“Is your father all right?”
“No change.” Gabriel walked over to the doorway and embraced her. For a brief moment, she gave in to her emotions, holding him tightly while he stroked her hair.
“Foley just arrived with his boat,” she said. “Mother Blessing is walking down the pathway to the dock. You’re supposed to follow her right away.”
“And she knows about last night?”
“Of course she knows.” The wind pushed against the half-open door. Maya stepped away from him and slammed it shut. “We made a mistake. I didn’t honor my obligation.”
“Stop talking like a Harlequin.”
“I am a Harlequin, Gabriel. And I can’t protect you unless I’m like Mother Blessing. Cold and rational.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“I’m a Harlequin and you’re a Traveler. It’s time you started acting like one.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Your father has crossed over and might not come back. Your brother is part of the Tabula. You’re the one person everyone is hoping for. I know you have the power, Gabriel. Now you have to use it.”
“I didn’t ask for this.”
“I didn’t ask for my particular life either, but that’s what I was given. Last night we were both trying to avoid our obligations. Mother Blessing is right. Love makes you foolish and weak.”
Gabriel stepped forward and tried to embrace her. “Maya…”
“I accept who I am. And it’s time you acknowledged your own responsibilities.”
“So what am I supposed to do? Lead the Free Runners?”
“You could talk to them. That’s a start. They admire you, Gabriel. When we went to Vine House, I could see that in their eyes.”
“All right, I’ll talk to them. But I want you with me.”
Maya turned away from Gabriel so that he couldn’t see her face. “Take care of yourself,” she said in a strained voice, and then she was out the door and striding up the rocky slope, the wind whipping through her black hair.
GABRIEL GRABBED HIS shoulder bag and climbed down the rocky staircase to the dock area. Captain Foley was in his fishing boat, tinkering with the engine. Mother Blessing marched back and forth on the concrete slab.
“Maya gave me the keys to the car you left at Portmagee,” she told Gabriel. “We’ll drive north to a safe house in County Cavan. I need to call some of my contacts and see if-”
Gabriel interrupted her. “You can do what you want, but I’m returning to London.”
Mother Blessing made sure that Captain Foley was still on his boat-too far away to hear the conversation. “You’ve accepted my protection, Gabriel. That means I make the choices.”
“I have some friends in the city-Free Runners-and I want to talk to them.”
“And what if I don’t agree?”
“Are you afraid of the Tabula, Mother Blessing? Is that the problem?”
The Irish Harlequin frowned as she touched her black metal sword case. She looked like a pagan queen who had just been insulted by a commoner. “It’s quite clear that they’re afraid of me.”
“Good. Because I’m going back to London. If you want to protect me, then you’ll have to come along.”
24
Sitting near a top-floor window in Vine House, Gabriel looked out at the small public park in the middle of Bonnington Square. It was about nine o’clock in the evening. After nightfall, a cold layer of fog had drifted off the Thames River and pushed its way through the narrow streets of South London. The streetlights around the square burned with a feeble light, like little bits of fire overcome by a colder, more pervasive power. No one was in the park, but every few minutes another small group of young men and women approached the house and knocked on the door.
Gabriel had been back in London for three days, staying at Winston Abosa’s drum shop in Camden Market. He had asked Jugger and his friends for help, and they had responded immediately. The word was out, and Free Runners from every part of the country were coming to Vine House.
Jugger knocked twice on the door before poking his head in. The Free Runner looked excited and a little nervous. Gabriel could hear the sound of voices coming from the crowd downstairs.
“A lot of people are showing up,” Jugger said. “We got crews coming in from Glasgow and Liverpool. Even your old pal Cutter came down from Manchester with his friends. Don’t know how they found out about this.”
“Is there going to be enough room?”
“Ice is acting like a games director at a holiday camp-telling people where to sit. Roland and Sebastian are stringing cable down the hallway. There’re going to be speakers all over the house.”
“Thanks, Jugger.”
The Free Runner adjusted his knit cap and gave Gabriel an embarrassed smile. “Listen, mate. We’re friends, right? We can talk about anything.”
“What’s the problem?”
“It’s that Irishwoman who’s your bodyguard. The front door was crowded with people, so Roland went around the house and climbed over the wall into the garden. We do that all the time so we can come in through the kitchen. Well, quick as a flash, that Irishwoman is pointin’ a twelve-round automatic at Roland’s skull.”
“Did she hurt him?”
“Nah. But he just about pissed in his pants. Swear to God, Gabriel. Maybe she could wait outside the house during your speech. I don’t want her killing anybody tonight.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll be out of here as soon as I’m done speaking.”
“And then what?”
“I’m going to ask for some help and we’ll see what happens. I want you to be the middleman between me and the people downstairs.”
“No problem. I can handle that.”
“I’m staying in Camden Market in an underground area called the catacombs. There’s a drum shop there run by a man named Winston. He’ll know how to find me.”
“Sounds like a plan, mate.” Jugger nodded solemnly. “Everyone wants to hear you, but give us a couple more minutes. I got to move some people around a bit.”
The Free Runner left the garret and climbed back down the narrow staircase. Gabriel remained in the chair, looking out at the little garden in the middle of the square. According to Sebastian, the garden had once been a bombed-out building during World War II and then a dumping ground for trash and old cars. Gradually, the community had come together, cleaned up the site, and planted a mixture of conventional shrubs and ivy plus more exotic tropical vegetation. There were palm trees and banana plants growing right next to English tea roses. Sebastian was convinced that Bonnington Square was a distinct ecological zone with its own particular climate.
The Free Runners had planted a vegetable garden behind Vine House, and you could see bushes and trees growing on the roof of every building around the square. Although there were thousands of closed-circuit television cameras all over London, the constant desire for a garden showed that the average citizen wanted a refuge that was separate from the Vast Machine. With friends and food and a bottle of wine, even a backyard garden felt large and expansive.
A few minutes later, Jugger knocked twice and opened the door. “You ready?” he asked.
Several Free Runners sat on the staircase and others were squeezed into the hallway. Mother Blessing stood in the living room near a table with a small microphone lying at the center. One of her Irish mercenaries, a tough-looking man with a white scar on the back of his neck, was directly outside the house.
Gabriel picked up the microphone and switched it on. A cord led to a stereo receiver that was attached to different speakers. He breathed deeply and heard the sound coming from out in the hallway.