This Deadly Engine Page 8

  I grabbed both of her hands.

  A boom sounded, followed by a series of bright flashes from the right.

  People on the airship yelled as it shuddered again.

  A figure appeared from the other side of the craft. Its form was the all-too-familiar frame of a Guardsman. He flew, free of any machine, which meant—

  “Flying elixirs,” the canon’s voice said.

  The Guardsman aimed a rifle at the gondola. The velocity enhancer on the back glowed red. He shot, and the bullet ripped into the side.

  More followed from a dozen other flying Guardsmen.

  Those inside yelled and screamed.

  I pulled Rebecca onto the roof. She hugged me tightly.

  Fires appeared on the airship’s bridge as the Guardsmen continued shooting.

  Lord Diggerty’s voice rose above the noise. He called for his men to return fire. One of the crew opened a port and aimed a rifle. Before he fired, a Guardsman crashed through the side. Two more followed into the hole. Shots sounded, and more yells followed.

  The airship drifted further away.

  More Guardsmen flew into the hole.

  “Can we not do anything?” Rebecca whispered. “Surely…”

  Guardsmen broke through the rear of the gondola. One pair carried Lady Avery, whose head bobbled. Blood soaked her dress. Another pair carried her husband, who struggled to slip out of his captors’ grasps.

  Rebecca cried out when a pair emerged with Lord Diggerty. They hesitated as if they wanted to make sure we watched. And understood.

  Duke Schaever would stop at nothing to replace his enemies with automatons.

  “Are you so surprised?” a familiar voice asked from behind. Once, I would have welcomed the sound. Now, it only meant trouble. “You lost the moment you decided to cross him, old chap.”

  Reckard.

  I turned to face my old friend and fellow thief. The anger in his eyes and the loathing in his voice only confirmed that his thoughts concerning my well-being had not changed since I took Elizabeth.

  He pointed a gun at Bishop Donnavan. “Duke Schaever will let no one stop his plans. I tried to warn you, Ash, but would you listen?” He stepped closer to the Bishop. “Everything you tried to prevent is happening anyway.”

  Two Guardsmen landed behind him. They pointed their guns at me.

  Rebecca put herself between Reckard and me. “Don’t hurt him!”

  I wanted to reach for her, to pull her back, but to do so would show concern on my part. And Reckard would use such feelings against us.

  Yet I had to do something. Reckard could not ruin the life of every person I saved just because he wanted revenge. “Take me. Leave the Bishop and the canon. They pose no threat to Duke Schaever’s interests.” Any decency that remained in him needed to be appealed to. “What can they do when they are locked within the walls of this church?”

  Reckard said, “Bishop Donnavan has been selected for replacement. Who am I to question the Duke’s reasons?”

  “You would force him into the same shell in which Lady Elizabeth suffers?”

  My old friend almost snarled. He almost stepped forward. But he took a deep breath instead. “At the moment Elizabeth found happiness, when I found someone willing to love me, you tore us apart. But you failed at that, too. In fact, I now share more commonality with her than before. I suppose I should thank you for that, old chap.” Before I asked what he meant, he pulled up the leg of his trousers.

  A black metal skeleton glinted in the fires of the airship.

  The canon within gasped as cold washed through me. Then he—

  “Not all of me, old chap.” He slapped the leg. “Only the pieces you broke when you pushed me off the balcony at the theatre. But it is enough for me to understand her better. This has drawn us closer.”

  Did nothing remain of my old friend? Had he been well and thoroughly corrupted? I asked, “You do remember that she is marrying Schaever soon?”

  “Of course. In four days, to be exact. In this very building.” He motioned to the roof. “Which is why this little matter can wait no longer. There are decorations to be placed, and preparations to be made.”

  “Take me and leave Alexander,” Bishop Donnavan said as he moved around Rebecca. “If you give me your word that no harm will come to him, then I will freely go.”

  Reckard shook his head. “What a lot of sacrificial fools speaking as if they have a choice. You are both as good as dead. And it is only a matter of time before I find the Bishop’s daughter.”

