Mike Shevdon - Sixty-One Nails

Ascending the steps, I climbed into a room stacked with chairs and tables. A row of windows opened out onto a daylight street outside and I realised as a bus passed by below eye level that I had climbed to a level above ground. I stepped up into the room and blinked in the strong light. At the same time a hand circled around from behind me. There was a flash of something bright and I felt a sharp point press hard under my chin.

"If you so much as blink I will ram this blade up through your brain." It pressed into the underside of my chin, the point digging into my skin.

"Mmm," was about as much as I dared say, nodding was out of the question but I could hear the truth of her intent.

"Step sideways slowly," the voice commanded.

I did as she asked. It sounded like Blackbird, but I was taking no chances. So far she hadn't killed me.

"Just so you know I'm serious, if I see a glimmer of gallowfyre, a darkening of the ambient light, if a cloud even crosses the sun, I am going to shove this knife up through your head so hard it will stick out of the top, understand?"

"Mmm," I acknowledged, not really understanding but complying, the knife pressing the point into the root of my throat, under my chin.

"Step backwards slowly, one small step at a time. There's a wall behind you." I edged backwards, the knife lifting me onto tiptoe. "Turn left and face the wall."

I turned around slowly and she moved around with me until I faced the wall.

"Kneel slowly, facing the wall." I did as she demanded and as I reached an uncomfortable half-kneeling position she moved the knife so it stuck into the back of my neck under the base of my skull. Her knee pressed into my back, pushing me forward.

"Now put your arms out and spread your fingers wide against the wall. If you move a fraction from there I will kill you instantly. Do you understand?"

"Yes". I pressed my face against the wall. All my senses were telling me her words were the absolute truth. She would kill me.

"I'm going to offer you a choice. It's not much of one, but it's all you're getting. You can tell me what I want to know and I will kill you cleanly and send you back where you came from. Or you can refuse and I will bind you to this body so when it dies, you will also. You can hear the truth in my words, yes?"

"Yes," I could hear the truth in them. She was going to kill me. "But-"

The knife pressed inwards. "Now. I am going to ask my questions and then you're going to die. My question is simple. Why are you here? What did you come for?"

"Blackbird…" I had to convince her it was me.

"No!" The knife stabbed inwards and I'm sure I felt a warm dribble run down my neck. "No names, not even that one. I'm giving you nothing, understand?"

"But it's me, Rabbit. We spent the day together, yesterday. You can tell it's me." I hated the whiny quality in my voice but I was desperate. She had to believe me.

"How can you lie to me without my being able to hear it? Is this some new wraithkin gift?" Her voice had a puzzled quality, as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "How are you doing that? Tell me and I'll despatch you quickly and painlessly."

"No, please, it really is me. How can I convince you?"

"Convince me? I saw you in the alley with Fenlock. I saw the gallowfyre. I know what you are. I don't need convincing, I just need an answer." There was anger in her voice that translated into pressure in her hand. I tried to slide up the wall from a kneeling position. I needed her to believe me. I needed a distraction. I needed something.

"What's gallowfyre? You mean my glow?"

"Your what? No, enough games! Tell me and I'll finish it."

"Please! It's me. It's Rabbit. You know it's me. I can't lie to you, can I?" I pleaded with her, knowing any second she could end my existence.

"That's what I don't understand. How can you say that when I know what you are? How are you deceiving me?"

"I'm not lying! I'm not! Please listen to me." She had to listen.

"You must be lying. Tell me how." Her voice had a harsh edge to it. I knew at any moment she would push the knife home.

"Just wait a moment. Wait, please." I closed my eyes but tears still ran unbidden down my face. I didn't want to die like this, not by her hand. Why was she doing this? "Please, Blackbird, don't kill me. I'm not lying, I'm not. I can't. You know I can't."

My every nerve tensed, waiting for the searing pain I knew would accompany the knife. The waiting extended from seconds into minutes. The moment came, and passed.

I couldn't keep up that level of tension indefinitely. I hesitantly opened my eyes, still pressed against the wall.

"Blackbird?"

"Shut up!"

"There must be a way I can-"

"I said quiet! I'm trying to think."

The knife-point stayed pressed into the back of my skull and the pressure of her knee into my back increased. My knees were painfully jammed against the wall on the bare floor. It was intensely uncomfortable.

"Blackbird, can I move just a little?"

An exasperated sigh came from behind me. "It would be easier for us both if I just killed you and had done with it."

I took that as a No and kept still. It would be a shame if she killed me now just for irritating her. She hadn't killed me yet, though. There was hope.

"Answer me more questions. What did you say to offend Gramawl?"

"I didn't do anything to offend him. It was him who used his magic on me." There was a further pause. "Was that the right answer?"

"Which stone did Kareesh like best?"

"I don't know, ask her! No, wait a minute, the red one. It was dark red. It felt odd, wrong somehow."

"Tell me about your daughter. I want her full name and date of birth, where she goes to school, everything."

"You said I wasn't to tell anyone. You said I had to stay away from her and not lead anyone to her."

"I changed my mind. Tell me."

"What for? You said it was dangerous." I still wasn't exactly sure who I was dealing with. Maybe this wasn't Blackbird after all? Now that I thought about it, she didn't even act like Blackbird and telling her the details might enable whoever it was to find Alex.

"Just tell me or we end this now!"

I took a deep breath. "No. I can't tell you that. Ask me something else."

"Tell me!"

"No."

It sounded such a small word to end a life, but I wouldn't give away my daughter. I scrunched my eyes together tight and waited for the knife. Instead the pressure of the point was removed and she stopped pushing me against the wall.

"You believe me?"

"Just don't move!"

"I'd really like to sit back now, if you could just refrain from stabbing me?" I was feeling a little more confident, now the knife had been withdrawn.

"You may sit back, but keep your hands on the wall where I can see them." She still sounded angry, or maybe just scared. I kept my hands pressed onto the cold surface but sat back on my heels, sighing at the relief as I was able to take some of my weight off my knees.

"Tell me about last night," she demanded, "after I left you at the tube station. Tell me all of it and try not to leave anything out. Don't make any sudden moves. I've still got the knife."

I didn't need reminding. A sticky trickle was running down my spine.

I started with the tube ride home and told her as much as I could remember. I told her about trying to blend in with the commuters, about clearing out the flat and putting my life into three padded envelopes. When I explained about waking in the night and discovering my glow and how excited I was, she laughed, but it was hollow.

I got ahead of myself about the thing in the hall and had to go back and explain about the squeaky stair that had brought me back to wakefulness. I explained how I had sealed the door to keep the creature from entering my bedroom. When I explained about the black spots, she hissed between her teeth, but then told me to continue.