━━ CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR/ body
episode five, part two

Once DEPRAC came and dredged the river and pulled the body up out of the water, Demi didn't return to the canal bank. The thought of just being near it made her feel a bit sick and her whole body still ached dully from the injuries. Lockwood understood and allowed her to sit near one of the graves until they were done talking with Barnes.

She had tried to ignore how sick seeing that body had made her feel. She tried to ignore the dull pain but she just couldn't. So, she grabbed two painkillers from the pack in her pocket and swallowed them dry, praying that they would make her feel good enough to get through the rest of the day.

But she didn't miss the looks that she got from the rest of Kipps' and Chase's crew when they saw her sat alone. Chase and Erin had gone over to the riverbank and were talking to Barnes. Demi couldn't face it and she didn't care what they were thinking. She kept her gaze firmly ahead of her, trying to work out what she was going to do now.

Part of her wanted to go home but the bigger part of her knew that she couldn't go home. This was important and she needed to be there for Lockwood and Lucy. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she buried her face in her hands. The bruises on her back had healed quite nicely but it was her wrist that was bothering her now. It would make it harder to use her rapier but she had to suck it up. She had faced worse.

"Dem, you ready to go?" Lockwood's voice startled the brunette. Her head shot up and she nodded, pushing a smile onto her face. She was in fact, not ready to go but there was nothing else she could think to say. She didn't want to sit at Portland Row, alone, when she could have been helping the team so he helped her to her feet and they headed out.

The conversation was few and far between as they headed down the canals, away from the cemetery. Lockwood was walking with confidence and by the time they had gotten into the more populated area of the canal, he finally was ready to speak.

"Fittes will go wide. They'll round up every relic man until they find something," He began as he glanced between the three. Demi nodded. That's what Fittes was like. They were efficient even if it was detrimental to the case, "We need to move faster. Smarter. George." The brunette turned down to the boy.

But he didn't have to finish because George let out a mildly defeated, "Archives, I know." Demi then began to shuffle from where she had been between Lucy and Lockwood towards George but Lockwood grabbed her hand.

"I can go with him," Demi said as she looked up at him. Lockwood shook his head.

"I need you with me," He insisted and she almost didn't believe that. She opened her mouth to try and argue but he merely shook his head, "No time to explain. Come on." He let go of her hand and Demi glanced back at Lucy who seemed to just shrug. There was no explanation for Lockwood's odd behaviour so they didn't bother trying to, "George, we'll meet you at the house at midnight for an epic breakfast." That usually bravado has seeped back into Lockwood's voice as he stepped back from the boy.

The quartet than broke off and the trio of Lockwood, Lucy and Demi headed out and up the stairs into London. Lucy began to ask about Danny - the relic man that Lockwood had known - and if he was okay. Demi knew that her words were making Lockwood clam up but he seemed to be easily dismissing Lucy, distracting her with what they were doing.

And he mentioned a friend who works on the river which only meant one person. Flo Bones. Demi couldn't help but smile. She had met Flo Bones on two occasions during her time with Lockwood. They had happened to run into the one and only relic woman by complete accident while they were working a case near the river. And the other time, not long after Demi joined the Agency, she had found Flo and Lockwood talking in the kitchen downstairs. It was about a case that Demi had long forgotten.

But Demi remembered Flo as being a shining light. Odd but charming despite that. Demi was glad to be seeing her again even if it was for less than ideal reasons.

The Thames were never a place Demi chose to be at night but it was the easiest place to find Flo. Lucy seemed just as uneasy but while Lockwood and Demi continued walking, heading towards the woman. Lucy had come to a stop, hearing something along the banks. Demi could vaguely hear it too but the Thames was full of lost souls. Demi tried to ignore it, tried to ignore the bad taste it left in her mouth and the anxiety that it brought in her chest.

