A shoe.

The shoe was pretty ordinary, be it on the other side of a shimmering pool of vertical water that merrily morphed itself into a brick wall now and again. What was more interesting, was what the shoe was attached to. A leg. Then jeans followed up to a belt and a jumper. Someone was on the other side of the fish pond. In fact, there were several people walking up and down a street, parallel to the one where Henry stood, shopping bags stuffed under their arms.

“What the-?” Henry said.

“Cool, isn’t it,” Gabriel said.

“Yes, but-”

“Now are you impressed by magus?”

“What? How? Where is that?”

“Soho Market and those people are late night shoppers. They can't see in here and we don't see out.”

“They can't see us?”

“Well, they can't notice us, not easily at any rate. Again this is one of the 'it's complicated' things I'm afraid. Essentially, a 'field' surrounds the alleyway which makes the under-city hidden from humans. Air happily travels across the divide, as would any inanimate object, but humans’ interest in objects or the alleyway itself fades approaching the dividing line between our cities. These gateways exist all over London, connecting back to the under-city, which itself acts like a snake, weaving between them all.”

“How does it work?” Henry said.

“Magic not a good enough answer?”

Henry folded his arms across his chest.

“Maybe you should master the basics first? In fact-”

“Gabriel, is all this a trick? Part of some game? I'm guessing the drugs you gave me haven't actually worn off, have they? I'm just hallucinating, tripping on whatever chemicals are rushing through my veins, the whole time you are trying to get something from me. What is it? Even if everything you have said is true, you couldn’t keep this place a secret, even with magic-”

“Magus,” Gabriel corrected.

“Ok, ‘magus’, people would find it. If I can see though, why can't everyone else?”

“Well, that is simple. You only know because you were told by someone who already knows. The Government and Inquisition, that's the place I work for and is full of people like you, ensure that nobody talks about it. You've read all those conspiracy theories about phone tapping, scanning internet histories and messages sent between people? The idea that the government are always watching what you are up to? Truth ain't that far off. We need to make sure this keeps a secret and, through a combination of technology and magus, we manage it pretty well. Anyway, you need to shut up now. That is, unless you wanna end up dead and I don't fancy that by the way - it would cause way too much paperwork.”

- Chapter 8 -

Freak

They walked to the end of the street and around the corner onto a wider road. Henry hadn't really focused on the people down the first street, but this one was packed, as people hurried in and out of doorways and open plan shops. Others huddled around food stalls, bartering with the market sellers, who called out to passers-by as they attempted to sell their wares. The noise washed over Henry as people barged past, knocking him aside as they went about their business. Hundreds of people, working, trading and, looking further at the rooms on the upper floors, living in this secret city. They all looked so ordinary.

Still guiding Henry by his elbow, Gabriel increased their pace as they moved toward the end of the road. They passed numerous run-offs and side streets which made Henry consider again his chances of escaping. It shouldn't be difficult to lose Gabriel, running down a street and hiding himself in the crowd. Thing was, with his sense of direction being so terrible, how would he ever find his way out? He could ask someone, but then again, could he trust anyone here?

It was only when Henry truly looked at the people around him, that his doubts in the existence of magic started to extinguish. Beside him, a little boy walked along at a similar pace, swirling a stick in the air without ever touching it.