Gate of Shadows by Mark Wells

Author:Mark Wells [Wells, Mark]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cambridge Tales Ltd
Published: 2021-01-15T07:00:00+00:00

Ravi thought back to that moment in All Saints Passage when he’d witnessed this formidable woman disable an attacker and dress a gunshot wound in the space of a few minutes. Though he didn’t usually socialise with his Tutees’ families, he decided that this wasn’t someone who’d take no for an answer. Though the words “first round” sounded ominous. He wondered just how many she had in mind.

The sound of the Trinity bell brought him back to the present. Glancing up at the clock behind the lodge desk, he was surprised to find that it was already six o’clock. If he was going to catch Gabrielle Dutour before supper, he needed to go now.

“Everything all right, Professor?” Bert asked.

“What? Oh, yes, fine, thank you. Have a good evening.”

“I daresay we’ll be busy with the Redboys, but nothing we can’t handle. Good night Professor.”

Ravi left the lodge and hurried across Chapel Court to Gabriele’s staircase. After climbing to the top floor, he paused on the landing to gather his breath before knocking on her door. There was no reply, so he tried again, louder this time. Still no response.

Frowning, Ravi wondered if she wasn’t back from the Cavendish yet. But when he tried the door, he found it unlocked.

“Hello? Is anyone at home?”

The room was silent. Ravi stepped inside and stared around at the tasteful apartment. Save for a faded wine stain on the carpet, it was immaculate. A far cry from the shabby confusion of his own room. Its owner, however, was nowhere to be seen.

“Gabrielle?”

Still no response, though he thought he heard a faint rattle in the distance. Moving through the apartment, he passed a small kitchenette and entered a short hallway leading to another room. Peering inside, he saw it was her study. A white desk ran along the far wall, covered with files. Next to these sat a computer with a screensaver of snow-capped mountains. This provided the only light in the otherwise darkened space.

Just then, a gust of wind fluttered a stack of papers, and Ravi heard that same rattle again, though closer now. He saw that one of the large windows facing the river was open, its blinds swaying back and forth in the breeze.

Ravi approached the opening and peered outside. He found himself looking out onto a flat roof bordered by a low parapet of brickwork. Beyond this, he could make out the boxy profile of the Cripps building through the swaying branches of a plane tree. And to the right of that lay the Master’s Lodge, its chimneys jutting up towards the blackened sky.

But it was the figure standing on the edge of the parapet that caught his eye. It stood motionless with its back to the window, the long hooded cloak flapping in the breeze as its wearer stared out over the Master’s Garden towards New Court.

Heart racing, Ravi reached inside his jacket pocket and withdrew the ruler. In doing so, his arm knocked the blind, which rattled against the window frame. The figure spun around, and he saw a pale face with huge eyes staring back at him.

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