She preferred to focus on the boy that was stood beside her but that became hard when Lucy was suddenly screaming for both of them to help her because of a cold maiden. Demi yanked her rapier from its holder and sprinted towards Lucy, ready to swipe the Cold Madein away but then it vanished before even hitting Lucy.

Demi didn't question it, shoving her rapier into her holder and helping Lucy clamber to her feet as Lockwood looked around, confusion written across his face.

"What happened?" Lucy asked softly and Demi turned around just as Flo Bones spoke.
"I did." It was the familiar tones of the older girl. She had a certain way about her that made Demi feel oddly trusting despite the fact that she was a relic woman. They were usually scum but Flo had always been nothing but kind, "Evening, Locky," Flo said with a grin spreading across her face. Lockwood shared that grin.

But the happy feelings didn't last long because despite everything and despite the warning that Lockwood had given Lucy to just be nice, she couldn't help herself. Demi had half a mind to slap Lucy as she continued to slander Flo's choice of occupation. They were the only person that could help us. The only person that Lockwood knew in that world and so, Demi was glad when Lockwood finally used his connections for something good.

They both seemed to share that same look of despair at the mention of Danny and Demi didn't know what to say. She was finding this entire night a little too much and she wasn't entirely sure why Lockwood had wanted her there. There was nothing that required her skills yet and it just made her feel worse.

Being so near that Source had made the bruise on her wrist hurt more, somehow. It was almost like Bickerstaff had weakened her which made it easier for visitors to psychically effect her. Demi wasn't entirely sure but as Flo began to lead them to a restaurant - to talk - Lockwood could tell that something was wrong.

So, he grabbed her hand, checking on her. It was a short, quiet conversation and Demi insisted that everything was fine. She just needed to get away from the Thames. Lockwood understood and he squeezed her hand before they continued down the streets. When they came up to the boat restaurant, Demi decided to sit outside.

She knew that everything that was going on was important, it was important to the stupid bet and the case that they had been assigned but she didn't have the heart to care. All she wanted was to be in the nice, warm Archives or in Lockwood's bed. The biting cold of London was making her feel sick and the little food she had eaten that day was threatening to hurl up.

Demi wasn't entirely sure how long that she had been sat outside of the restaurant but eventually, Lockwood and Lucy emerged and there was something in Lockwood's eyes. There was mischief, more so than usual. He knew they were about to do something dangerous but he wanted to do it anyway.

"You feel better, Dem?" Lockwood asked as he looked down at the brunette. She nodded her head and he helped her get to his feet, "Good, because I'm gonna need you at full strength," He informed. Demi nodded her head and once she was on her feet, she pushed her hands into her jacket and they began walking.

The pair quickly filled Demi in on the situation that Flo had laid out for them. Danny had been working with a man named Jack Carver who was likely the one that abandoned Danny to the mercy of the mirror. Lockwood had left Jack Carver a note, hoping that it would bring him to Portland Row. But, just to be safe, they were heading somewhere else.

Lockwood had conveniently left out where until they were practically around the corner and it was Lucy's constant questioning about whether they were going to make it home before midnight that led both her and Demi to the conclusion that they were about to go to Winkman's place. It was a death wish and based on what Lockwood had said Flo had said, it wasn't exactly going to be the easiest place to break into.

Demi understood why Lockwood needed her now. He needed her to tell him when she felt the mirror and that made her want to run away. That mirror was bad news and it was the reason her arm was bruised but that almost meant Demi would be able to sense it. She wished Lockwood would have said but he hadn't.

"This is suicide," Demi said as they continued down the street. Lockwood scoffed.

"That mirror is lethal. Who knows whose hands it could end up in tomorrow? Plus, it's easier to break in and steal things at night. And it's on our way." The calmness that had taken over Lockwood's voice was slightly worrying. She knew that he was always like this, overly calm in situations that should have worried him but this was not what Demi wanted. They were about to walk into a death-trap and he was okay with it.

