The Great Brain Robbery, page 19
“It leads to the Swoop,” said Wilmot as Mr. Trellis turned and vanished into the tunnel. “He’s got some flight experience.”
“Really?” said Frederick. “I didn’t know that.”
“Well, I think it’s mostly crashing experience,” said Wilmot. “But at least he’s walked away from it. That’s probably better than nothing. Right?”
They exchanged a nervous look, a second before the roar of the Swoop’s engines swept down the tunnel and echoed around the cavern. Every head turned in its direction, and Tenebrae lanced down out of the air like an arrow.
“What’s going on?” he shouted. Reggie and the other trolls were scrambling down the sides of the vault and running for the tunnel, but the noise of the Swoop was already receding into the distance.
“Someone’s pinching our wings!” Gary shouted as the trolls all raced one another into the tunnel.
Tenebrae turned to Wilmot. “This is your friend’s doing.”
Wilmot smiled back, defiant. “And you’ll never catch him in time. He’s on his way to Trollville, and soon every police officer and palace guard in the city is going to be on their way here to stop you.”
Tenebrae clacked his beak in frustration. “Not if I can empty that vault before they get here,” he said. He turned to Reggie and the drill team, who were filing back into the cavern, looking dejected.
“It’s gone, boss,” said Reggie.
“That doesn’t matter,” said Tenebrae. “None of it matters. I want the drill fixed immediately! A double share of the treasure for all of you if you get the vault open within the hour!”
The trolls jumped to attention and went scrambling back up the vault to the drill with renewed energy.
“Now what?” said Frederick. “We’ve made things worse!”
Wilmot said nothing. There was nothing he could do anymore. It was simply a question of who would win the race.
20
RETURN TO TROLLVILLE
Suzy saw her look of shock reflected back at her from around Crepuscula’s hall of mirrors. “What do you mean, the Brain Storm is lying to me?” she sputtered. “Why would it do that?”
“That’s a very interesting question, to which I have no answer at present,” said Aybek. “Nevertheless, it remains the truth—Tenebrae and his associates cannot be drilling for treasure beneath Trollville, because there is none.”
“I don’t believe a word you say,” said Stonker, his mustache bristling.
“Suit yourself,” said Aybek.
Suzy found herself pacing the room and trying to regain her mental footing. All the certainties that had guided her this far had been made suddenly flimsy and treacherous by Aybek’s words. Was the mind-cloud really lying? What if Aybek was lying instead?
“If there’s no gold, then what are Tenebrae and his team doing down there in the first place?” said Suzy.
“That’s simple,” said Aybek. “The Brain Storm must be lying to them, too.”
“But it can’t be. It told me they stole the information from it.”
“Another lie,” said Aybek. “I detect a trend developing, don’t you?”
Suzy screwed her eyes shut and tried to think. “This doesn’t make any sense.”
“It does if there’s something else down there the Brain Storm wants them to find,” he said. “Something other than treasure.”
“Like what?”
“Another good question,” said Aybek. “Let me think…” He stared off into nothing for a moment. Then, very slowly, his face lit up. “I do believe I have it,” he said.
“What?” everyone shouted in unison.
Aybek’s eyes narrowed, and his smile sharpened. “I think I’ve given you quite enough for now. If you want any more, you’ll have to give me something extra in exchange.”
“No,” said Crepuscula, stamping her foot. “This charade has gone on long enough. If you’re not willing to help, then it’s a cell for you.”
“I’m perfectly willing to help, Selena,” said Aybek. “But as we have already established, my services do not come free of charge.”
“Well, you’re not getting anything more from me.” Crepuscula gestured at the mirror behind Aybek with her cane, and the glass began to darken.
“As you wish,” he replied. “I’m sure the good people of Trollville will understand why you chose to doom their city.” He strolled to the mirror, turned back to them, and waved. “Good-bye, everyone,” he said as he began to sink backward into the blackness. “So nice of you all to visit.”
