The Progeny of Able (The Burrow of London Series Book 1) Read online

  “Get that lazy governor to bring in some tea on the way out,” he screamed as they left.

  *

  The long and sinuous journey through winding passages started out amicably enough until Shade had begun advising the group on Shadow Fox etiquette in what seemed more like commands to Mercia than advice.

  “You may have noticed that they shifted their gaze when they first met you. Shadow Foxes never look others in the eye unless they have been formally introduced as friends. To look a Shadow Fox, whom you haven't met, in the eye indicates that you intend to kill them.”

  “We know that,” Mercia replied. “Everyone knows not to look a Shadow Fox in the eye.”

  “No, you misunderstand completely. Along with everyone else! To look a Shadow Fox in the eye is the most intimate of gestures. If foxes actually tried to understand Shadow Foxes they would realize this.”

  “How do you know so much about them?” Mercia asked.

  Shade appeared to be on the verge of responding, then turned away and said, “Keep moving. We don't have much time.”

  “Sky, I don't care how much Daegal thinks we need her,” Mercia whispered. “There is no reason for her to be so rude.” Then she continued loudly, “Why don't these Shadow Foxes keep the fertile Light for themselves? Think of what it would mean for their children.”

  “You imply there is something wrong with being a Shadow Fox!” Mercia screamed in response. “Did it ever cross your mind that perhaps they have no desire to give birth to foxes of the Light?”

  After that, they passed through a variety of miserable burrows in silence until they finally came to the entrance of the Shadow Fox community.

  Mercia looked at the overgrown hole in the wall.

  “I'm not sure we will need the dynamite. The tunnel is just as likely to collapse if I yell at it loudly enough,” she mused sceptically, crossing into it.

  The cryptic name the Shadow Foxes had chosen to scrawl in chalk across the entrance seemed to be written in agreement with Mercia's assessment. “Shadowfall”.

  “First we need to get all of the Shadow Foxes out,” Scarlett ordered. “I have a location for the new entrance, and the bulk of your explosives will be for that. The rest will be for this opening but both explosions need to appear as one. Contrary to your expert opinion regarding the integrity of this tunnel, it is in fact solid bedrock and is only going to come down with some well planned effort. I'm sure you are used to just smashing and blundering, but not today. There are lives at stake here today and who knows how many in the future.”

  “Excuse me?” asked Mercia unable to restrain herself. “Who are you to say what we are capable of? Where have you been over the past twelve years that Daegal has run the Inari? I've never seen you. Safe on the surface, I should think.”

  “Mercia, calm down...,” Roe began attempting to avoid another argument.

  “Oh shut up, Sky. Just tell us the plan, Shade, so you can go back to wherever it is you came from.”

  “Shade breathed heavily and rolled her eyes. “Riverborn, can you show me that spot where you heard noises through the wall and saw the pools of blood?”

  The Shadow Fox nodded and took off down the passage.

  *

  Every time Roe placed an explosive charge either Mercia or Shade would move it and a new argument would ensue between the two. He was beginning to feel like he was being flogged by alternating guards and in between bouts he kept thinking about the possibility of seeing Samson that night.

  “Listen, Mercia, this is the best place to create the new entrance.”

  “I don't hear anything, Shade, and I'm not sure why the smell of rat blood indicates that this is the right place,” Mercia responded.

  “There is too much for it to be natural so it must be leaking through a crack, a crack which leads to a slaughterhouse in the meat district. Riverborn said he heard a conversation about dwindling supply and the need to start raising cockroaches to sell. If he heard voices it means the divide isn't very thick.”

  “It could be an echo. Echoes can travel dozens of trots. We could be blowing into a large chunk of nothing.”

  “If you have a better idea, Mercia, I think you should let us know now,” Shade hissed and leaned back, waiting for a response.

  “I thought not,” she said after a very uncomfortable pause. “So let's get this done. Sky, have you placed the rest of those charges?”

