The moment I stepped outside, I realized everything had changed. It wasn’t raining anymore, but the sky glowered, ominously gray, and even in this inner courtyard I could smell magic everywhere, mixed in with the dank and tidal scent of the Thames itself. The river’s everyday melodies of mischief and exuberance were now a mere froth above deeper and stronger and more malevolent tunes. Some of this music I recognized as being the river’s own, or songs I’d heard from the sea—from currents that pulled unwary swimmers down, from depths that kept tight hold of whatever they found. But there were new songs here as well—strange and opaque melodies that I could not even begin to understand.
Part of the difficulty, of course, was that I couldn’t hear them properly. The whole palace was in an uproar, and there were too many competing sounds. Trumpets called men to order. Guards bellowed. Everywhere people were calling out in panic and commiseration, lugging sacks and baskets with them.
Skirting past them, I went down to the guardrooms to find someone to go with me to Audelin House. I was dismayed to find the place empty. All I could do was leave a brief note to let Knollys and my men know where I was going, but I couldn’t be certain they would get it. Had they too been told that I was already with the King? Had they gone there to meet me? Or were they out helping with the evacuation? I didn’t know, and I couldn’t spare the time to find out. If I wanted to make good on my promise to Norrie, I’d be better off going straight to Gabriel—provided he hadn’t left yet.
Like Nat, Gabriel had rooms away from the river, so he’d stayed put during yesterday’s upheavals. When I reached his rooms, his door stood open. Inside, Gabriel was handing two books to his agitated valet.
“My lord, the time is growing short,” the valet pleaded.
“I don’t care, Quittle. We can’t leave these books behind. You’ll have to—” Seeing me, Gabriel broke off. “Chantress, I thought you’d gone already.”
“No.” Like Quittle, I was worried about the time, so I didn’t stop to explain myself but merely touched my iron bracelet to his hand. “I need to go to Audelin House. Will you come with me?”
“Now?”
“Yes.”
He didn’t hesitate. “Of course.” He turned to Quittle, who was wedging the desired books into a bulging bag. “So you can get them in? Excellent. Take all the bags to Cornhill, and I shall meet you there later.”
“Cornhill?” I repeated.
“Yes, we’re all going there, the whole Council,” Gabriel said. “Didn’t you hear? The King is assembling us in one of the Crown properties there.”
“I’m afraid the message missed me.”
“You and plenty of others, I expect. Whitehall’s a nest of confusion this morning.”
I nodded. Cornhill made sense as a destination, though. It was the highest point within the London city walls, a district favored by goldsmiths and bankers.
“Never mind. I’ll take you up there after we’ve been to Audelin House.” Gabriel donned his overcoat and ushered me out the door. “Let’s go—and on the way, perhaps you could explain why you have such a pressing need to see the place?”
I did explain, as briefly and quietly as I could. Not that there was much danger of anyone overhearing. This part of the palace had emptied out already, and the few people we saw on the staircases and in the galleries were in too much of a hurry to eavesdrop.
“Well, I can see why you have to go,” Gabriel said when I’d finished. “But if that fails, I think you ought to look again at alchemy. Anyway, I’m glad you came to find me.”
Gabriel knew a shortcut to the stable yards, where a temporary causeway linked Whitehall to the higher ground near Charing Cross. The small crowd there was too anxious to pay any attention to us, but once we were safely across, Gabriel drew me aside. “From now on, you’d better keep your hood up and your face down.”
I looked at him, puzzled. “Why?”
“Haven’t you heard? There are broadsides all over London blaming you for this. People don’t know whether to pray to you or burn you.”
“Burn me?”
“There’s been some ugly talk like that, yes. Not from most people, of course, but I’d just as soon we didn’t attract attention.” He surveyed me. “You’ve got some kind of a wrap on under that cloak, haven’t you? Maybe you could try pulling it up