Page 5 of Within the Flames
Two
She jumped back as the bus hurtled past, scowling at the traffic. She'd not liked the thought of London before, but now she was here she liked it even less.
"Which way now?" Rónàn asked.
"How should I know?" she snapped, instantly regretting being so short with him. It wasn't his fault none of them knew what they were doing.
"What did Malan say again?" Jared placed a soothing hand on the small of her back as he spoke, offering her the comfort she needed.
"He described the Tower of London, but I doubt it's that easy."
"Why not?" Rónàn asked.
"Because it's Malan," Jared muttered. "He doesn't do straight forward."
"Maybe this time he is? I've not heard of him before, but he seems to actually care about the fate of the world."
"Don't be fooled," Macey mumbled under her breath. She'd had enough experience with Malan to know he wouldn't care for anyone but himself and his food. Slightly odd interests for a dead prophet, but there was no denying either of them.
"It's worth a try," Cam pointed out.
Macey nodded. While she hated admitting it was their best lead, it was. And that didn't mean much to her.
"Which way do we need to go?" she asked her incubus. Bringing him had been imperative for going underground. Hopefully he'd actually be able to sense things through all this noise.
"This way, I think." He peered over the top of the map he was holding, an uneasy look on his face.
Macey wasn't convinced, but said nothing. She was just glad they were finally getting somewhere.
The four of them dodged through the streets, only just avoiding the people who seemed to be everywhere. She coughed, the dirty air tickling her nose and threatening to make her sneeze. This wasn't the thing she'd had in mind when lampads had been mentioned.
"Are we nearly there?" She crossed her fingers, hoping one of them would say yes.
"We just need to cross that bridge and we'll be there," Jared muttered, not taking his eyes off his map long enough to actually be able to tell if they were going the right way or not.
Macey made a mental note not to let Jared map read again. Certainly not if they were in a city. Though why they'd go back to one as big as this was a little beyond her.
Heat clung all around them, making the air heavy and difficult to breath. She definitely wasn't leaving the country again. She'd go back to Scotland and stay there for good. Or even better, go back to her men's house. There wasn't any pollution there and the house would cater to their every need. It would be cool all year round.
"Macey!" Rónàn cried, tugging the back of her shirt and dragging her back onto the path.
She scowled at the road. Cars weren't anywhere near this bad where she came from. They certainly didn't nearly try and kill her every thirty seconds.
"Get us underground," she begged.
"Just around this corner," Jared said, turning towards a set of stairs at the edge of the bridge.
He walked as if in a trance, taking them closer and closer to the river.
Macey turned up her nose. The stench coming from it was enough to turn her stomach. She loved water, but she'd be staying as away from this as she could. No one would even be able to pay her to dip her toe in.
"Are you sure we're going the right way?"
Jared didn't reply, heading under the bridge and into the darkness. Instead of coming out the other side, as Macey had expected, they turned to the right and through a hole in the wall she hadn't even seen.
Nerves fluttered around her stomach. Common sense said not to go down into the dark. Nothing good would be there, but she knew she had to go underground so she could help Flint.
Dripping sounded all around her, the wet splashes of droplets hitting uneven stone floors lending the tunnel an eerie atmosphere. Macey found herself wondering what could be lurking down here. In her experience, there was always something waiting and it was hardly ever good. This would be a perfect place for the Mahoun or one of his kind to lie in wait.
