“My demented man,” Tammy shook her head and then started tugging on the curtain closest to her.
“Go and open every door to the outside that you can find,” Jacob said to no one person.
“Why?” Derek asked.
“So, if there are any inside, they will not be trapped by the fire.”
“And if it’s the ones we want trapped inside?”
“You are as stubborn as your maker,” Jacob growled with his brows pulled in.
“With a compliment like that how can I refuse those orders?” Derek shrugged looked at me, then looked back at Jacob. “I’m opening the doors, great one.” Derek gave Jacob a mocking bow and took off.
“If you had been much older, I would have sworn he was your given son,” Jacob yanked the curtain down next to me. “He is a good man.”
“Yeah, I think I’ll keep him.” I took the curtain from Jacob and dragged the enormous thing over to where Garvin and Sydney were feeding them into the fireplace’s massive girth. Fala was doing the same at the matching fireplace across the great room.
Once the ballroom was ablaze, we ran to the other main rooms on the first floor and set every room on fire that had a fireplace and then ran out the front. Our drivers had already moved our coaches onto the main road when everyone left and remained there to my surprise. I guess Martin had given them a very strict order to wait for our return. We ran to the gates and then turned to watch the beautiful home of the most powerful of London go up in flames. One would not think a stone structure could burn as brilliantly as a wooden one, but they do.
“Something burns to the north,” Fala said.
“I wonder what that could be?” Tammy added, as she tied the makeshift piece of material across her torso, covering the most important areas.
“Do we have time to get to Inara’s and set her big house ablaze like this?” Derek asked, still looking at the one we just set on fire.
“The sun will rise in two, maybe three, hours. I think we should make our way back to Martin’s home,” Garvin added as he leaned back on the gate showing he was ready for this night to end.
“Well, I say we go burn that bitch's house to the ground, get in the tunnels after, and make our way back tomorrow night. Tanda and Martin are as safe as they can get in the lower levels.”
“Unless that is Martin’s home burning,” Fala replied.
That was all that Derek needed to hear, sending him and I running for the coaches. Derek jumped up by the driver and took control of the horse, while we piled into the coaches. My mind was running like mad. All I could think of was what if the twins did have Martin’s home burnt to the ground while we were playing dress-up at some stupid gala. I know it was to make a strategic stand by taking down the head seats, but we got one leader and took down one house. If Martin’s home was taken down then we didn’t do crap in my books, and all was for nothing. And if he and Tanda were harmed in any way what so ever, there would be more than a few die in London. I would make damn sure that all who were involved would pay.
“Faster Derek, faster!”
“They’re going as fast as they can, Renee!”
“Why couldn’t we be made with wings?!” I yelled at the top of my lungs.
“They’ll be okay, they’re underground. They will, won’t they?” Tammy spoke, first to me but then looked over at Cates.
“The stone is good, but the tunnels are weak. There could be a few collapses under the side structure of the foundation, depending on how much weight falls to the stone floor above or the earth to the side; if it truly is his place that is on fire. Many things in London burn.”
Before I could answer, Jacob yelled from the other coach that it was Martin’s home and that we would soon be there. My heart sank, even though I had already had a feeling that it was. The coaches started to slow outside the gates and we were leaping out before they could stop. Once out, all that I could do was put my hands on the top of my head. I could not believe what I was seeing. What we had left hours ago was nothing like what we drove up to witness. The top floor on the left side had collapsed and the outer wall was leaning in as flames reached for the sky. The wooden arch over the front entrance came crashing down, throwing debris and sparks all the way to the gate where we were standing.
“There has to be another way in other than the way we came in that first night. That way would take too long and we would end up falling to the light of day before we ever made it to the tunnels entrance.” Jacob kicked a piece of burning ember.
“It would have to be at the back, right? That swampy stuff is to the right and all the way around that cemetery, unless one of those graves is the door to the tunnel, of course,” Derek rambled.
“What did you say?” Jacob asked.
“What? That it has to be in the back?”
“No, about the grave.”
“I was just saying that maybe the door to Martin’s secret tunnel is one of those graves. They have huge headstones and look what watches over that weird place. I doubt many that go in there come back out to talk about it.”
“You have a wonderful mind.” Jacob kissed Derek on the cheek. “Hurry, we must go find where Martin buried his father.”
Neither Jacob nor I, had told the others what Martin had told us about his real father, the one who raised him. So, I didn’t correct Jacob when he called the man who once owned this place, Martin’s father. My worry lies only on finding those we left below its foundation. ***
With one hard push, Martin broke through into the first tunnel that would take them to the tunnel that would lead to their safety. He pushed more of the earth out of the way then reached back for Tanda to take his hand. “Come, I think you will fit.”
“I can’t go without you.”
“Once you get on the other side you will go until the narrow breaks into a ‘T’ then you will go left…”
“Stop it, Martin. I won’t do it! But I will go through and start digging from the other side until you can fit. But, do not say another word on my leaving you here. It will not happen.”
“I have a great deal to learn about this new way of thinking, don’t I?”
“I’m afraid you do.” Tanda got down on her stomach and pulled herself through the small, oval opening with Martin pushing on her feet once she was halfway through. “Now start pushing some of these loose rocks towards me and I will roll them away.”
“The earth is weak above the stones that have fallen. We must hurry if we do not wish this to be our final resting place,” Martin smiled through the dirt on his face as he pushed one of the large, square stones toward Tanda. “I, for one, would rather not be a part of this city’s thousands of unknowns in these miserable tunnels.”
“I think if you shove some of the dirt from here,” Tanda dug her hands into the mound of debris on the left side of the opening, “it will become large enough for you to slide through.”