“No.” Suzy dashed forward, caught him by the hand, and pulled him free. “You’re not going anywhere yet.”
“Then give me what I want,” he said.
“And what’s that?” she asked.
Aybek blinked. “Why, my freedom, of course.”
There was a moment of stunned silence, broken only by a derisive snort from Ursel.
“You must think we’re all mad,” said Crepuscula. “You’re too dangerous to ever go free again.”
“That’s my price,” said Aybek. “Take it or leave it.”
“We’ll leave it,” said Crepuscula. “Now get back in that mirror, you cretinous stoat.”
“But what about Trollville?” said Stonker.
“I’m sorry,” said Crepuscula. “But Trollville is just one city. It can be rebuilt. Letting my brother walk out of here would put the entire Union in danger.”
“Hardly,” Aybek scoffed. “You did a pretty thorough job of unseating me from the Ivory Tower. Is Captain Neoma still running things there? I doubt she’d let me within a hundred leagues of the place. Added to which, I expect everybody in the Union knows my face by now. I’ve got nowhere to hide, and no influence left.”
“You seem to have plenty of influence in this room at the moment,” said Crepuscula. “And you’re using it to exploit everyone to your own advantage. If I turned you loose, it would only be a matter of time before you were doing the same thing out there. Or do you expect me to believe you’re going to retire to the countryside and take up embroidery?”
“I prefer crochet,” said Aybek. “But right now you need what I know.”
“I can always take it from you by force,” said Crepuscula with a sharklike smile.
“Perhaps,” said Aybek. “But would you be able to do it in time to save Trollville? I doubt it.”
“The city…” Suzy’s mind was fizzing.
“What was that?” said Crepuscula.
“We can’t beat him,” said Suzy. “He’s right. He’s the only one who’s got what we need, and he’s not going to give it to us.”
“I’m glad you’ve finally seen sense,” said Aybek.
“At least, he’s not going to give it to us here.” Suzy flashed a smile at Crepuscula. “We need to take him to Trollville.”
“What?” he said. He looked like he had been stung.
“Are you quite mad?” said Crepuscula. “He’s not leaving this tower.”
Stonker clapped his hand to his forehead. “No,” he said. “I think Suzy’s right. As long as Aybek is here, he’s got no reason to cooperate with us. He doesn’t care if Trollville collapses. But he would care a great deal if he were standing in it when it happened.”
“Exactly,” said Suzy. “Which is why we all need to get to Trollville. Immediately.” She noticed that Aybek had gone very quiet. So, too, had Crepuscula.
“Are you seriously proposing we risk our lives in a city on the verge of total destruction, just to pressure my brother into talking?”
“Yes,” said Suzy, trying on a sharklike smile of her own.
Crepuscula gave her a hard, appraising look. “You’ll go far, my girl.” She flicked her cane in Aybek’s direction, and her shadow lashed out across the floor. He dropped into it with an echoing cry. Satisfied at a job well done, Crepuscula rapped her cane against the floor, and her shadow came slinking back to her. “That’s my luggage taken care of,” she said. “Let’s go.”
* * *
Dawn was still several hours away from Trollville by the time the Express emerged from the tunnels onto the broad river of tracks that cut through the city. Suzy checked her watch and saw that it was almost eight a.m. back home. She had been awake for more than twenty-four hours now and should have been exhausted. In fact, her body was starting to tell her that she probably was, but she hadn’t had time to notice.
Stonker cut their speed as the whole train bucked and shuddered, threatening to throw them all off their feet.
“Hold tight!” he shouted over the noise. “The tracks must have buckled. This isn’t going to be pleasant.”
The cab vibrated, and the hanging pots and pans rattled together.
Where’s Fletch when you need him? thought Suzy, gripping the sink for support.
The Lady Crepuscula, meanwhile, stood calmly in the middle of the room as though nothing was happening. She retrieved a cookery book that had tumbled from a shelf and leafed through the first few pages.
“Can we make it to Grinding Halt?” called Suzy.
