Chapter 9

The sun was just peaking out of the horizon and from behind the buildings and structures of London. Olivia set out to go help Toby for a full day's worth of work. She was once again dressed as a boy, which she knew was going to be to Toby's displeasure. She arrived at the old pie shop to find him once again painting the name of the shop above the windows. But instead of the plain-colored base paint he had used before, he had with him a golden embossing paint, so the letters would shine and show up. Now "Mrs. Lovette's Pie Shop" was clear and legible- even in the pale light of the new sunrise.

"Your not going to change the name?" Olivia asked Toby as she approached him. Toby looked down and smiled when he saw her. "No... Mrs. Lovette was a good woman, her name still deserves to be on the front of this building. And didn't I tell you you shouldn't dress like a boy anymore...?"

"You did," Olivia said, setting her bucket down at the base of the ladder, "but it's hard to do manuel labor when you're sporting a skirt."

"Ah, touche," Toby said with a playful grin. "Now, on to business. We're not going to worry about the re-shingeling, I've hired another man to do that for us. What we're going to do is focus on that little strech of ground over there next to those stairs- I want some seats out there for a French cafe type of thing; and then the inside of the main room. You think that's a good idea?"

"Yes! And I'll do windows as well," Olivia said, gesturing to her bucket of soapy water.

"Of course, of course," Toby said absentmindedly, looking over the building as if he forgot some big peice of something that needed repairing.

"So, Toby, do you think these stairs are stable enough for me to get up to that loft?" Olivia asked him. As soon as she uttered her sentance however, he turned to her, a scowl on his face. "Those stairs can rot for all I care- we're not going up there," He said, a snarl in his tone. Olivia was taken aback by his sudden display of... well, she wasn't sure what he was displaying- he had been so friendly and calm a second before! "But Toby, those great windows need to be cleaned, don't they...?"

"Forget them- we're not going up there," he said again, resigned to his decision.

"Alright... Not a problem..." Olivia said, suddenly afraid of Toby's reaction to her mentioning on the loft.

"Now, let's you and I go inside and see what should be done, alright?" He said, slowly regaining his normal tone of voice. Olivia slowly followed him into the main room of the building. What was it about the loft that made Toby so angry? And just what happened up there that could make him have such a violent displeasure with it?

The work day was long and hard- the strech of ground Toby wanted to hold the outdoor dining seats was full of dead leaves, garbage, bottles, and old cigar stubs- it took at least three hours to compleatly clear it out. Once inside, Olivia was amazed that the main room didn't have a musty smell at all. "This building hasn't been used in how long...?" Olivia asked him as she gazed around at the dusty, cobweb adorned room. "Far too long," Toby answered as he dusted some dust off of the only counter that lay in the center of the room, right in front of a fireplace and some small ovens. The place was simple and nice enough, but something inside of Olivia felt a bit different about the place; she felt as if she had been there before, but didn't remember it.

"So Olivia, before we get started, would you mind going down that hallway there," Toby said, pointing to a dark little walkway that led to som unknown place, "there's a closet there with some brooms and other things we may need to start cleaning in here. Would you go fetch them for me, please?" Olivia nodded, and made her way down the hallway. It wasn't as dark as she first imagined it to be, and she soon found the closet, and reached for the door knob. As she did, she saw a flash of light out of the corner of her eye that made her gasp. She looked farther down the hall and saw a flame, as big as a person glowing faintly. The fire again! I wonder what it is...? She thought, starting to feel her heart beating faster with excitement.

Well, well, well... if it isn't back again... The voice in her head said with a laugh in it's tone. Olivia, let's find out just what this fire is...

No! Olivia thought back, I don't like the look of it... I'm going to get Toby..

Don't you dare! The voice growled, We don't need him to help us. God knows he's done enough in the past...

Olivia's eyebrows knotted, What do you mean...?

Never you mind, the voice said. Olivia, I've protected you in the past, haven't I? I swear I will not let anything harm you- just follow the fire.

But I can't! Olivia protested, I just... I feel like I shouldn't get any closer to it!

Then let me... The voice said. Suddenly, Olivia felt her body grow stiff again, just like that night she met up with that street urchin in the alleyway. Her body glided forward, confident and strong, to the fire. As she drew closer, the fire slowly started to move farther down the hallway, and soon it turned and started to go down. The fire didn't cast any light on the walls oddly enough, so Olivia and whoever was controlling her, were following this fire blindly. The light from the main room no longer reached them, and they were plunged into darkness.

I can't see anything... Olivia thought as her body pressed on, We should turn back... Her body stopped momentarily, and she felt a grin grow on her lips. "Come now, Olivia..." the dark voice said aloud, "Your not afraid of the dark, are you...?" Just as the voice finished speaking, it took a step and started to move downward.

Stairs! There are stairs here?! Olivia thought, How did you know? Could you see?

