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Jaide’s foot slipped on a patch of bright green slime, her ankle turned and she almost fell over. Her gasp of alarm prompted an answering chirrup from many nearby mouths, and the dark mass she had seen suddenly boiled into motion.
Leathery wings batted at her head. Wild, ugly faces glared. She covered her face with her arms and tried not to scream.
Then they were gone, and she could hear Jack and Ari calling for her.
Feeling embarrassed and slightly foolish, she came back out of the drain and clambered up the slope.
‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘I had to check.’
‘Bats!’ exclaimed Jack. ‘I bet they gave you a fright.’
‘We really must get moving,’ said Ari, tail lashing. ‘Really really.’
‘All right.’
‘Did you check their eyes?’ asked Jack as Jaide mounted up again.
She nodded. ‘They were clear.’
The twins made it to the platform with bare seconds to spare, chaining their bikes to the rack by the tiny station and running to where the bright red steam train sat, hissing and smoking on the tracks. Behind the locomotive and its coal tender, there was just one carriage. It was half full, mainly with families and groups of children, out enjoying a Saturday trip. Jack and Jaide took a seat on the eastern side, so they could wave at Ari as the train pulled out.
Jack was glad to sit down. He still felt shaky after the incident with the tunnel. What had Jaide been thinking going inside? Didn’t she know how awful it had been for him in the sewers? First The Evil had almost overwhelmed him with a mass of rats and ants. Then the rising tide had almost drowned him. He still had nightmares about it, and woke shaking, with the voice that had spoken to him down there once again echoing inside his head.
He shook himself all over, telling himself to snap out of it. He wasn’t in the tunnels now, and Jaide probably didn’t know what it had been like for him because he had never told her. Jaide had simply been doing what she thought right. The drain was next to the old sawmill, where they had found the mystery skin. It made sense that something horrible might be hiding in there, something that occasionally came out at night on its dark and deadly missions –
‘Tickets?’
Jack snapped out of his thoughts to see a short, round man in a nineteenth-century conductor’s uniform standing next to their seats. His chubby hand was held open towards them as though waiting for a low five.
‘Oh yes.’ Jack pulled his ticket out of his pocket and gave it to the conductor, who clipped it with a tiny metal punch and gave it back.
Jaide did the same, thinking how odd this was compared to the automated ticketing systems of the city. But Portland was a weird place even without taking into account Grandma X and The Evil and all. They seemed to like old stuff in Portland.
‘How long does the train take to Scarborough?’ she asked.
‘As long as it takes, lass, and not a second more.’
With that helpful reply, the conductor moved on to the next row of seats and left the twins to stare out of the window. The train moved much more slowly than the trains they were used to, with much huffing and puffing, so they were still only just passing through the southern outreaches of Portland. Soon, though, they had built up speed and were moving steadily along the coast. The sea to their left was a brilliant, white-flecked blue. Several fishing boats were visible, far out towards the horizon, while closer in, yachts tilted and turned in the changeable wind. It was all very picturesque, with no sign at all of the great battle being fought behind the scenes, between the Wardens and The Evil, in this troubled place.
A sign on the front wall of the carriage explained the history of the train. Originally called the Coast Flyer, then the Coast Classic Flyer after a refurbishment, it was best known locally as the Red Rocket – due to its colour rather than its speed, Jaide assumed. It had been running continuously for over sixty years, connecting small coastal towns like Portland and Scarborough that were ignored by modern rail. Originally the plan had been to connect to the main coastal line, hence the investment in a tunnel through Little Rock, but the collapse of the local whaling industry had seen those dreams come to nothing. Now the Red Rocket was really only a tourist train, and freight was left to road trains and trucks.
Underneath the information poster was a notice of changes to upcoming schedules as a result of damage caused by recent flooding. The Red Rocket would go no further north than Portland for a month while the Little Rock tunnel was repaired. Idly Jack wondered how many people that would really inconvenience or disappoint. It was much quicker to drive to Scarborough, and thus far the steam-train experience was decidedly underwhelming.
