20
When Toby stepped into the shallow water of the Thames, he might as well have leapt from a building. After three steps there was a moment of shock as the water became bottomless. His bearings summersaulted and, temporarily submerged, he hit a dry carpet. There, on all fours, he spluttered, with Nicko equally disorientated at his side. Harry swooped and landed surefootedly behind them.
‘What is this place?’ Toby coughed, squinting as his eyes adjusted from the morning light to a dingy interior glow.
They were in what appeared to be a tavern hallway in late evening. The scents of spices and tobacco tinged the air and the walls were lined with mahogany. Stuffed deer heads gazed down at them with glass eyes. Beneath the taxidermy was an open door. Harry ushered them through it.
‘This is