  Roe had been attempting to distract himself by sneaking a glimpse of Shade under her hooded garment. It was at this moment that his patience paid off. Her hood had fallen back during the argument and she looked at him square in the face.

  His mind went blank, his jaw opened and all he could do was stare. She had the most beautiful face he had ever seen. A beauty which was only intensified by the slight delicate scar that extended in white from the top of her head, between her eyes, down to the tip of her nose. She looked at him for a moment, then a self-conscious swing of the head hid her features behind the fabric once again.

  “Roe, she asked you a question!” Mercia yelled incredulous.

  “Um, there are three more to set.”

  “Good. Finish up, then we'll clear the burrow and rig the current entrance.” She glanced at Roe briefly before trotting back in the direction they had come.

  “Did you get a good look, Sky?” Mercia asked before turning and following after her.

  Suddenly he found himself alone in the tunnel and a wonderful wave of cradling silence fell over him. He scratched his head and yawned worried for a moment that he wouldn't have the focus of mind to confront Samson later that night.

  Was it even Samson?

  It had to be.

  In the Greater Burrow of London there was no such thing as coincidence.

  They were the same scissors.

  Was it possible that Samson had sent someone else?

  Then why the challenge and the cryptic way of declaring it.

  No, this was exactly the type of thing that Samson would do.

  A mysterious arrival and a symbolic presentation of intent.

  It was him and the spell of hope Roe had felt the night before was being replaced by a desire to show Samson exactly how he felt about being abandoned on the riverside.

  He had drifted so far into his own thoughts that when Mercia screamed, “Are you coming, Sky?” he dropped a charge from his drooling jaw and stared stunned at how close he had come to cracking the fuse and smearing his immortal self amongst the rubble.

  He quickly finished placing a few more charges, then put his ear to the stone and listened but heard nothing.

  “I hope no one is on the other side when this thing blows,” he said to the wall of stone.

  Shadow Foxes of all shapes, sizes and ages crept amongst the dark burrow, staring at them as they passed, then followed them towards the exit. Had the three of them come to this place without Fireson and Riverborn they would have most likely been stalked and killed.

  On the way they paused to briefly inspect the short chamber which contained the fertile Light. Mercia and Shade both passed into the room. Their physical presence changed when they entered. They seemed to suddenly be free of a great burden; a burden that they never realized they had been carrying. The Light pulls all foxes but is most profoundly felt by a vixen and even more so by one that is pregnant. It draws them powerfully when they are near. They retreated from the room looking and feeling more at peace. Without thinking, the two who had been arguing only moments before touched foreheads out of respect for the holy experience.

  Afterwards they were a bit more amicable with each other going so far as to help remove their heavy packs and unload the contents once they had returned to the main entrance. For a time there was no sound but that of their endeavour and Roe enjoyed the moment of peace the Light had brought. The Shadow Foxes nervously watched the Foxes of the Light get ready to destroy their home, hoping the effort would give birth to a new one.

  Having placed a considerable amount of explosive
s well inside the tunnel, Mercia guided all of the Shadow Foxes and the Inari crew back from what was bound to be an intense shock wave. They crouched behind boulders and in crevices around the bend while Shade placed the fuse in her mouth on the ground.

  She was on the verge of lighting it when Fireson stopped her paw, pulled back her armband and exposed the very simple mark that had been branded there. Two figure-eights lying on top of each other in a cross. It was the symbol of Sunniva's Womb. Mercia gasped and Fireson gave her a look which was all too easy to read.

  She considered for a moment then looked at Mercia and Roe.

  “He wants to know our burrows,” she began, “If this works we will be forever welcome in Shadowfall.”

  “And if it doesn't?” Roe asked.

  “If it doesn't,” Shade continued, “they will never let us leave this place.”

  Roe and Mercia upturned their right forelegs revealing Orva's Spear and Udela's Arch; two old oaks, with long trunks and branches intertwining to form a curve.

