21

The Rescue Mission

Giddy with fear, Gafferty ran out of the house. The crowd had mostly scattered. Once the excitement created by the arrival of a stranger in the Roost had passed, people had returned to their business.

‘I’ve got to go!’ she called to Willoughby, who was running to keep up. ‘I need to – ouch!’ She bumped straight into Wyn, who had been waiting outside.

‘Move!’ she yelled at his face.

He held his hands up.

‘Look, I’m sorry for earlier. You were watching out for your brother. I understand. It sounds like you’ve been through a lot.’

‘And it’s not over yet,’ Gafferty said. ‘The longer I delay, the more likely it is that the witch will be in her room. But … thanks.’ She bit her lip. ‘I’m sorry I shouted too.’

Abel and Lady Strigida appeared at the doorway. They’d been talking some more.

‘We’ll send some people with you,’ Abel said to Gafferty. ‘You can’t go on your own. We need to know more about the woman and what she’s up to.’

‘Thank you,’ she said with relief. She could feel tears coming again but she fought them back. ‘I’ve not really thought about how I’m going to rescue Gobkin. I’ve had some luck so far and I was hoping it would hold. But help is better than luck.’

‘We’ll get Gobkin home safe and sound,’ promised Willoughby.

‘Thanks, Will,’ she said. And maybe – just maybe – Mum and Dad wouldn’t be too angry with her. Though at that moment, she’d rather have faced their anger than anything else in the world, if it meant Gob was with her.

‘I’ll go with Gafferty,’ Wyn said, to her surprise. ‘I know my way around the air conditioning system of the hotel. The air conduits are the quickest route to any of the rooms.’

‘I’ll come too,’ said Will.

‘No, Will,’ said Abel. ‘It’s too dangerous. But you can’t go by yourself, Wyn.’

‘The fewer people involved the better,’ put in Strigida, gently. ‘We don’t want this woman working out there are hundreds of Smidgens in the very hotel she’s staying in. Leave this to Wyn and Gafferty.’

Will protested, but Abel nodded his agreement.

‘We’ll be back soon,’ Gafferty reassured Will, as Wyn led her to the trapdoor. ‘And when this is over, I’ll take you on a tour of the Tangle … if that’s allowed. There are still loads of adventures to be had.’ Will’s face brightened slightly but he looked at her sulkily as she waved goodbye and disappeared down the steps.

Wyn strapped a spare Upliner on to Gafferty and showed her the function of each of the buttons. Once she was sure what she was doing, they used their winches to drop them on to the tower staircase at the fifth-floor level. Wyn found and opened a Smidgen-door cut into the wall. The wall was hollow and Gafferty saw a rope ladder inside it hanging down from a metal pipe far above.

‘That’s the air pipe,’ explained Wyn. ‘Room 531 is four rooms along. It’s not too far at all.’

They clambered up the rope and into the pipe through a hole sawn into its side. The metal pipe echoed, so they made their way along it as noiselessly as possible, passing over the top of the guests’ bedrooms. They could peek at the Big Folk below, snoozing or watching TV, through the vents that kept the rooms supplied with fresh air. Gobkin would like this, thought Gafferty, it’s like having a fly’s eye view of everything. Wyn pointed to the next vent.

‘That’s Room 531,’ he whispered to Gafferty.

They surrounded the vent and peered into the room. It was dimly lit by a lamp. The curtains were open, revealing the early evening sky. The room appeared empty.

‘She’s still not there!’ said Gafferty. ‘And I can see Gobkin! Look!’

On the table was a small bucket, normally used for holding ice. A tiny figure sat inside it, his arms folded. The sides of the bucket were smooth and far too high for him to climb out.

Wyn took a metal bar from his jacket. Gafferty recognised it as a Big Folk hex key and watched as the teenager used it to prise up the edge of the vent and prop the metal grid open. There was just enough of a gap for them to squeeze through. Wyn tied a piece of rope around one of the vent slats and fed it through the winch on his chest. Gafferty did the same.

‘You go first,’ he said. ‘I’ll follow.’

Gafferty did as directed. She quickly reached the floor and detached herself from the rope. The room was quiet.

‘Gobkin!’ she yelled, sprinting towards the table. ‘Gobkin – it’s me! I’m here to rescue you!’

‘Gafferty?’ Gobkin’s voice drifted up from inside the ice bucket.

‘I’ll have you out of there in a second,’ she called.

‘No!’ Gobkin answered, sounding desperate.

‘Don’t worry, Gob!’ Gafferty was aware she could see her breath as a cloud in front of her. But it only did that when …

‘No, Gafferty – they’re here! They’re waiting for you!’

… when it became colder …

‘It’s a trap!’

The air moved. Gafferty’s heart sank. She whirled around as the misty shapes circled her, looking far more solid than she had seen them before. She could hear them laughing, see their faces full of triumph, feel their chill against her skin.

‘You stupid ghosts!’ she said. ‘I know what you are!’

They didn’t care and laughed harder, mockingly.

Wyn – where was he? He had been about to follow her! She glanced up at the air duct but there was no sign of him. Had he abandoned her? Had he pretended to be nice, pretended to help her just to get her out of the Roost and away from his brother, leaving her at the mercy of these monstrosities? Gafferty didn’t want to believe it. Either way, there was no point him being caught too. Perhaps this was how it should be: Gafferty on her own. Gafferty against the world.

‘You can’t hurt me, you horrible spooks!’ she yelled. ‘I’m not afraid of you! Ghosts are just farts with faces!’

Claudia Slymark stepped out of the bathroom, where she’d been waiting.

‘You’re mistaken, dearest Gafferty!’ she said with a smile. ‘They can hurt you. You should be very afraid. Very afraid indeed.’