Chapter 72 - The Kraken Gate
The Demons of Pelagria were notable for their absence when it was my turn to relieve myself. Obermann and one of the marines escorted me there and back. My arms remained bound the whole time. Obermann had been very thorough. My restraints remained on the whole time, so it was Nurse Vanning who dropped my breeches for me and even wiped my backside while the two men stood with their backs to me. For once, I was unable to think of a suitable quip and was returned to the battery room feeling humiliated and angry in equal parts.
The prospect of defeat added only to my exhaustion. I had only slept a couple of bells since my return from Ganessa, but try as I might, I was unable to drift off. There was no way to make myself comfortable on the cold and dirty floor, so lay on my side for an age, pillowing my head with my hands. At last I dozed and dreamed of Ty kicking in the door to the the crypt. He had Charg tentacles instead of arms and he waved them about, looking delighted with his new prehensile limbs until Harman and his niece burst in and chopped them off.
The door opened again, but this time I was awake and Ty wasn’t the one silhouetted by the corridor lamplight, it was Lannerville’s butler, Rigsby. He was dressed in a faultless black tailcoat, as usual. My heart sank. Rigsby looked as unhappy to see me as he had when he learned that we’d disposed of a bomb in the ha-ha which had taken out a fifteen hands section out of the wall. He wasn’t carrying food or refreshments with him, so the purpose of his visit was a mystery until Lieutenant Overstrand entered the room with his hands up, closely followed by a revolver in the hands of Dr. Millicent Onacar. I guessed that Overstrand had taken a shift outside our door while I’d been napping.
‘Down there,’ said Millicent, encouraging the lieutenant to join us on the floor. The hydrologist was wearing a pair of pleated riding britches with a fitted plaid jacket that emphasised her generous figure. Suddenly, Rigsby was kneeling beside me and slicing through the cords around my wrists. Once my hands were free, he winked and handed me the knife.
Putting a finger to his lips, he whispered. ‘You’ll have to tie the lieutenant up, Ms. Derringer. I’m not great with knots.’
I rubbed at my chaffed wrists as I looked up at the butler. He was the very last person I’d pictured coming to our rescue. It briefly occurred to me that I might still be dreaming.
‘You’re helping us to get out?’
‘Yes, ma’am. I apologise for my behaviour thus far. Dr. Onacar has explained what my employer intends to do, and I refuse to be a part of it.’
‘You know what Director Harman intends?'
‘I do, ma’am. As soon as Director Harman took your Ms. Tremain hostage, Dr. Onacar came to see me. She tells me that your lot will put a stop to it. I very much hope that we have done the right thing coming to you.’
‘You did, Mr. Rigsby,’ I said, and set about tying Overstrand up with leftover cords. The marine wanted to say something, but I ignored him and continued to address the butler. ‘I can assure you that we all mean to kick your employer’s butt, him and his niece, and bring this madness to an end. Can we count on your help?’
‘Certainly, Ms. Derringer, and I can think of no one I’d rather have than you, as you say, “kicking butt”,’ Rigsby finished, drily.
Mahkran had taken the knife so now he, Na-Su and Inigo were all free and standing up. Millicent tried to hand me the revolver, but I waved it away.
‘Can you shoot that thing, Dr. Onacar?’ She nodded, leaving me wondering why a hydrologist was proficient in the use of handguns. ‘You keep it for now,’ I said. ‘Were you with Ellen when she overheard Harman plotting to destroy Nallia?’
‘I was helping her with all her work. Director Harman wanted regular updates on what we were transporting through the gate, so we were on our way to see him.’ Millicent waved the revolver around so much as she talked that I regretted letting her keep it. ‘Well, he and he niece were arguing, so we could hear it outside the study door. We weren’t trying to eavesdrop.’
‘I’m sure you weren’t,’ I said. ‘What were they arguing about?’
Overstrand tried to interrupt, so I threatened to shoot him.
‘Pray continue, Dr. Onacar. What were they arguing about?’
‘Harman wanted some coordinates, I didn’t understand what he meant, but it was clear that he wanted to stop what we were doing at the time and do something different. Dr. Betz insisted that there could be no strategy for using the “weapon” until they understood how effective it was, which meant waiting for you to come back.’
‘I see, so then Ellen went in to confront him?’
‘No, not immediately. We left, and Ms. Tremain brought me with her to see the rest of your team.’ Millicent looked in the direction of Inigo and the others. ‘They all talked about it for a while and then they went to see Harman without me. When they didn’t come back, I poked around, casually you know, to avoid sounding too keen, and discovered that they’d all been locked up.’