“Orf ggggrhnk,” said Ursel.
“Exactly,” said Stonker. “I’m surprised that we haven’t—”
He was cut off as the Belle de Loin lurched into the air, and they all experienced a sickening moment of weightlessness. Then there was a loud bang, a crunch, and the Express screeched to a stop.
“—derailed,” Stonker finished, from his new position lying full length on the floor.
Suzy had fallen beside him. “Is everybody all right?” she said.
“Runk.” Ursel nodded.
Crepuscula snapped the book shut and tossed it back onto the floor. “We can’t sit about here all day,” she said.
The cab was leaning at an angle, and Suzy had to fight her way uphill to reach the front door. She staggered out onto the gangway and peered down over the side of the locomotive. Glinting in the lights from the nearby streets, she saw that Stonker was right—all the tracks surrounding them were buckled and warped, their wooden ties broken, and the ground beneath them cracked and uneven. Other trains had suffered the same fate as the Express and lay abandoned.
Everyone else filed out to join her and stared in mute shock at the scene.
The streets were dark with crowds, moving like a sluggish tide toward the city limits, while the air was filled with the wail of emergency sirens. Columns of smoke rose here and there among the grand buildings. The city felt bruised and defeated.
“I’ve never known things to be this bad before,” said Stonker. Ursel gave a low whine of agreement.
“But the evacuation is happening,” said Suzy. “Rayleigh kept his promise. Everyone’s going to be safe.” Except Frederick, she thought. And us.
“Let’s hurry up before things get any worse,” said Crepuscula. “We need somewhere to go. If I simply turn Aybek loose in the streets, he’s bound to find some way to cause trouble. I want to keep him contained, where he’ll be easier to manage.”
Suzy thought. “What about the rest home?”
“How far is it?” said Crepuscula.
“Not far,” said Stonker. “In fact, it’s more or less directly below us, in the Underside.”
“You know, that might be a good idea,” said Crepuscula. “Being dangled headfirst over the Uncanny Valley for a bit might well help to focus Aybek’s mind.”
“And if the next earthquake hits while we’re down there?” said Stonker.
“Then at least we’ll die with a spectacular view,” said Crepuscula.
“Can’t say fairer than that,” he replied. “Let me deploy my hazard flare, and we can be under way.” He popped back inside, reemerging a moment later with a bright red flare gun.
“What’s a hazard flare?” asked Suzy.
“It’s standard procedure whenever a locomotive is derailed,” said Stonker, pointing the gun in the air and pulling the trigger without aiming. “It lets any passing traffic know that you’re stuck.” A glowing trail of red sparks, like a firework, shot high into the air. Suzy watched it climb and realized, too late, that it was going to collide with a passing hot-air balloon.
It was Bertha.
“Look out!” she cried. She saw Rayleigh stick his head out of the basket, only to recoil as the flare shot past his ear and ricocheted off Bertha’s envelope.
“Do you mind?” he shouted. Then recognition dawned. “Oh. It’s you again.” He brought Bertha down to land on the tracks beside the Express. “Did you get the information you needed from Lord Meridian?”
“Yes and no,” said Suzy. “I’ll explain everything on the way to the Underside. And trust me, you’ll want to hear it.”
“Very well,” said Rayleigh. “Let me pack up.” He climbed out of the basket and tapped the tip of his thermometer against it. A shiver ran through Bertha. With no noise or fuss, her envelope began to deflate, neatly folding itself up as it did so. Suzy watched, astonished. The empty balloon folded away into the basket, which itself began to shrink, folding and turning until it was a small rectangle of woven fabric, barely six inches across. A small handle protruded from one edge, and Rayleigh picked it up like a briefcase.
“I never leave home without her,” he said.
“Very clever,” said Suzy. “Now stop showing off and let’s go.”
* * *
They fought their way on foot to the nearest Underside station, struggling against the press of the crowds. The streets were littered with fallen masonry and overturned vehicles, making progress even harder, and at one junction, a water main had burst, sending an arc of spray high into the air.