This is exactly what Demi had told him not to do and so she stopped just beside Lucy. A frown spread across her face but not for the same reason as Lucy.

"Flo said they'd kill us. You heard her," Lucy said as Lockwood came to a stop a few steps in front of the girls. His gaze had landed on them both and the guilt twisted in his gut when he saw the way Demi's face had morphed into somewhere between sadness and anger. Everything she had said to him... it hadn't mattered one bit.

"Yeah, but Flo's a worrier," Lockwood insisted, as if that made this any less stupid. He then added, "I'm not worried. Are you?" He asked. Demi stared at him for a long moment before she sighed. The trio began to walk again and it wasn't long before they had arrived at Winkman's. Demi had ignored when Lockwood tried to grab her side. She was only here because she didn't want to be at home, wondering if he was dead or not.

At least if they walked into the jaws of death together, they would die together. It was a morbid thought but it was all that Demi could think about as she watched Lockwood pick the lock of Winkman's door. They had snuck down the side of the building and Demi could already hear the amount of psychical activity inside. It was jarring and there were so many voices screaming out at her. She wasn't even touching anything yet.

The door quietly opened and the trio stepped inside and the nausea hit Demi in a wave. Usually, she would be able to tune out Sources until she wanted to hear them or understand them but right now, it felt impossible. She felt nausea, the world spinning slightly beneath her feet as she tried to focus on the two people in front of her. It didn't provide much comfort because as she stepped through the storage unit, more voices began to cloud her mind.

Lucy's words, commenting on how awful the storage locker felt, morphed with some distant desperate voices of a lost soul. Demi was trying desperately to filter it out but it was getting harder and harder the deeper that they walked through the lock-up.

"Can you hear the mirror?" Lockwood asked, his voice had softened significantly. Despite the clatter of blades, the neighing of horses, the desperate pleas and the occasional overwhelming screams, his voice still stood out among the mess. Demi was glad of that at least but the closer they got towards the far end of the lock-up, the screaming became more consistent.

The conversation between Lockwood and Lucy was drowned out by a cacophony of noises as Demi quickly found herself overwhelmed. She took a step back from the pair but neither of them seemed to notice, distracted by something. And then Demi took another step back, she couldn't do this.

"Hide!" Lockwood suddenly said, his face in front of hers and she rushed away. While Lucy seemed to hide under a sheet near the entrance, Demi found herself drawn away from the pair and into the lock-up. There was something in there and she dropped behind a shelf, hidden from sight, listening for whatever it was.

It was laughter. A soft laughter that she thought she recognised but then the laughter turned dark and morphed to screams. Demi wasn't sure how long she was mesmerised by the noise, listening to it morph over and over in repeated noises but suddenly she snapped back to reality and she wasn't at Winkman's at all. She was at Portland Row with a ring in her palm. Another ring.

Her gaze refocused on it, taking it in, in the dull moonlight and she recognised it. She just couldn't remember why. The silver band and the dark gemstone that was pressed into the centre felt so familiar to her.

But before she could think too much or question it further, the door of 35 Portland Row opened and Demi looked up. George was standing there but he wasn't alone. No, Erin Hampton was standing by his side and Demi blinked up at them, dazed.

RUBY'S NOTES

- something i forgot to mention last time but i have basically stole the new chapter layout from the loml (kai) bc honestly her books look so aesthetic and i have no other excuse (sorry kai, ily)

- okay and i know this chapter is a lot of skirting over the episode and well i have two sort of excuses for the (a) being that this bit is important to the overall plot but doesn't add much to demi's plots and (b) i really could not be bothered dealing with lucy in this episode bc she annoys the fuck outta me

- i hope everything comes across well enough, there definitely needs to be some clarity that will come when i do my editing whenever i finish writing this fic!!

- also we have the return of the loml erin hampton so i hope u r all excited for that hehe

- lastly, i hope you enjoyed and thank u all for reading <333