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Tunnels 06 - Terminal

Tunnels 06 - Terminal

Titel: Tunnels 06 - Terminal Kostenlos Bücher Online Lesen
Autoren: Roderick Gordon
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break,’ Jiggs joked. ‘We go that way,’ he added, and they moved to the far end of the platform.
    ‘Into the guts of hell,’ Drake whispered and, for a moment, they both held still, staring into the dismal darkness in front of the locomotive. The brickwork around the tunnel opening was stained with lime and efflorescence, and the air reeked of stagnant water.
    ‘I seem to have spent my whole life going into dark places I didn’t want to,’ Drake said wearily. ‘I suppose there’s no reason why that should change now.’
    Jiggs stamped his feet as if he had enough energy for the two of them. ‘Come on, Drake, chin up, old man. What do they say about there being light at the end of the tunnel?’
    ‘Don’t believe them,’ Drake said. ‘They have no idea what they’re talking about.’

 
     
     
    Chapter Fifteen

    M artha was bursting with excitement when she returned to the farmhouse.
    ‘Come to me, my dearest boy, come to me,’ she bellowed, beckoning Chester over. Stephanie noticed her hands were spotted with blood and grime; no doubt that meant another sheep had met its end and was heading for her cooking pot. ‘Have I got some news for you!’
    She threw her arms around Chester and squeezed him while he just regarded her impassively.
    ‘Well, have you?’ he asked.
    ‘Yes, I have!’ she cried. ‘One of my fairies seems to have picked up the scent trail of your nasty man.’
    ‘Danforth? You’re sure?’ Chester said, his whole manner transforming. ‘You’ve really got him for me?’
    ‘Yes, my fairy can take us to him,’ she replied.
    ‘Oh, you wonderful woman,’ Chester shouted, only now responding to Martha’s embrace. He pressed his cheek against hers. ‘I could eat you!’ he said.
    Be careful what you’re saying , Stephanie thought wryly to herself. She could eat you too! Stephanie had been told aboutMartha’s penchant for human flesh, but hadn’t thought too much about it until she’d actually met the woman. She could quite see Martha was capable of it.
    ‘Where is he then? Where’s Danforth?’ Chester asked.
    ‘I can’t tell how far away he is, but my fairy can show us,’ Martha replied.
    ‘How does that actually work?’ Chester said rather sharply, as if he had suddenly begun to doubt what she was telling him. ‘Do your fairies speak to you or something?’
    Martha nodded. ‘In a way, yes, they do. You see I’ve learnt to understand the signs they give each other – they give them to me too. And one fairy has just flown back to me, while the other is keeping a watch on nasty man for us.’
    Chester seemed satisfied with this answer, and Stephanie shook her head as the two of them continued to hug each other tight, making Mmmm ing noises. Both of them were unhinged in their own ways: Martha because she’d lost her son and then been subjected to years of isolation, and Chester because of what he’d been through at the hands of the Styx, culminating in his parents’ untimely death. Two people, both deeply injured, and united by their losses. But Stephanie didn’t kid herself that their relationship was anything other than delicate, like two plates spinning on poles beside each other. At any moment, either one – or even both – of those plates could come crashing down.
    Finally relaxing his grip on the rotund woman, Chester held her at arm’s length. ‘We should get going then.’
    Martha hesitated. ‘Why don’t I ask my fairies to do the job for us, and kill nasty man? Then we don’t need to go anywhere.’
    No, no. no. Stephanie was willing Chester not to agree. She had seriously considered running away to extricate herselffrom this incredibly bizarre situation, but Chester had told her to forget that as an option. Not just because of the risk from the Armagi – he’d said that he wouldn’t be able to stop Martha setting the Brights on Stephanie the moment she walked out.
    Chester hadn’t replied to Martha’s suggestion. In fact, he looked thunderous.
    ‘Why don’t I just tell them to finish him off, my dearie?’ Martha asked him again. ‘Then there’d be no need to move from here, where we’re happy and safe.’
    ‘No way! That creep is mine. And you bloody tell your Brights not to touch a bloody hair on his foul head. In fact, I want them to protect him … and keep him safe for me,’ Chester growled, his eyes flashing. ‘He’s mine!’
    ‘Of course, dearie, it’s all right, it’s all right,’ Martha cooed, stroking his hair

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