No... The voice replied in thought, I couldn't see- but I've been down these steps many times... Suddenly, Olivia's feet landed on solid ground. The space here feels small... It's a dead end, Olivia thought.

"Not quite..." The voice said. Olivia couldn't see it, but she felt her hand reach out, and then her fingers curled around a large, cold metal... something. The one controlling her was gathering strength as if to pull, or turn it, and suddenly, a firm hand clasped the upper part of Olivia's arm and pulled her forcefully backwards. "What the hell do you think your doing?!" An angry voice called out in the darkness somewhere near her. Olivia's conscious shifted as her guardian dropped his control over her. Once he did, she felt her knees buckle, and she fell onto the stairs the angry force that had grabbed her was pulling her up, landing on her behind. "Ooh..." Olivia moaned, holding her head with her free hand. For whatever reason, she suddenly felt very dizzy in this area. "Get up, Olivia!" The angry voice growled, "Get up!" "I... I don't think I can... I can't move..." she mummbled. "Oh for the love a'...." The voice grumbled. Suddenly, she felt arms scoop her up and carry her back into the light, which peirced her eyes and made her gasp in pain.

"What did you think you were doing?!" The voice said angrily from above her.

"I... I was following the fire..." Olivia answered, covering her eyes from the light. "Can we please go somewhere that's not so bright...?" She mumbled pittifully. The person carriying her sighed and continued carriying her. Soon, he placed her on a very soft surface, and she slowly uncovered her eyes. Olivia could still hardly see since her eyes weren't adjusted to light, but she could tell that they were in a room that was full of old furniature, and she had been placed on a bed. The other furniature was lavish- the peices didn't really match, but they were fancy none the less. And the bed, which was an old, ratty cot, really stuck out like a sore thumb. "Where are we...?" Olivia said, still trying to focus on where she was.

"We're in my room," The voice answered. It still sounded frustrated, but a lot less angry now. The owner of the voice sat across from her. Slowly, she could see that it was Toby who was so angry with her. "Oh my..." Toby said, moving toward her again. He tilted her head back and looked into her irritated eyes. "Well, it looks like you got some dust in your eyes... I'll be right back..." He left the room for a moment, and then came back with a soaking wet cloth and set it over her eyes. "Lay back, Olivia. Keep your eyes closed, but not tightly- the water in the cloth will wash the dust out," he instructed. She was glad to oblige, and laid back on the bed with the cool, wet rag resting over her sore eyes.

"Now, like I asked," Toby contiuned, "What were you doing down there?"

"Like I told you," Olivia retorted, "I was following the fire."

"What fire?" Toby asked, his temper starting to flare again, "I didn't smell any smoke- I didn't feel any heat. Hell, I didn't even see a light!"

"I know... It wasn't an ordinary fire..." Olivia said, not caring that he was angry with her and possibly thinking she was out of her mind- she just wanted her eyes to stop hurting. "It isn't the first time I've seen it though..."

"Oh really?" Toby said sarcastically, "when have you seen it before?"

"Yesterday," Olivia answered simply.

"Yesterday?" Toby asked, slightly suprised by her answer.

"Yes- remember when I ran over to you with my bucket of water, ready to throw it at the ladder you were on?"

"Yes... I thought you here just a neighborhood kid trying to pull some kind of a stunt at first..." Toby said, thinking back to the day before.

"Well, I saw a fire burning at the bottom of your ladder, so I was going to put it out." Olivia sat up and took the rag off of her eyes and looked at Toby, dispite how much it hurt to. "Believe me, Toby- I would not have gone down that hallway if I hadn't seen something that needed to be identified." Toby grew silent and nodded as he let what she had just said sink it. "I believe you... But Olivia, promise me you will never go down there..."

"Toby, what is down there anyway...?" Olivia asked.

"That isn't important," Toby answered curtly. "It's just... Bad things have happened down there, and I don't want you any where near there... Please, promise me..."

"Alright..." Olivia said, sensing the sincerity and urgency in his plea, "I won't go down there. I promise."

Toby smiled at Olivia, glad that she had heeded him. "Now," he said, moving toward Olivia and replacing the cloth over her eyes and laying her back down, "I'm going to do some more work. You just let the dust get washed out of your eyes... I don't want you going blind." He and Olivia both laughed at his small joke. Olivia gladly did as she was told, and enjoyed the cold cloth on her eyes. She heard Toby's footsteps moving out of the room, and she suddenly had an idea. "Toby!" She called out. She heard his footsteps return, "Yes?" he answered.

"Would you like to have dinner with Mrs. Jenkins and I tonight...? I mean, if you want to, of course." She asked, feeling her pulse pick up pace as she asked. He was silent for a moment, and after what seemed like forever, he said, "Of course... I wouldn't mind seeing Mrs. Jenkins again... I'll walk with you when I'm done here."