The Bartered Brides by Mercedes Lackey

Author:Mercedes Lackey [Lackey, Mercedes]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Titan Books
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

11

“We may be going about this from literally the wrong end,” Mary Watson said thoughtfully, twirling an errant curl around her finger.

Rather than 221C, they were meeting in the flat above John Watson’s surgery. He’d had patients to see to today, and the summer heat made itself felt strongly, so no one really wanted to make the trek to Baker Street—especially not when the Watson’s flat was situated in such a way that it was catching all of the breeze, such as it was. “Sultry” was a kind way to describe the heat. It made Sarah long for the school, all the green, and the huge oak trees that cast such delicious shade.

The fact that the surgery flat was not lived in much helped too. A minimum of furnishings, none of the clutter of everyday life, meant the place felt light and airy, not hot and stuffy. It even looked cool: the furnishings were all in gray and pale blue, the walls were papered in gray and white stripes, the draperies were pale blue, and the rugs were all in blues. Visually, it was like being in a snow scene, which was where Sarah wished she was.

Sarah felt she needed someplace cool where she could think. They seemed to have come to another impasse, and the heat was not helping her at all. She felt as if her thoughts were trying to swim through treacle. Fanning herself didn’t help much. But at least it sounded as if Mary had an idea.

“What do you mean?” Sarah asked.

“Well, we’ve been asking John’s Elementals about the bodies in the area of the river where they were found—which of course, is a place where they don’t like to go. But we haven’t asked the ones above the most fouled part of the river.” Mary tapped the map of London in the area between the Putney and Hammersmith Bridges. “This is about the last place where they’ll go. Then the water turns too foul for them.”

“That’s a possibility,” John replied, but he sounded doubtful. “But I don’t think we’ll learn anything.” He paused, then added reluctantly, “There’s something else I haven’t tried, and to be honest I have been trying not to do it. But I think I’ll have to summon one. I don’t think I have a choice.”

Mary put her hand to her mouth. “Oh no. Not Jenny Greenteeth—”

“I’m afraid so.” John sighed. “At least I’m not a child.”

Sarah was lost; so, obviously, was Nan. Grey shook her head. But Neville made an unhappy clacking sound and said, “Rrrr bad.”

“Who exactly is Jenny Greenteeth?” Nan wanted to know. She looked behind her at Neville. “You obviously know.”

Neville just repeated, “Bad!”

John ran his hand over his hair. “I suppose the easiest thing to say is that there are good and evil Elementals. Now, that’s oversimplifying things by a very great deal, but the point is that there are Elementals that are willing to work with humans and there are those who are not—and there are those who would be happiest if they could sink their fangs or claws into our throats and devour us.

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