Anna Peregrine--The Conference of the Birds

Chapter Five

    I woke up to the sound of banging, but it was someone knocking hard on the door. I looked out my window to see it was still dark outside.
    "Anna!" Emma yelled from downstairs.
    I got out of bed and raced downstairs, the other behind me. Emma was standing at the door which was still open.
    "Miss Blackbird's here," she said, stepping aside to reveal the Ymbryne. "It's about Miss Peregrine."
    "Where is she?" I asked. "Is she here?"
    "Your mother is in America, in the loop where the peace talks are behind held," she said, all her eyes staring at me. "We got the Panloopticon working an hour ago, and shortly after that we received an urgent message from her via parrot." She stepped into the house. "There's a situation. She asked for you specifically."
    "Me? To come there?" I asked, shocked.
    "Immediately."
    "Can you say what it's about?" Emma asked.
    "If it's you she's asking for, I'm assuming there is a reason," Miss Blackbird said to me.
    I swallowed, "Just let me get dressed."
    "We're not letting her go alone," Jacob said.
    "Choose two friends–"
    "No. I have to do this on my own," I interrupted the older Ymbryne before turning to my family. "I love you all a lot, but I need to do this on my own. Please. I need to redeem myself."
    "Very well," Jacob said.
    "Just be safe," Emma said, grabbing my hand.
    "Don't be stupid," Enoch said.
    "Just come home to us," Olive said, taking my other hand.
    "I will. I promise."

    I changed into a calf length royal blue silk dress that snapped in the front, and had a belt with a silver circle buckle. I left my hair down, but pulled half of it back, the blue in my hair taking over the raven much more than it once did.
    I met Miss Blackbird downstairs before she led me to what was once my uncle's house. A few workers for the Temporal Affairs office stood outside, and I could see more of guards on top of all the roofs.
    We went in and up the stairs. Instead of stopping at one of the common floors, we kept going. The door for the peace talks was in the attic, but it was an old elevator.
    "That is the loop entrance," Miss Blackbird said. "It's brand new, connected by the Ymbrynes for the conference." She pressed a button as the elevator opened. The interior was exquisite with rich oiled wood. Inside there was a lever with three words next to it: UP, DOWN, and LOOP.
    "Please watch yourself over there," Miss Blackbird said. "As you know, America is a dangerous place."
    "Sounds like you're already planning my funeral," I said sarcastically.
    "Not at all!" she tried to smile. "Best of luck, hey?"
    I nodded, before stepping into the elevator as the doors closed behind me. I pulled the lever all the way down to loop. The car went down about a foot before stopping.
    "What the–", the car started to free fall as I screamed as my feet started to float off the floor.
    My ears started to pop as the car kept going. Everything went black, and then I was lurched to the left and thrown against the wall. A few seconds later, there was a ding, and the lights flicked on again as I came to a stop.
    I got to my feet, feeling a bit nauseous as the door opened to darkness. I was hit by hot damp air.
    "Where am I?" I said aloud.
    I stepped out of the elevator, finding a lit lamp. I held it out in front of me as I started to walk deeper into the darkness, starting to get flashbacks to Abaton.
    "Oh God, please don't tell me I'm–"
    "You're in a gold mine, a half mile underground."
    I froze when I heard my mother's voice. A gleam of light appeared as she came around the corner, holding a lamp in her hand.
    "Mum! Are you okay? What's happening?" I ran to her, hugging her.
    "I'm fine. You're alone, right?" I nodded as she pulled away. "Listen to me. Stay quiet, stay behind me. Don't talk to Americans, and don't wander off on your own. Do you understand?"
    "Yes."
    She nodded, "Welcome to Marrowbone, Anna. We have quite a mess on our hands."
    My mother turned on her heel, booking it down the tunnel. I had to book it myself to keep up with her, "I would love to know whose idea it was to hold the peace conference down a mine."
