Jekyll & Hyde Inc.

“You are exactly the kind of vicar Edward Hyde would have working for him,” said Tina.

Mr. Martin showed them a brief smile. “Needs must, when the devil has a lease on your soul.”

He opened his bible to where it was marked, and pronounced his blessing on the source of the River Fleet. His voice became louder and more forceful as he spoke the ancient words. When he was done, the trickle of water didn’t appear at all different. He closed his bible, and dropped it carelessly onto the folding stool. He seemed very tired.

“Why are you doing this?” said Daniel.

Mr. Martin looked at him with distant eyes. “They made my wife into a vampire. No warning and no reason; no sign anywhere of God’s will or his great plan . . . or at least nothing I could come to terms with. I had to hammer a stake into my wife’s heart, while she screamed and fought me, just to give her rest.”

“I’m sorry,” said Daniel.

“How could you be? You didn’t know her.” Mr. Martin gestured at the stream he’d blessed. “Drink. You’ll need its protection, where you’re going.”

Daniel and Tina looked dubiously at the muddy water, but Mr. Martin’s gaze was implacable. So they both got down on one knee, cupped some of the blessed water in their hands, pulled pretty much the same face at the smell, and then drank the filthy stuff down as fast as they could manage. When they were finished Daniel felt like doing some serious spitting, but he didn’t want to seem disrespectful. The Hydes got to their feet again, and Mr. Martin nodded slowly.

“That’s it,” he said. “We’re done. Now go and do God’s will . . . or Edward Hyde’s. And finish off as many of the bloodsucking bastards as you can.”

“What will you do now?” said Daniel.

“Wait here, and listen for the sound of the explosion,” said Mr. Martin. “And then, perhaps, I’ll get some rest at last.”

They left him standing there in the unsteady candlelight, with his bible and his thermos and what was left of his faith.

Daniel and Tina trudged steadily on through dark tunnels and deserted workings. The air was cold and getting colder, as they descended farther into the earth. The only sounds were the ones they brought with them: the scuffing of feet and the rustling of clothing. And the occasional muttered curse as they tripped over something, or kicked out at a scuttling rat.

Daniel was still convinced something else was down there with them, following at a safe distance so it could stay out of the light. He didn’t say anything to Tina. He didn’t want her thinking he was jumpy.

They passed through a number of deserted stations that no one used anymore, stepping carefully over rusting rails that hadn’t known a train since the nineteenth century. The advertising posters on the walls offered faded reminders of products no one remembered anymore, like the ghosts of business past. After a while, painted arrows started to appear on the walls, in a variety of colors.

“Could be the vampires,” said Daniel. “Saying: This way to the party.”

“Not necessarily,” said Tina. “They’re not the only things that live down here.”

“Okay . . . ” said Daniel. “What are we talking about, exactly—mole people, survivors of previous civilizations, or dark Wombles?”

“Old things,” said Tina. “From before there was a London. Sleeping away the millennia, waiting for Humanity to disappear. I did some reading on the subject for a previous mission. And learned just enough to make me just a little insecure about being here.”

“I didn’t think Hydes did nervous.”

“They do in places like this. So keep your voice down. We don’t want to wake anything.”

They kept going, until once again a tunnel opened out into a great open space. Tina’s flashlight beam leapt around, illuminating two empty platforms with long-unused rails passing between them. The sign on the wall said Fleet Harbour.

“This is where we’re supposed to be,” said Tina. “The abandoned station next to Albion Square, where the Vampire Clan will already be whooping it up.”

Daniel checked his watch. It was well past midnight. He hadn’t realized how long they’d spent down in the darkness. He looked quickly around him.

“I’m surprised they haven’t set guards here.”

“Why should they?” said Tina. “No one is supposed to know where the gathering is, unless you’ve got an invitation.”

“Written in blood?”

“Almost certainly. Vampires are such drama queens.”

“Do I get to hear the rest of the plan now?” said Daniel.

“It’s really very simple. We attach our bomb to the ceiling. This station was called Fleet Harbour because the River Fleet runs directly above. When the bomb goes off the ceiling will come down, and the blessed waters of the River will fall through. Gallons and gallons of holy water . . . more than enough to destroy all the vampires we’re going to lure here.”

“Simple enough, I suppose, if not particularly straightforward,” said Daniel. “How exactly are we going to persuade the entire Vampire Clan to follow us all the way here from the other station?”