I held my hands up. ‘Alright, Dr. Onacar. I want to hear the rest of this, but we don’t have time right now. We need to get out of here. Mahkran, please would you gag the lieutenant. We can’t have him calling for help the turn we step outside.’
Overstrand opened his mouth to protest, but James held one huge fist in the marine’s face, making it clear what would happen if he made a fuss.
‘Are there other guards posted on this corridor?’
‘None on this corridor, Ms. Derringer, but there’s one at the top of the stairs and I believe there’s always one outside the control room now, round the corner at the end.’
‘Naturally. How did you get past the one at the top of the stairs?’
‘We didn’t.’ The ghost of a smile tugged at one corner of the butler’s mouth. ‘Secret passage,’ he admitted, looking fractionally smug. ‘All the way from the main house. The Director’s grandfather had it dug, but everyone forgot about it, all except me.’
‘Where does it run from?’
‘A cupboard in the pantry in the mansion, all the way to a storeroom a dozen paces from here.’
I peeped around the doorpost, checking in both directions. The way was clear.
‘Alright,’ I said. I tugged Overstrand’s gag. He’d be able to make some noise, but I had to trust that it would be muffled enough that no one would hear. ‘Let’s move. Is everyone ready?’
‘Er, chief?’ said James. ‘Where are we headed?’
‘Ah, yes. We’ll rendezvous at the chapel near the lake. It’s dark, so we should be able to get there without anyone seeing us. If we get split up, don’t stop, or look around for whoever is missing…just keep going.’
Everyone nodded, so Rigsby led the way. He turned right, and a few paces later, he was about to turn left, into the storeroom he’d spoken of, when I stopped him.
‘Where does this corridor lead to, Mr. Rigsby?’
‘Nowhere, Ms. Derringer. Two more storerooms and a dead-end.’
‘Is that all?’ I suspected that it was heading towards the lake.
‘Ah…yes. Somewhere near the end there is an access hatch to the tunnel that leads from the lake to the engine room.’
‘Does it carry water pipes through it?’
‘I believe so, ma’am, although I’ve never been inside it myself.’
‘Thank you, Rigsby. That’s very interesting.’ Now there was a way to gain access to the pipes without a full on assault on the engine room. ‘Lead on, sir.’
Rigsby collected his lantern on the way through the storeroom and we all followed the flickering light along an arched brick tunnel. We all had to stoop to make progress. James muttered dark curses at one point, as his head caught the edge of a poorly positioned brick in the ceiling. A little food, one or two bells sleep and a modicum of hope had revived me, but I knew it would be short-lived.
We reached the end of the tunnel. A large wooden panel stood a fingers-width proud of the opening. Rigsby was about to push it all the way when I caught his arm. There were voices in the pantry, a man sounding insistent, while a woman was protesting at something. I recognised the man’s voice.
‘It’s Master Curson, the stable master’s son.’
Rigsby nodded, whispering ‘He’s been trying to woo Miss Tabberneath, Cook’s new girl, since she arrived, but she’s not interested.’
‘We can’t wait here until they’re done,’ I hissed.
It was Rigsby’s turn to restrain me. ‘One turn,’ he said. ‘Miss Tabberneath won’t stand for it. You’ll see. Besides, I don’t want to give up the existence of the secret passage just yet.’
So we did as Rigsby asked, and listened to the pair arguing. Jeremiah, who’d been perfectly civil to me, was a decided pest as far as the cook’s apprentice was concerned. We couldn’t hear every word, but Jeremiah wanted a tryst. The girl was politely, but firmly declining, and would not be drawn on whether such an event would ever come to pass. Then we heard the rustle of clothes, followed by a gasp. There was the unmistakable sound of a slap…a solid one. Jeremiah cried out. We heard little footsteps receding quickly, and then shortly afterwards, the stable master’s son shuffled out, cursing sullenly, under his breath.
Rigsby tried to push the cupboard away from the wall, but failed. The ancient hinges that had opened for him from the other side had seized with ancient brick dust and the rust of neglect. James nudged us both aside and leaned his dockworker’s frame against it. It opened, but the hinges made a deafening screech. We all froze and waited for over a turn, but heard nothing further. It was late at night. The kitchen and pantry were empty, and would be until five bells when the morning staff began preparations for the day.
The butler let us out of one of the mansion’s side doors, and from there we scurried through the night from shrub to tree, until we reached the chapel. Breathing a sigh of relief, I opened the door and stepped into near total darkness and into the sights of a triple-barrelled shotgun of an unfamiliar design. A dozen candles flickered, reflecting off the gunmetal, and making a black silhouette of the grizzled owner.
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