    "This is just the entrance. The talks are being held in the town above us, at the surface. I wish you were costumed in era–appropriate clothes, but there isn't time, and the normals in this loop have been rounded up anyway."
    We came to an elevator which was far more scarier than the one I had just left. We got into the wire cage as Mum pulled a lever on the floor. The engine came to life, and the elevator began to go up, screeching on its way.
    "It's a long ride," she said, raising her voice over the screeching, "so now's a good time to tell you a few things. Besides which, it's hard to find a place in Marrowbone where an American spy isn't trying to overhear what you're saying."
    I took the moment to take in her appearance. Her hair was out of place and her black blouse was not tucked in perfectly, little details that she never overlooked, even on us kids.
    She continued, "There was a kidnapping earlier today. The victim was an important peculiar in the Northern clan, and it appeared she was taken by someone from the Californio claim, so a posse of Northerners were assembled, and despite the Ymbrynes' strident objections, they rode into the Californios' camp and took a prisoner. Fighting broke out, but thankfully we were able to stop it before anyone was killed."
    "I take it that's not the whole story," I said.
    "No. The 'evidence' of the Calofornios' guilt is too perfectly obvious–almost constructed. It stinks of the wights. Not to mention it occurred only a few hours after the wights' prison break. I believe they snuck in and took the girl, and did it in a way that implicated the Californios–practically guaranteeing a conflict between clans that would destroy our attempts to make peace. It took an immense amount of persuasion on our part to prevent a battle in the middle of town today. I'm afraid we've only managed to delay one, unless we can prove beyond a doubt that wights were responsible."
    "And you think a hollowgast might have been involved. So why didn't you call Jacob? He's the expert when it comes to hollows, not me."
    "Because I wish for you to get more experience as a Ymbryne."
    "You want me to find evidence then. Someone only I can see."
    "That's right."
    "You want me to prevent a war. By giving the Americans evidence they can't see?" I said, trying to tell her how insane she was.
    "You'll have to figure out a way to make them see it. I'm sorry, honey. But you're the best hope we have right now. You have a way of persuasion and knowledge that the rest of us don't have."
    We came out of the darkness and into a cool bright day. Mum led me past three men with guns. One looking like a mountain man, another dressed like a cowboy, and another in a suit and tie. He had to be one of Leo's men. They were staring each other down with so much intensity.
    "One sentry from each of the American clans. Best not to make eye contact," Mum said under her breath.
    We came to our ride. I almost started laughing in disbelief when I saw what it was. A horse drawn glass-enclosed hearse.
    "It was all they had on short notice. Climb in," my mother said.
    The attendant held the back door open for us. There was just enough headroom to sit up. This was the third time I have been close to death. What was the universe trying to tell me?
     Mum said something to the driver, and then we were off. Forests and hills rolled by us. Mum pointed out the camps of the different clans as we went by. The buffalo-hide tents were where the Northerners were, the Californios were at Poverty Flat in shacks at the edge of town, and Leo's men were at the Eagle Pass Hotel.
    "Where do the Ymbrynes sleep?" I asked.
    "In trees."
    "Figures."
    We rode a little more until we came into the centre of town. It was something out of a Western. The streets were lined with saddle shops, gunsmiths, and saloons. No one was around.
    The horses slowed and eventually stopped.
    "What's the matter?" Mum called out to the driver.
    "I ain't goin' one foot farther," he said.
    "Looks like this is our stop," Mum said as we climbed out.
    "Where is everyone?" I asked.
    "Just ahead."
    I looked ahead of us to see many people standing in the shadows, crouched behind barrels and wagons on opposite sides of the street. The Northerners were on the left, and the Californios were on the right. As we got closer, it appeared they were having a silent standoff.
    "Neutral party! Hold your fire!" Mum shouted as we approached.
    "Hold fire!" a Northerner said.
    "Hold fire!" a Californio repeated.
    A woman came out of a storefront. Isabel.
    "Alma!" she said anxiously, out of breath, before looking at me. "Good, you got her. They are all waiting."
