structure vibrated and clanged. They could hear the faint hum of the generator starting up outside on the deck. Through the porthole in the hatch, Revelle saw the wheelhouse tilt and move. He staggered and almost fell, realising it was the diving bell that was moving, not the boat.

  The noise and vibration increased as they felt themselves being swung over the side. Through the glass floor, they could see the faint glow of lights – could they be reflections from the White Tower close by?

  The water lapped over the window as they started to descend. The lights shimmered, brightened. They were definitely not a reflection – there were lights below the surface. Deep, deep down.

  Water was rising up the sides of the diving bell, blackness blotting out the grey of the night as the level rose. A hiss from above them as air was pumped into the metal chamber through a plastic hose. The noise of the generator became muffled, then died away entirely.

  The three of them stood silent and alone in the near darkness as the metal cylinder descended towards the river bed, and whatever was waiting for them there.

  Chapter 15

  ‘How long will it take for us to reach the bottom?’ Jake wondered.

  They sat on the cold, damp floor of the diving bell. Pale light filtered in through the window underneath them, throwing eerie shadows across the curving walls and over their faces.

  ‘Several minutes, according to Captain Denson,’ Revelle replied.

  ‘What do you think is down here?’ Sarah asked.

  ‘I don’t know, that’s why I’m looking.’

  ‘You must have some idea,’ Jake said.

  ‘Nothing good,’ Revelle told him. ‘There are wrecks, thrown together when the slippage occurred all those years ago. The whole river bed moved, and who knows what was brought up from underneath.’

  ‘You mean those creatures?’ Sarah asked.

  ‘I’m not sure what I mean,’ Revelle confessed. ‘And which creatures? Like we said before, there seem to be two distinct types. There’s the monster that attacked Jake and Atherton, and then you say you found a smaller one in the White Tower. But the Phibians are very different. Humanoid rather than squid or octopus or whatever.’

  ‘Sounds like the other creature we saw at Atherton’s,’ Jake said. ‘They must be connected in some way.’ He looked at Sarah, but she was turned away, lost in her own thoughts.

  ‘It would be a hell of a coincidence if they aren’t.’

  ‘And why did Atherton give us the clock?’ Jake wondered.

  ‘Clock?’ Revelle prompted.

  ‘He was dying. Maybe it was just something he wanted to save, if it was important to him…’ Jake shrugged. ‘Probably nothing.’

  The diving bell lurched suddenly sideways, throwing Jake against Sarah. But it righted itself and continued downwards. The light from below was becoming brighter. The water seemed to be clearing.

  ‘You’d expect it to be more murky closer to the bottom,’ Jake said.

  ‘Depends what it is that makes the water so dirty,’ Sarah said. ‘If it’s stuff that floats, it’ll be at the top.’

  ‘I suppose.’

  ‘Or perhaps the water is kept clear down here somehow,’ Revelle said.

  ‘How – and why?’ Jake asked.

  ‘So the Phibians can see to work. So they can find what they’re looking for.’

  ‘And what are they looking for?’ Sarah wondered. ‘Didn’t you get any clues while you were with that Patterson woman?’

  ‘They were bringing in all sorts of stuff,’ Revelle recalled. ‘Rubbish most
of it. driftwood and broken pots, bits of old ships – that’s why I think they are searching the wrecks.’

  ‘And they found the Head,’ Sarah said.

  ‘I wonder…’ Jake started. He hesitated, not entirely sure what he was thinking.

  ‘What?’ Revelle prompted. ‘Don’t worry,’ he added, ‘we’re discussing water monsters and talking statues, whatever you have to say won’t sound half as daft.’

  ‘Well, do you think they were looking for something when they found the Head? That the Head is a part of it but they’re still looking for more of whatever it is?’

  ‘Like a body?’ Sarah said.

  ‘Well, maybe. Or, do you think they were looking for something else when they found the Head? Or… You said Miss Patterson told you it was some sort of test or training?’

  Revelle nodded.

  ‘Well,’ Jake went on, ‘what if she was telling the truth. What if they were sending these Phibians out just to see whether they could be trained to bring things back or whatever. But then they found the Head.’

  Revelle snapped his fingers, nodding enthusiastically. ‘You mean, they weren’t actually looking for the Head, but once they found it they started looking for something else as a result?’

  ‘Like a body, as Sarah said.’

  ‘Or something else entirely.’ Revelle sighed. ‘Too many questions still.’ He drummed his fingers absently on the metal wall. ‘Let’s get back to the Head. Now, you said,’ he pointed at Sarah, ‘that it wasn’t just talking nonsense. You said you knew what it was saying.’

  ‘It’s saying “Help me” now,’ Jake told him.

  ‘Yes, but it started making sense after Sarah said she understood it. So tell us,’ Revelle said, ‘what does the Head say? What does it mean?’

  ‘Well, I’m not sure. It’s just an idea.’

  ‘Go on,’ Jake told her.

  ‘When I was at Mandrake’s, I was looking for anything I could find about the toy soldiers. While I was waiting for him to get more lights, I was looking at this table he’s got.’

  ‘A chess table?’ Jake asked. ‘I saw that too. It’s weird.’

  ‘Did you notice there are symbols along the edges of the board?’