The Policeman of Secrets

Chapter 8 Part 1

Chapter Eight

The “usual place”, Solomon discovered, was a curious collection of tents and carriages ranged across one quiet corner of Hyde Park.

Six wagons, made of the darkest oak and practically invisible in the gloom of dusk, stood in a loose circle around an assortment of patchwork canvas tents and worn silken enclosures stretched over sturdy wooden poles. From nearby came the sound of industrious hammering and banging as a large group of men and women finished building a small stage surrounded by benches.

Lanterns illuminated two banners that hung over the temporary settlement that Lily introduced as “our headquarters”. One read The Masquerade of The Moon in beautiful calligraphy, several letters adorned with stars that twinkled in the light. The other had been more roughly handled, but Solomon could still read A Wondrous Display of Magical Marvels! Here for One Week Only!

Lily led him into the center of the circle, where men and women surrounded a fire on which three pigs were being roasted.

Solomon was startled when a giant figure rose from beside the flames. He was the tallest man the bookseller had seen, with arms the width of a ship’s strongest timber and a broad chest barely contained by a deep blue shirt. Black hair framed a wide face, but any expression he might have worn was hidden by the shadows and his thick beard. His posture was cautious as the two approached from the edge of camp, and from the corner of his eye Solomon noticed the rest of the group watching carefully.

The giant visibly relaxed when Lily stepped into the firelight, pulling Solomon by the hand. “Hello, Bellman,” she said, striding up to the figure that towered over her and patting him on the arm with her small hand. He was at least a head and a half taller than Solomon, and bent his neck to smile down at both of them.

“Lily. So glad. You’re safe.” His voice was quiet and soft for such a large man, and his speech had a strange stop-start rhythm. “The count. No sign. Not yet.”

There was a flash of concern on her face, but then she brightened and pulled Solomon closer to the group. “This is my good friend Solomon Snow: bookseller, adventurer, and ally of the Workshop of Light.”

A circle of nods and murmured welcomes greeted him, then the giant moved to the fire and began carving each pig into slices with a knife he pulled from the belt of his leather trousers. The blade was tiny in his palm, but he moved with great dexterity to serve only the finest cuts of meat.

Solomon took the opportunity to study the rest of the group, and Lily named each as he turned to face them.

Sitting beside Bellman, helping himself to a boiling pot of vegetables, was a ferret-faced, small man whose smile lit up his dark complexion. His curly hair jingled as he laughed at a joke from his giant neighbor, and Solomon spotted little bells, coins, and other metalwork threaded into the locks. “Ferdinando,” said Lily. “Our travelling comic.”

The fellow interrupted his laughter to wink at Solomon then flick a potato from the pot of bubbling water and towards Solomon’s face. There was barely time to react, but Solomon swept his head to one side and the vegetable fell to the floor. Ferdinando displayed no ill effects from dipping into the scalding pot, and laughed before a startled Solomon could complain. “Welcome, Solomon, to our happy band. All in the reflexes, y’know.” He waved his hand, which showed no sign of heat. “Seem to be pretty quick on the uptake yourself, ha ha. Even with one eye.”

“I was a soldier,” Solomon replied. “A slow soldier is a dead soldier.” He paused. “And I was always good at the drills where they taught us to dodge the Russians’ potatoes.”

“Excellent!” The short man rocked with laughter.

Next Lily introduced a couple who sat whispering to each other, the woman on the man’s lap. Both wore loose black clothing slit along the arms and thighs to reveal toned and muscled bodies without a trace of fat on them. The man’s head was bald, but tattooed with a seemingly random pattern of silver stars, large and small. They turned from their conversation, and Solomon saw that she had a dark beauty, while her companion had the hardened face of a man who has seen too much of life.