  The last statement gave me the slightest bit of hope. He did not recognize Rebecca in her canon disguise. I needed to play along to keep him distracted from the truth of what stood before him.

  Four Guardsmen landed on the roof. Heavy thuds indicated their mechanical nature.

  Reckard said, “Search the building. Find her.”

  I moved towards my old friend. “Leave her out of this.”

  The former Company thief raised his brow in surprise. “Why, Ash…do you have feelings for her? Have you cast Sheela aside so quickly and so willingly? Or did you lie to her when you professed your love? Or is the heart simply a means to an end for you?”

  I refused to look at Rebecca. Did she see the danger in loving me? Her life would be better and happier if she forgot me. “I made my feelings known to Sheela. I stand by my words.” My hands hurt from squeezing them into fists. “She is the one who tried to kill me. She is the one who refused to trust me.”

  Reckard motioned to the door leading inside the Cathedral. “I want to meet this new love of yours. I want to see the pain on your face when I rip her from your arms like you did with Elizabeth and me. You need to feel the heartache and pain before we process you.” He shrugged. “Or kill you.” He poked Bishop Donnavan in the back to make the man move. “It’s the same either way.”

  “What do you mean?” I almost didn’t want to know, yet I had to… “You kill them in order to replace them?”

  Reckard paused. He tapped on his chin. “Why yes, I believe that is what I mean, old chap. You must give the person a reason to abandon his body, and the process of keeping the body preserved in the magical stasis is much easier if it isn’t breathing and eating.”

  Bishop Donnavan cried out, for that meant Lady Donnavan was as good as dead.

  I growled and lunged for Reckard, but Guardsmen caught me. They turned me around and led me to the stairs.

  Rebecca deserved some commendation for remaining silent. She kept her head down and followed behind Reckard.

  Rage coursed through me. If I could have grabbed Reckard, I might have choked him and not hesitated to kill him. The best I managed was letting the anger fill my voice. “I will not let you hurt them.”

  My old friend watched with amusement. “You have no choice, Ash. Can you not see?”

  We proceeded down the staircase, which followed the wall. We heard the Guardsmen tearing rooms apart. Several canons protested, but their words fell on men whose work knew no reason.

  How do I get out of this mess? How do I keep Rebecca and her father safe?

  Bishop Donnavan said, “This is a house of God. Can you not treat it with honor and dignity and respect?”

  Reckard said, “Why should we treat it as you ask when it harbors known criminals? You give sanctuary to a thief and a murderer.”

  “I have never killed,” I said. “Am I a thief? Yes. A liar? Yes. But murderer?”

  Reckard turned and grabbed me by the throat, knocking Rebecca to the side in his haste. “You might as well have killed her. You forced her back into her magic stasis. For her it is the same as dying again.” He caught me staring in horror as Rebecca teetered on the edge of the stairs.

  She cried out. She tried to grab hold of anything to keep her balance. She hung in the air for a moment before gravity pulled her down. Her screams filled the stairwell.

  The Bishop reached for her. “Rebecca!”

  The Guardsmen and Reckard kept me from going to her rescue.
A gurgle escaped my throat.

  My old comrade gave me a knowing look before he released me. He jumped off the steps and fell. Except he didn’t fall per se…in fact, he accelerated as he—

  Flew!

  The bastard could fly!

  He caught Rebecca in his arms, then brought her back.

  The canon’s voice said, “Heed Pienne’s warnings. Flying elixirs make you mentally unstable. They are dangerous.”

  So a deranged man who already hated me because I tried to save him from a mechanical monstrosity now held my life in his hands? And he held Rebecca in his arms?

  He landed on the steps before me. “This is the Bishop’s daughter, old chap? And…” He looked her up and down. “…she does appear to be something more than a mere acquaintance. So you really have tossed Sheela’s heart to the side. She will be delighted when I tell her the news, I am sure.” When Rebecca tried to twist out of his arms, he held her so tight that she squealed. “Don’t deny what is so obvious by your lack of concern and the desperation filling your eyes. You have feelings for this one, old chap.”

