“Stay here,” Sienna hissed. “I’ll beckon you when the time comes.”
Caleb reached for Emily’s hand as Sienna hurried into the darkness. Emily hesitated, then pulled her hand back. They couldn’t hit the reset button, no matter how much she might wish they could. Afterwards, if they survived, they would have to sit down and have a proper chat about the future. And decide what – exactly – they wanted from each other.
Alassa knew she was working towards marriage, Emily thought, numbly. And Imaiqah knew she just wanted to have fun.
Frieda popped up behind them, leaning forward and peering towards the sewage plant. Emily was almost relieved. Frieda would save her from having to have that conversation until they were safe. She pushed her emotions out of her head as Sienna returned, looking pleased with herself.
“The original guards were gone,” she said. She motioned for them to follow her back to the building. “I dealt with the newcomers.”
Emily glanced around with interest as they walked up to the doors and into the building, trying to ignore the seven dead bodies on the ground. She’d never grown used to seeing death, even though it had been a constant companion since Shadye had kidnapped her for the first time. She didn’t even want to think about how many people had died, directly or indirectly, because of her. Vesperian would never have been able to lure so many investors into his web without her innovations. And she’d heard that some of his investors had committed suicide after his death.
“This place stinks,” Frieda said, wryly. “What is it?”
“A wonder of the world.” Sienna sounded oddly amused as she opened a hatch and motioned for them to climb down. “The Sewers of Beneficence.”
Emily nodded in agreement when Frieda shot her a questioning look. The sewers were a wonder of the world, all the more so for not using any magic at all. Beneficence had cold running water piped to every home – at least, every home connected to the water pipes – and a web of sewers to take away the waste. And now, with manure being sifted for saltpetre and other chemical compounds, the sewers were profitable. She groaned as Sienna launched a light globe into the air, casting an eerie radiance over the scene. It was somehow not a surprise to spot the ‘V’ emblazoned into the wall.
Emily scrambled down the ladder into a chamber that looked like a giant swimming pool, only one crammed with liquid waste rather than water. Emily felt her stomach churn as the stench somehow managed to grow even worse…she forced herself to look away as Sienna led them towards a giant tunnel heading into the darkness. There would be all sorts of bacteria breeding in the pool, she knew, as well as methane. Striking a match might cause an explosion. Or was that right? There was a way to get methane from manure, if she recalled correctly. She just couldn’t remember how.
Something to think about, she told herself. The ledge felt dangerously narrow, given the risk of falling into the slop. If we can make methane, what can we do with it?
It didn’t get any better as they made their way down the tunnel. The ceiling was too low for comfort, even though she knew it was safe. Sienna and Caleb had to keep their heads down as they walked to avoid bumping them into the ceiling; Emily was shorter, but she still kept her head down, fearing contact with the roof. She clearly saw a faint slime lining the walls, droplets of water dripping down and plopping into the sewer. The sewage itself seemed to ripple, although there was no wind. Emily kept a wary eye on the liquid as they headed further down the tunnel. The stories she’d heard about alligators in the sewers suddenly seemed creditable.
Frieda coughed, suddenly. The noise was so loud that Emily jumped.
“Quiet,” Sienna hissed.
“Sorry,” Frieda said. “But how do we know we’re heading in the right direction?”
“I have a blood tie to Marian,” Sienna snapped. “We’re heading straight towards her.”
Or as close to straight as possible, Emily thought, as they passed a crossroads and crawled over a bridge barely wide enough for a child. She had no idea how much the sewage workers were paid, but it wasn’t enough. Maintaining the network had to be an absolute nightmare. We should come up in Temple Row, but what if we can’t get all the way up?
She felt her magic tingle and knew the answer. We’ll have to blast our way through the roof.
“They keep talking about monsters down here,” Croce said. He was bringing up the rear. “All the sorcerers who flush their experiments down the drain…”
“That practice was banned years ago.” Sienna glanced back, annoyed. “Although the giant spiders ate up the giant cockroaches.”
Emily swallowed, hard. She hoped Sienna was joking.
Pouring potions down the drain would be dangerous, she reminded herself. Professor Thande had cautioned them, time and time again, to be careful when disposing of alchemical brews…even ones that had seemingly failed. Putting a dozen failed potions in the same place was asking for trouble. Most sorcerers and alchemists would know better, wouldn’t they?
She pushed the thought aside as Sienna reached a ladder, leading up into the darkness. A reddish liquid dripped down into the sewage. Emily turned away, revolted. It looked like blood. She didn’t think she wanted to know for sure. If someone had died up there…
“Keep back,” Sienna ordered. “I’m going up.”
Emily felt her skin crawl as Caleb’s mother scrambled up the ladder. The sense of something being wrong, very wrong, was growing stronger. And yet…she flinched as she heard a clanging sound, followed by a flash of magic. The trickle of blood turned into a stream.