Page 12 (1/2)

Cadge laughed "Be it ever so humble"

Jazz flinched The down-below had becodo she remained there she re-fused to think of it as home Once, on the day of her first topside nick, the word had come unbidden into her ain

Cadge paused and glanced at her "Hear that?"

She realized she did hear so it for a couple of minutes already A susurrus of low voices like the hush of a flowing river ran nearby Now that she paid attention to it, the noise grew louder

"A crowd, sounds like," Cadge said

Jazz nodded They both knew it couldn't really be a crowd --not down here Which hosts seemed to blossom to life around her In the darkness they were shadoith a hint of ethereal illue's torch they were revealed as true specters

A Victorian carriage rattled by, drawn by a single horse, a lantern swinging froe stepped quickly away frolanced around as though blinded He heard the phantom near hio such a vision would have terrified Jazz, but now she caught her breath in wonder There was soround was a forgotten hoht that it would echo with forgottenmemories of London itself

A sweet aroe of different scents that made her inhale deeply She shuddered with the delicious odors, closed her eyes tightly to shut off all but her sense of sain, she stood in a marketplace sprawled across cobblestones There were carts full of vegetables and stacks of wooden crates overfloith fruit A little girl sold fresh flowers fro the wares of the vendors The se in the dae

A e and unwieldy it seemed mad to think anyone could keep such a contraption froe said

Jazz had alotten him She blinked and turned to focus on his face "What?"

"I saw your eyes You see the You see solimpses, like you said before"

For a moment she did not breathe Never trust anyone, that had been her mother's advice Her rule

But her mother had never had to create a brand-new life in a brand-neorld, and her e

"Soazed at her with open admiration "Wish I could see them Did you smell it too? The fruit?"

Jazz nodded "Made ot apples and soet ourselves soes or kiwis"

"A pineapple," Jazz said

Cadge laughed "You nick a pineapple, where d'you sup-pose you'll hide it while you're slipping off, eh? Bit prickly, I'd think"

Jazz gave hih and then started along the tunnel again Around the, and Jazz was saddened by their departure

She shifted the big bag from one shoulder to the other

"Let's have that, then," Cadge said, gesturing toward the bag "I'll carry it for a bit"

"I've got it, thanks"

He blinked and looked away, and she realized she'd been too sharp with hiht not be strong enough to do her part, but Cadge had just been ot enough to carry," she added

Cadge brightened a little "Yeah We'll both be glad to set these down Mr F's gonna love this torch too"

"We should've nicked soot loads, all sizes"

They fell silent then, trudging onward Cadge led her up onto a platform that had been abandoned for decades, its walls covered in a thick layer of dust and grime, floor scuffed with years of boot and shoe dom and perhaps other subterranean travelers They eschewed the chained gate blocking the way up and instead followed a corridor that led to yet another train track

Jazz had been astonished when, after just a couple of weeks, she had come to know her way around the labyrinth of abandoned stations, tunnels, and bomb shelters beneath the city

Across the tracks was a s-closed station A rusted metal door set into the far wall of the platform drew her attention It had a heavy handle that had been left in a raised position, the door open just a few inches for forgotten ages

As Jazz and Cadge dropped down to the tracks, she could not stop staring at that door

Cadge stopped to glance back at her "Jazz?"

It felt as though so her in She took a step and then paused, fight-ing the urge Whatever called to her frohtened her in a way the ghosts of old London no longer could

"What's through there?" she asked without looking at Cadge

"Through where?"

She pointed to the door

"Dunno Stairs, I guess Soe Or toilets Never knohat you're gonna find behind a door down here"

Cadge walked back to Jazz and took her hand That inti-aze froave his fingers a squeeze, and then pulled her hand away The boy eet, but he was just a boy If she'd let her hand linger in his, he o over there? Have a look?" he asked

Jazz blinked The temptation to say yes nearly over-whelo," she said