  He brought my worst fear to life. Why did I not want Rebecca to love me? For the very reason before us. Had I not been harsh enough with her? Could I be so, now, when doing so would break her heart, but keep her alive?

  The canon said, “Do not trust Reckard.”

  “Let her go. She is no threat to anyone.” He would not listen. Yet I needed to be sure of his state of mind.

  My once fellow thief took a deep breath to savor the moment. “I have all three of the people the Duke wants in my grasp. I could take all of you to him without delay.”

  “Reckard! Don’t—” Lights flashed across my eyes after he punched me in the face. Pain filled my left cheek. I tasted blood.

  “No, Ash, I think I will.” He pulled Rebecca’s head back. “She is a pretty one, I will admit. They are always attracted to you, old chap. I confess I don’t understand why.” He smiled an unfriendly smile at Rebecca. “It would be a shame to damage such a lovely face. Hmmmm, but I wonder if I might find other uses for you?”

  Hearing him say ‘hmmm’ frightened me the most – more than his threats. The word spoken in such a tone meant he was lost. My friend – who once saved me from The Misters’ wrath, who worked with me on several assignments, who I shared many drinks with at Branagh’s, who I shared laughs with at The Misters’ expense, who was as like a brother to me as anyone had been – now spoke like Mister Important.

  “Take them all away,” Reckard said. “The Duke has need of them.” Gloating filled his voice. “For all the trouble you went through to save them, Ash, Duke Schaever still gets what he wants. Do you understand that? Of course you do. You always have. That is why you have been running like a sewer rat. That is why you hide behind an institution that wants nothing to do with you. And for all of your efforts, you still lose everything. Maybe Aimee was correct when she said you were the most pathetic of all people. Maybe that is what Sheela finally saw when you tried to kill me.”

  I didn’t try to kill you. I didn’t want you dead from the fall, only out of the way, and perhaps with some good sense and decency knocked into your head.

  He continued, “Not only did you escape with Elizabeth’s useless body, but another has been made ready. She knows her freedom again. You cannot save the Bishop and his daughter. They will undergo the machination process just like the Bishop’s wife.” He raised a single brow. “Hmmmm, but perhaps the Bishop’s daughter will provide some sport before that happens.”

  I wanted to grab Reckard, to force him to free the Donnavans. “You know I will not stop until I free Rebecca and her father. You know I will not give up, no matter the cost to myself. If you harm Rebecca Donnavan, so help me, neither Heaven nor Hell will stand between me and vengeance.”

  Save and deliver us, we humbly beseech thee, from the hands of our enemies. Abate their pride, assuage their malice, and confound their devices.

  Silence settled in the stairwell as he considered my words. He dismissed my threat with a shrug and told Rebecca, “It is for Ash’s sake I have not hurt you, and only because I want him to know I am the agent of your destruction. I want him to suffer for your sake. I want him to feel the same pain I felt when he ripped Lady Elizabeth from me.”

  The Bishop said, “Take me, sir! I am the one Duke Schaever truly wants. These other two are mere children caught in a game played by adults.”

  Reckard rolled his eyes. “Are you trying that again? When it didn’t work the first time?” He handed Rebecca to a Guardsman. “Take her and her father to Duke Schaever.”

  Though my position prevented me from stopping Reckard, I had to try something. And so I yelled. I twisted to break the Guardsmen’s grip.

  For my efforts, Reckard drove his mechanical foot into my belly. I fell to the steps, gasping for air, trying to breathe through the spasms of pain.

  Rebecca screamed while her father yelled.

  I tried to stand, but another kick by Reckard sent me rolling down the steps.

  He flew to me and grabbed the back of my head. “Look. Watch.” He motioned for the Guardsmen to proceed. “It hurts. To have those you love taken from you, and you are powerless to stop it from happening. Tell me how much this pains you, old chap.”

  Rebecca called my name. Our eyes met. Hers told of the same fear that surely filled mine. She reached for me, even as the Guardsman broke through the roof and carried her into the night, along with her dreams of using the magic for good.

