Blackfriars Bestiary 2.1

Read the full story in THE OTHER SIDE by Jack Buxton

  Nowhere is Somewhere, Sometimes

  by Bryn Fortey

  It had all happened so quickly. London, awash with unaccountable phenomena, had become almost unrecognisable. Then, before she could readjust to the changing psychic skylines, full frontal attacks had her on the run. These were no subtle digs aimed to discomfort or disable. They were after her life and she barely escaped a number of attempts before being guided to a Camden Safe House by the twin girl agents of Mister Obscure. Her direct UKXD contact, Mister Oblique, was waiting there.

  “You shouldn’t have let Mister Mo go to Hong Kong,” grumbled the old man irritably, naming her appointed bodyguard.

  Ayesha shrugged. “Even without him, I’ve survived. Anyway, he was keen to offer advice to the student leaders of the democracy movement, and there were no warning signs before he left. We’re all entitled to some sort of life outside the dictates of the United Kingdom Xenobiology Division. I take it he has been recalled?”

  “He’s flying back as we speak.” Mister Oblique wagged a finger in her direction. “You might only be a freelancer, Ayesha, an associate agent of the UKXD, but everything you do is of consequence within the umbrella of that relationship.”

  Especially, he thought but didn’t say aloud, since you have the potential to grow into previously unfulfilled magical eminence.

  “I don’t have a current assignment, so why these sudden attacks?” she wondered. “And who’s behind them? London is Ghost Central at the moment, and they all seem to be after me!”

  “Which is why I’m moving you out of the city. So I can concentrate on getting answers to those questions.”

  “Out of London!” snapped Ayesha. The capital was her home turf. “Surely that’s a bit drastic! I’d be okay hiding here in Camden for a while.”

  Mister Oblique shook his old head tiredly. “Why do you think we keep changing our Safe Houses?” he asked. “Because they become Unsafe,” he continued, answering his own question. “I want you under a cloak so your presence won’t divert attention from my investigations.”

  “But if they can find me here, they can find me anywhere. Anyway, I can look after myself, and Mister Mo is on his way back to help.”

  “Ayesha, child, the Darkness is growing, and you are its quarry. It is more than just petty revenge and hide-and-seek. Answers must be sought, and strategies adopted. As to your safety; well, there is a place…”