  Fireson, satisfied, gave a nod.

  Shade struck a match and lit the fuse.

  *

  Gremian got the news that a large community of Shadow Foxes had been killed, due to an explosion down one of the lesser burrows, as an inconsequential aside to the more important news of the day. His thoughts on the matter didn't extend beyond the time it took to relate the event to him. He was pre-occupied by the fact that his new prize fighter was taking on one last fight in the professional pits before his début at the palace. He was going to see the fight, of course, and give this Sky Fighter a quick reprimand if he got injured in any way.

  Chapter Eight

  Erlene's Rodents wasn't the largest nor the most fashionable butcher in the burrow of Gaderian's Chop, but it had a reputation for traditional flavour and a pungent stink of authenticity. Three brick arches held windows where the raw rodents could be purchased in bulk or individually as well as cooked, cured and ready to eat. Fortunately for Erlene's two oldest employees, their boss hadn't returned from the Pits the day before with the key, so they were standing outside the shop, wondering how to get in, when it exploded.

  The concussion sent the pair flying into the air and through the window of the shop across the road. Dusting off a mix of glass and mortar, they groggily found their way to the rival shop's shattered doorway and emerged only to stare at a gaping hole where their centuries-old workplace had once stood. A ripe smoke wafted from the street now covered in the smouldering remains of countless rodents. Since they were twins, and had worked at the same shop their entire lives, once one began to weep the other followed suit shortly thereafter.

  As if the devastation of their livelihood wasn't enough, as soon as the smoke began to clear a large group of anxious looking Shadow Foxes crept out of the murk and descended upon them along with three members of the Inari Gang.

  “Do you two work for Erlene?” Mercia asked.

  “Yes.”

  “What are you called?”

  “We are both called Lar,” they responded simultaneously.

  “Okay, Lar,” she said, shaking her head between the two of them, “your boss was taken yesterday by the council and the Inari have decided to buy your shop.”

  “What? Erlene was taken?” one of them said.

  “That's right,” Roe added. “She was to be put to death for insulting the Supreme Councillor, but it looks like the Master Chef at the palace couldn't make rodents like she can, even with her recipe, so she has now inherited his job. It didn't end well for the Master Chef.”

  “Have you worked here long?” Mercia asked.

  “We have fifty years of experience between the two of us.”

  “This is what is going to happen,” an impatient Shade began, before Mercia could continue. “The Inari are going to buy the shop. We don't want to lose Erlene's Rodents and given your years of experience the two of you will take over as managers. Of course this means a pay raise. What is your current rat ration?

  “Erlene only paid us ten rats per week, and that's for the two of us. What, considering our experience, it's robbery. We can still be faithful to the secret recipe.”

  “How encouraging,” Shade replied, clearly not impressed. “We will treble your earnings, which I am sure you are pleased to hear.” A slight gasp from the twins caused her to pause and raise an impatient whisker in their direction.

  “You are going to have to consolidate after we rebuild, however, since Daegal wants this new opening made into an arch for his personal use. You'll see a lot of Shadow Foxes coming and going as well as the occasional member of the Inari gang, so if you keep what you see, as well as any questions you may have, to yourself, everyone will get on nicely. Do you understand?”

  The two Lars looked at each other and breathing with a sigh of relief, spoke at the same time.

  “We will do whatever you say.”

  “Good. Take the rest of the week off and don't worry about the mess. We will sort things out.”

  They trotted off, grabbing a few rodent bits along the way, looking thoroughly pleased with the sudden and dramatic turn in the morning's events.

  Mercia and Roe watched them go, then turned to Shade and waited, feeling generally quite useless.

  The bedrock between the butcher's shop and the tunnels of Shadow Fall had only been a few tail-lengths thick and the resultant hole created by the blast fit nicely within one of the arches of the shop.