   "Have there been any aggressions? Any shots fired?" Mum asked.
   "Not yet, by some miracle."
    We followed her back the way she came, and right away I could see what miracle Isabel was speaking of. On both sides of the street, there were people who were ready to attack.
    We walked into a saloon. Tables were throughout the building, and the smell of spilled beer. There were maybe ten people inside, clustered at tables near the bar. This was not the place I was expecting the peace talks to be at.
    Isabel blocked my way, "Wait."
    Mum approached a man in a wheelchair as Isabel continued in a whisper, "That's Mr. Parkins, leader of the Californio clan." Across the room there was a man in a buffalo coat staring daggers at Parkins. "Antoine LaMothe, head of the Northern clan." With LaMothe there were two guards,  and Miss Wren who was speaking to the leader. "And over there is Leo Burnham, who I believe you already know."
    It was him. I stiffened at the sight of him, remembering the death sentence he gave me.   Mum joined Miss Wren, who was still urgently speaking with LaMothe. After the two were done arguing, it was my mother's turn to speak with the leader. I couldn't tell what they were saying, but it looked like she wasn't having any success, for the leader was shaking his head.
    "Give it a goddamned chance, LaMothe," Mr. Parkins yelled across the room.
     LaMothe turned to him, "Give me back my goddamned earthworker!"
    "We didn't take your goddamned earthworker!"
     Their bodyguards tensed as they were ready to draw their weapons.
    "Sure you didn't! You've only been talking about how badly you want one for the last fifty years!" LaMothe yelled.
    Parkin rolled his chair forward, "We didn't take her, and that's that! Now, listen here, you people had better bring Ellery back to our camp by sundown–or there'll be hell to pay!"
    I knew right away Ellery was the prisoner the Northerners had.
    "Why wait until sundown?" LaMothe cried. "Come at us!"
    Two raccoons that had been hiding in his coat came forward, hissing at the other leader. Mum and Balanciaga started pleading with the men to calm down whilst Isabel slowly started to get me to the door.
    Leo stepped between LaMothe and Parkins, "SHUT UP, ALL OF YOU!"
    And they did.
    "Antoine, you really want to start a war with Parkins over something he maybe didn't do?" Leo asked.
    "He did do it," LaMothe growled.
    "We let the birds drag us out to this hick loop so we could iron out our differences, no? So if they think Parkins didn't do this thing, at least let 'em make their case."
    "My thinkin' exactly!" Parkins said.
    "Thank you, Leo, well said," Balenciaga said.
    "Fine," LaMothe glared at my mum. "Say your piece."
    Leo cocked his thumb at me, "That your hotshot crime-scene investigator, Peregrine? The one hiding behind Frenchie's skirt?"
    "Nobody's hiding," I said, stepping forward.
     Leo's face changed instantly, "Wait a goddamn minute. This girl? You got a lotta nerve, Peregrine."
    "You know her" LaMothe asked.
    "She's a troublemaker. And her father was a wight."
    I went to move towards him to attack him, but Mum quickly approached me, placing a hand on my shoulder, "You're mistaken for her being a troublemaker. I assure you, Anna is one of our best and brightest, and the most accomplished tracker of hollowgast in the world."
    Well that was a lie, but okay.
    "There's more than one?" Leo asked.
    "Yep," I said.
    "Her detection skills have saved our lives many times," Mum said quickly.
    Well really that was Jacob, but alright.
    "What makes you think a hollowgast had anything to do with it?" Leo asked.
    "Experience and intuition," Mum answered. "I can't prove it–but I think Anna can." She turned to Parkins and LaMothe. "And if she doesn't find any compelling evidence, we won't stand in your way; settle this however you must."
    "But I warn you," Balenciaga said, "if you make war, the Ymbrynes will not take sides, and the wider world's loops will be shut to you forever."
    Leo laughed, "The rest of the world can go to hell."
    "Let them look if they like. I already know where the trail leads," LaMothe said.