  Reckard pushed my head down and floated above me. “I will take you to the Duke myself, but not before you suf—” He smashed into the wall, then crumpled to the steps.

  I looked up to see a real friend approaching. Behind him followed the Treyo Duthku who branded me into service for the Elders when they ordered me to kidnap Lady Elizabeth for them. She reached for Reckard, pressing him against the wall with her magic.

  He said, “Your friends only delay the inevitable, old chap.”

  Cavendish growled as he passed me. With his two-foot-tall stature, his full beard, and his black hair, he appeared to be a typical gnome. However, his ordinariness ended there. Unlike others of his race, he wore silver-rimmed goggles, three watches on each arm, and carried an assortment of daggers hidden within his clothing. Rather than wearing his usual shirt of a strange color and his trousers of an equally odd color, he wore his battle armor – gray, metal plates, and chain mail inter-linked in his beard. He carried a sword like he meant to kill Reckard.

  A half-dozen Guardsmen flew into the stairwell. They moved to either side of Reckard, who said, “If you harm me, then I will kill her.”

  I collected myself and stood. “Cavendish, hold your blade.” I motioned to the elf. “Let him go.”

  The gnome said, “Are you sure, Ash? We can finish him.”

  “No, not while he has Rebecca and her father.”

  Cavendish motioned to the elf.

  Reckard sneered when he flew free.

  The gnome readied his weapon. “Do you want to end this, Reckard?”

  The former Company thief looked between the elf and the gnome. He flew higher. “Your time draws near, Ash. Take this as a warning. Don’t try to leave this building. Don’t try to escape. If you do, I will kill your pretty new love interest. And I promise to make it painful. Perhaps I will give her three elixirs.”

  The canon said, “Hold your tongue, else he might make good on the threat now.”

  Reckard’s smug expression spoke of a final victory over an old and hated foe. “Do not test me, Alexander. I expect you to remain here, in your heavenly prison, until I return.”

  “Reckard…” my voice gave way to a spasm of pain.

  “How does it feel to know you failed so miserably?” He moved higher still, taunting me with his power. “The fight is over old chap. Despite the help of your friends, you still lose.” He turned and flew out the gaping hole.

  What have you done, Ash? Why do you bring destruction to anyone
who dares to love you, to care for you?

  Father understood my tainted life. He recognized early on the pain I brought to others. He blamed me for Mum’s death, and perhaps he had been right to do so. Only I had been home with her when the final seizure struck. Only I tried to save her and failed, then ran for help too late for anyone to do anything. Only I held her head in my lap while men searched for Father to tell him of his wife’s death.

  After that day, he worked me to the bones, all but dragging me out of bed in the mornings to go to the docks. He took to the drink, making himself a drunken fool in the evening and a hung-over grouch in the mornings. Nothing I did was good enough. He never praised me.

  I ran from home at fifteen and learned to live on the streets until a priest took pity on me. He showed me the path to salvation and showed me what grace meant. I embraced everything he taught, dedicated myself to books and learning, and worked my way through the offices of the Church. And the moment I stood on the verge of putting the dark days of my childhood to rest forever, I embraced even darker ones after my divorce.

  I am a bloody fool.

  Chapter 5

  I sat in the sanctuary. My ribs ached, my back ached, and my head pounded in unison with my heart. Cold pressed in from every side. The figures in the stained-glass windows stood as a great cloud of witnesses in judgment over my failures.

  Lady Avery had been correct when she suspected Lady Donnavan’s performance in the lane. Reckard used her as a diversion while he scouted the Cathedral for his attack.

  Why did I ever think, believe, or hope that I could escape from Campden? Why make Bishop Donnavan a promise with barely a thought as to its consequences?

  Keep Rebecca safe? Except for the part where she professed her love, it sounded so simple and so straight forward. Yet, like everything else that involved me, it ended in disaster.

  Why? Did life curse me? Why could I not live the simple, quiet life of a village priest?