  Looking relieved, the Shadow Foxes who had come to help secure the entrance ran back inside their burrow and returned shortly with Fireson. After a quick report, they built a small fire from bits of debris in the middle of the road to the increased confusion of Mercia and Roe. Shade, however, seemed unsurprised and waited patiently until the Shadow Foxes were finished. The fire came to life quickly and cast a moving dance of shadows on the walls of the tunnel.

  Roe and Mercia began to feel nervous when another hundred Shadow Foxes joined the group from around the bend. The three of them were incredibly outnumbered and many of the Shadow Foxes had makeshift weapons.

  Fireson removed a short branding iron from a chain hung around his neck and casually thrust it into the flames. He looked at Shade and then to the Shadow Foxes around him and released a low growl before issuing a commanding grunt.

  Twenty of the Shadow Foxes instantly descended upon Shade, Roe and Mercia. For Roe, instinct immediately took over and he had four of them on the ground under his paws before he heard Shade's scream.

  “Stop! They are not going to hurt us. Let them take you. Mercia, you have to trust me.”

  Mercia, who had backed against a wall, had one of the Shadow Foxes pinned down and one of her own makeshift grenades between her jaws, slowly backed away.

  “What do you mean they are not going to hurt us? They just attacked us,” Mercia responded.

  “Look, they aren't going to hurt us...much,” she said, indicating towards Fireson, who had removed the poker, now glowing red, from the flames.

  Instantly Roe and Mercia understood what she meant and were on the verge of resuming their struggle when Fireson began to sing.

  His voice sounded like a gentle rolling thunder, drawn out, melodious, and as he sang he indicated for Shade and those Shadow Foxes who were holding her to approach.

  She lay at his paws and exposed the underside of her unmarked left front leg.

  “What are you doing?” screamed Roe. “You are going to let them brand you? Are you crazy?”

  Mercia remained silent, staring.

  “Yes, Sky, that is exactly what I am going to do. This is the first burrow ever created by the Shadow Foxes and they are offering it to us as another home. Don't you realize it is an incredible honour.” She gazed at Roe, then screamed when she saw the scepticism in his eyes. “ Yes, even Shadow Foxes are capable of knowing what honour is.”

  Shade didn't cry out when they put the hot metal to her ankle. Instead, she focused her pain into the eyes of Fireson.

  Feeling a bi
t shamed by his initial reaction, Roe followed suit trying not to think that he would wear the mark forever.

  Once Roe had finished and broken his gaze with Fireson, Mercia laughed, rolled her eyes and said, “Well at least we will have matching brands! How romantic!”

  Mercia ground her teeth and bared them at the sting but afterwards was surprised to see how beautiful the design for the burrow mark actually was.

  “This is lovely,” she remarked. “A simple paw print. Where did you have this brand made?”

  Fireson took his claw and found a space between the cobble stones where the soil was exposed and clawed muddy letters into earth, 'We found it in the burrow.'

  The Shadow Foxes left shortly afterwards stamping, out the fire, each taking a turn to touch noses to the three Inari.

  After they were gone Shade, Mercia and Roe, now of Shadowfall, compared their three new brands.

  “Not quite as illustrious as the brand you were born with Shade,” Mercia joked.

  “I suppose some might think that,” she responded. “But I think I prefer this one.”

  Without another word she quickly turned, ran down the tunnel and was gone.

  “I can't think of any reason why I would want to see her again,” Mercia said, looking at Roe.

  “No?” Roe responded. “Well, don't worry. We probably never will. Come on, let's get back to Daegal. He'll want to send a crew down here to clean up and rebuild.” As he spoke he never shifted his gaze from the departing form of Shade, even when she turned the corner out of sight.

  *

  Roe spent the rest of the day worrying about Samson, marvelling at his ridiculous new status as an honorary Shadow Fox and dreaming about the enigmatic Shade. Between the three distractions he barely responded to Daegal's questions nor to anyone else on his journey to the pits. He was delivered and dressed almost in a trance and suddenly found himself suited and armed in the centre of the professional pit wondering how he had gotten there.