The power to the Underside station’s elevators had been cut, so they took the spiral staircase down through the city’s echoing superstructure. They were the only people on the downward staircase. Everyone else was heading up and out, toward safety.
Things were bad in the Underside as well. It was only a short walk to the rest home, but they had to take a detour around a section of suspended walkway that had broken free and fallen into the Uncanny Valley. It was a relief to finally reach the doors of the rest home.
“Hello?” called Stonker as they stepped into the lobby. “Mrs. Grunt? Dorothy? Is anyone here?” No answer came.
“They must have evacuated already,” said Suzy. She was glad. It meant that the Old Guard were safe, and with any luck, Wilmot had left with them. But it was still unsettling to see the rest home so quiet and lifeless. The soul had gone out of it.
They crossed the lobby to the residents’ lounge and stepped inside. It was once a long, comfortable space littered with armchairs and coffee tables, with tall picture windows along the rear wall, giving way to a balcony. Now, though, their glass was broken, and the tables and chairs overturned. The ceiling had cracked, dusting the carpet with plaster.
“This will do nicely,” said Crepuscula, taking it all in. Without another word, her shadow distended and vomited up Aybek, who landed on the bare floorboards with an unceremonious thud.
“That,” he said, breathing heavily, “was thoroughly unpleasant.”
“Good,” said the Lady Crepuscula. “Now get up and make yourself useful before we all die.”
He got to his feet and dusted himself down. “I take it this is Trollville, then?” he said. “It’s everything I thought it would be.”
Ursel gave a warning growl.
“We’re running out of time,” said Suzy. “Tell us what Tenebrae and his team are really digging for and where they’re doing it, or we’re all going to die here. Including you.”
Aybek crossed to the shattered picture windows and stepped out onto the balcony. “I applaud your plan to bring me here, Miss Smith,” he said, looking down into the Uncanny Valley. “Confront me with my own mortality and use it as leverage. Really quite brilliant. You’re wasted as a postie.”
Suzy’s skin crawled. Warm words from Aybek didn’t mean much, and she knew better than to trust them.
“You’re wasting time,” she said.
A chunk of plaster fell from the ceiling and smashed on the floor behind Stonker. “I strongly suggest you tell her,” he said, wiping dust from his uniform.
“I’m willing to give you a clue,” said Aybek. “The library at the Ivory Tower holds all the written legends of the ancient trolls and their supposed exploits. It also holds fragments of some very old, and very vague, archaeological records that suggest, just possibly, some of those legends may be true. That something very old and powerful is buried deep beneath the city.”
“Like what?” said Suzy.
“Not treasure, certainly,” said Aybek. “But something that might be of immense value to the Brain Storm. If my guess is correct, of course.”
“Yes, but what?” said Suzy.
“Why, the one thing the Brain Storm is truly lacking, of course. And that’s all I’m willing to tell you for now.” He smiled at her evident frustration. “If you want more, you know my price.”
“What’s that?” said Stonker.
“My freedom, of course,” said Aybek. “I thought I’d already made that very clear.”
“No,” said Stonker, joining them on the balcony and pointing down into the Uncanny Valley. “I mean, what’s that?”
Something large and black and noisy was lurching up out of the depths of the valley. It moved erratically, and Suzy couldn’t make out its shape, but she got an impression of a bloated body and two bat-like wings.
“Good gracious!” said Stonker. “What is it?”
The creature gave a shrill whine, banked, and turned a blazing searchlight on the balcony.
“It’s the troll gang’s aircraft,” said Suzy. “And it’s coming straight for us!” She retreated into the lounge and the others shrank back as the vessel filled the view through the picture windows. It wasn’t slowing down.
With a terrible noise, it plowed into the balcony and through the window frames, thrusting its nose cone into the room. Floorboards splintered, and the whole house shook.
Suzy closed her eyes against the clouds of dust that filled the room. The whining cry died away into silence, and she heard a half-familiar voice.