Finally the train chuff-chuffed round a bend and there was the mini-metropolis of Scarborough. After Portland, it seemed huge to the twins’ eyes, though they would have scorned it as a hick town when they’d lived in the city. Now they knew better. Scarborough boasted a large town hall, a clock tower, a high school, no less than three proper cinemas and a shopping mall.
The station was crowded with people, and the air was full of traffic noise and seagulls. As the train squeaked and clanked to a halt, the twins smelled hot chips and saw Tara waiting for them, waving, with her father at her side.
Jaide waved back, and even Jack managed to muster some enthusiasm. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, being away from Portland and all their concerns there. The antique pillbox was safely tucked away in his pocket, so The Evil couldn’t find them, even if the leftover bit Jaide called an excision could get out through the wards.
On the other hand, there was Tara’s father and his possible connection to The Evil, though Jack had always had his doubts about that.
‘Hello, Jack! Hello, Jaide!’ Tara came bounding up to them the moment they stepped from the carriage. ‘I’m so relieved you’re here. It’s been totally boring today, waiting for the train to come. I wish you could have come earlier. Do you want doughnuts? We can get some over here.’
Mr McAndrew greeted them more soberly, with none of his daughter’s wild enthusiasm. His intensely white teeth stayed hidden; obviously he didn’t feel the twins needed to be subjected to his blinding smile.
His eyes were completely normal, Jaide noted, which was encouraging. And when the twins said yes to doughnuts, he immediately fished out his wallet and gave Tara some money.
‘Meet me at the car when you’re ready, Tara. I have to make some calls, do some emails. You know.’
He hardly looked at the twins, giving all his attention to his phone.
Jaide tapped her locket and gave Jack a significant glance. Even though he was usually very attuned to Jaide’s thoughts, it took him a moment to work out that she was suggesting that their charms had bamboozled Mr McAndrew.
Which meant that she still thought he had something to do with The Evil.
‘I can’t wait for you to try the doughnuts,’ Tara said brightly while they were waiting in the queue. ‘They’re just awesome! I’ll show you around, and then we’ll go home so you can meet Fi-Fi. This will be so much fun!’
People turned to look at her, and she seemed to realise how loud she sounded.
‘Sorry,’ she said to Jack and Jaide in a more conspiratorial tone. ‘I’ve just been so bored since we moved here. You must know what I mean – Portland is even smaller than here! I love your house though. I bet there are all sorts of attics and secret passages to explore. We’ve only ever lived in new houses, and they’re all the same after a while.’
‘How many houses have you lived in?’ asked Jack.
‘Oh, dozens. I don’t know. Dad always has a house to fix up as well as a big project. We move so much.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘My mum calls us nomads because we never stop anywhere for long.’
‘How many schools have you been to?’ asked Jaide.
‘Five so far. It’ll be six soon if Dad can’t get that sawmill project started again.’
She brightened when the doughnut seller called them forward.
The twins
tried a little harder to be enthusiastic about the visit, for Tara’s sake. They’d thought they had it rough, being wrenched from the one home they’d ever lived in, and the same school they’d always attended, to come to far-off Portland. They couldn’t imagine what it must be like to go through that process over and over again.
And when Tara returned with the doughnuts, which were awesome, they began to enjoy the day for themselves too.
Scarborough seemed much more full of life than Portland, which was always pretty quiet. There was music playing in the public thoroughfare, and modern cars constantly gliding by. It was like coming back to the present after a long trip to the past. Jack and Jaide even began to forget about why they were there, as they explored the shops, licking cinnamon from their fingertips and trying not to get in the way of other people.
‘Here’s my favourite shop,’ said Tara, guiding them to a small establishment full of handmade jewellery called Zena’s Palace. When they walked in, a tall, very attractive and beautifully dressed woman came out from behind the counter.
‘Hello, dear,’ she said to Tara, giving her a kiss on the cheek. Then she turned, beaming, to Jack and Jaide, and said hello.
‘This is my mum,’ Tara explained.
‘It’s nice to meet you,’ she said to both of them. ‘I’m Zena Lin. I see from the doughnuts that Martin must have met you long enough to hand over some money at least, even if he couldn’t tear himself away from work and actually stay with you. I hope Tara has made you feel very welcome. Jaide, I really like that locket. It’s exquisitely simple, and obviously very old. Where did you get it?’
