Anna Peregrine--The Conference of the Birds

Chapter Three

We walked through Smoking Street, walking past the stretcher that carried the body of the person that was on duty when the wights escaped. Enoch said he heard it was Melina Manon, the girl we had met when we were in Miss Thrush's loop in London. I felt awful.
We came to Myron's mansion and entered it to find it bustling with activity. Not even before we could get to the stairs, there was a booming voice.
"Young Portman and Peregrine and friends! Not a moment too soon."
It was good old Sharon, blocking the stairs.
"I'm taking them to Miss Blackbird," Ulysses said.
"She can wait," Sharon said, leading us down a connecting hallway.
"Sharon, it's wonderful to see you, but me and Jacob have business to attend to–"
"Our business is the same!" Sharon interrupted me.
We walked through the hallway, seeing machines and making comments along the way until coming to the heart of the Panloopticon.
"I wanted you to see firsthand what was done," Sharon said.
I walked towards the box, the battery chamber with its now busted lock. Sharon opened the door and revealed the inside to be empty.
"Your little friend is gone."
"He wasn't my friend," Jacob said.
"Regardless, he is gone, and we have no more. Travel is impossible; operations here have ground to a halt."
"And? What do you want us to do about it?" I asked.
"I don't suppose you could get us another one?" a high Scottish accent voice said behind us.
We turned around and there was Miss Blackbird, dressed in all black with a growth between her eyes.
"Miss Blackbird," Ulysses bowed.
"You want us to get another one?" I asked.
"If it isn't too much trouble?" she asked with a smile. "I know you must be quite busy with your duties now, Anna."
I smiled at her accepting me as a Ymbryne before letting it drop, "I'm sorry, but I don't think me or Jacob could find another one."
"Oh. Too bad," she said as her smile collapsed.
Emma stepped in front of us, "Miss Blackbird, will all due respect, Jacob and Miss Peregrine Junior nearly lost their lives getting the one you had. It isn't fair to ask them–"
The Ymbryne waved her hand, "No, no. You're absolutely right. It isn't fair. Now, who precisely are you?"
"Emma Bloom."
"Of course, yes. Alma Peregrine's brood. I've heard you're feisty. And you must be la Lumiere," Miss Blackbird looked at Noor, before blinking her eyes like she couldn't see.
"Eyes bothering you, miss?" Ulysses asked.
"Yes, I'm afraid so. They're next to useless some days. But I can still depend on Number Three . . . Wake up, lazybones!"
The Ymbryne tapped the growth on her forehead before it opened to reveal a large eyeball.
So I wasn't the only Ymbryne with another peculiarity.
"What's that?" Bronwyn asked.
"My third eye, and lucky for me he's still sharp as a tack. Anyone, not to worry about the hollowgast. They're a pain to deal with, and the cleanup is frightful. We do have a backup in the works; we suspected the hollowgast battery wouldn't last forever, so we've spent these past few months developing an alternative," all of her eyes looked at Sharon.
"Maybe a little while before we can bring it into operation madam. It isn't quite ready yet," he said.
"A few days at most," Miss Blackbird said, her voice and smile cracking due to stress. "Come, Anna, Portman, there's something else I want to discuss with you. Alone."

As we went to the first floor, Miss Blackbird told us what had happened, basically what Millard had told us. When we got to the second landing, I could smell burning carpet. I looked down the hall to see where the bomb had gone off. I could see Miss Babax talking to a girl from the Temporal Affairs office along with other bustling adults.
"I didn't really expect you to go off and capture us another hollowgast, that was just a bit of fun. Eh?" Miss Blackbird said.
I knew she was silently begging us not to tell my mum her request.
"Sure," Jacob said with a smile whilst I nodded.
"One moment," Miss Blackbird said before going off and speaking with the other Ymbryne.
I stiffened, knowing Miss Babax would now be involved in this, and Jacob took notice of this.
"You alright?" he asked.
"Miss Babax is one of the Ymbrynes who's always been against me being a Ymbryne," I answered quietly.
"Who cares what she thinks. Clearly Miss Avocet thinks you're still worthy as a Ymbryne."
I laughed, "Right."
"Sorry to keep you waiting," Miss Blackbird said, coming back over to us with the other Ymbryne. "Portman, this is Miss Babax, my co-chair of Temporal Affairs."
Miss Babax smiled and extended her hand to him, "Such a pleasure to meet you, Jacob. And it's wonderful to see you, Anna, and I really mean it. We sent for you this morning because you might be our best hope."
"We don't know what these wights aim to do. But we need to recapture the before they hurt anyone else," Miss Blackbird said.
"We've already lost one peculiar child. It ends there," Miss Babax said.
"We're with you," I said.
"How can we help?" Jacob asked.
"We know they have a hollowgast with them," Miss Blackbird said. "That makes 'em more dangerous. But it also . . ."
"Makes them trackable. By us," I said.
"Precisely."
"Your talents could prove invaluable here," Miss Babax said.
"We're happy to help anyway we can," Jacob said.
"Don't say yes just like that. I want you to know what you're getting into. These aren't just any wights–they were the worst we had. Dangerous, devious, and depraved. Have you heard of Percival Murnau?"
All blood drained away from my face, "You're kidding."
"Caul's lieutenant?" Jacob asked.
"That's right," Miss Babax said. "He and his three butchers. They alone are responsible for at least half the destruction and mayhem the wights have visited upon us in recent years."
"If we were to read a list of their crimes, it would make your hair curl," Miss Blackbird said.
"I'm sure they're awful, but I've faced worse," Jacob said.
"Caul himself, and a whole army of his wights. Which is the only reason I asked about you-know-what,0 Miss Blackbird said.
"But then Mr. Portman had an army of hollowgast under his command to fight them with. Hollows are suddenly a rather endangered species."
"I think we can handle it," I said, looking at Jacob. "We, well, rather Jake, know the hollow they took pretty well, which could help."
"That is just what I was hoping you'd say," Miss Babax said.
"As soon as we get this damned Panloopticon contraption operational again, expect a call to action," Miss Blackbird said.