Downworld

Chapter 23

We ran, pausing to warn the border guards on duty for the Glen what had happened. They nodded, grim, and let us pass. The dark streets of the Labyrinth were mostly empty, and what few people were about were quick to duck into building or down alleyways as we passed. What few windows there were had been hung with black cloth. No lights shined through them, or under the doors.

It was no trouble to make our way to Tinder's door, which made me suspicious. It was all too easy. Isamu had the same thought, I think, because he kept glancing around like he expected someone to jump out of the shadows and yell something more serious than "surprise".

I knocked and called out, the sounds echoing along the street. Though the thick door came a long scrape and a thump, then it opened and we were pulled inside.

'About bloody time,' Tinder huffed. 'Come on.' She turned and ran up stairs.

'Why aren't you ready to leave? Where are your servants?' I called after her as we followed.

She ignored the first question. 'I don't know. None of them live here, remember? And none of them have come.'

'Abandoned you, you mean.'

Not that I blamed them. In some ways, Tinder was progressive when it came to her sworn servants, letting them live where they wanted and giving them regular days off, but in others she was just as bad as everyone else. She liked the status quo too much, she liked having people serve her without question, but she didn't have the balls to fulfill her end of the bargain. They didn't trust her to protect them, so they were hiding.

'Where is everyone?'

'Here.' She turned into a room. It was the children's playroom, with all their toys and other junk.

In the room was her mother, father and her husband. The former was holding Tinder's two youngest, Stephan at barely three and the baby, Elspeth, not even one. Kean was kneeling beside an open vent. Labyrinth had an air problem, mostly solved this problem by turning their walls into Swiss cheese and then bolting bars over the holes to preserve the semblance of walls. This vent was missing the bars for some reason.

'Where's Fi?' I asked, since she was the only one missing.

Kean glanced up. 'She won't come out. Fiona, come out now!'

'Get out of the way.' He moved too slowly for my taste, but I said nothing, only took his place. She was squished in the vent, too far in for anyone to reach. 'Fiona, honey, could you come out please?'

She turned her tear stained face towards me. 'Uncle Jay?'

'It's me. And Isamu's here too. Come out and say hello.'

'Why is everyone scared?'

'They're afraid something bad might happen if we don't leave real soon.'

She shifted, moving a little closer, but not close enough. 'Are you scared?'

'Yes, honey, I'm scared.'

Fiona crawled over and put her arms out. When I pulled her out, she clutched at me.

'It's okay to be scared, Uncle Jay, I'm not going to let anyone hurt you.'

'Thanks, honey. How about you protect Isamu for me?'

'Okay.'

'Good girl.'

I handed her to Isamu, and he held her tight. Fiona buried her face in Isamu's neck.

'Tinder, take the baby. Kean, you take Stevie.'

Tinder took Elspeth from her father. He was a guardian harpy, the latter you could tell by his freakish bird feet. Harpies had some air elemental magic, so if it came to a fight, he wouldn't pack the biggest punch, but he'd pack the biggest punch out of all of us, so I didn't want him holding a kid.