by A. W. Exley
Allie groaned at the thought of tackling the shopping district. She’d hoped Eloise might forget. “Shopping?”
“Yes, shopping. You lost the bet so you owe me a whole day’s worth.” She tackled the ends of her hair with extra vigour. “And we’re taking the brood so my aunt can have some peace and quiet for the day.”
“Better have an extra coffee in the morning, then,” Allie quipped.
Friday, 23rd September.
he private airship to Edinburgh lay tethered in the field next to the school. The large air sack was made of heavy canvas, its deep cream colour offset by the dark wood of the ship hanging underneath. The sun caressed the copper railing, lighting her sides with a ring of fire. The cousins stood on the observation deck as the crew released the tie-off lines and the ship shot into the atmosphere. A dull whirr emitted from the stern when the engines started, guiding them north, to Scotland.
Duncan kept Jared company until two young women walked past. One crooked a finger and he disappeared inside, chasing after them.
Jared found himself alone on the deck, the approaching autumn chill sending passengers to seek the warmth inside. He leaned over the guardrail, watching the patchwork of verdant green sliding past far below. The rush of passing air brushed over him and he hoped it would sort out the turmoil in his mind, or lift it on the wind and carry his problems far away.
He forgot himself earlier, burying his face in Madeline’s neck. He imagined she was another, who smelt of spiced vanilla and heated sand. Then he had to extricate himself from the mistaken situation.
He finally divested himself of Madeline, although he thought he was going to need a blade to slice her off. Only the imminent departure of her London airship galvanised her into action. Airship captains were renowned for not waiting for anybody, no matter how wealthy or highly placed in society. Madeline was loath to miss her flight and delay her arrival in London, where Jared knew she would be the centre of attention.
“Allie,” he murmured her name, making the syllables a caress on the wind. His eyes unfocused, not seeing the lush scenery below as he tried to make sense of the events of the last two months. The thought of a lifetime with Madeline lay like a stone in his gut and filled him with dread. His thoughts drifted more and more to Allie. Because of his station, he was expected to marry a blueblood and his mother had his future career at court mapped out.
Despite the Scottish tradition of sons having to prove their worth, his father strictly forbade a military career since his own brother, Duncan’s father, died in service. He itched to escape the restraints of his position and don the black uniform of the Conri, the elite unit. The autumn he turned twelve his parents allowed him to join KRAC as a cadet along with every other noble lad his age. He had to undertake military training to hold his position as his father’s heir, otherwise they may as well have taught him needlepoint. His parents assumed if he played at soldiers every holiday the urge would leave his blood. Instead it heated further.
His mother made it clear she expected him to make a highly advantageous marriage. For the past twenty years, she had languished in the Scottish highlands. She saw Madeline as the means to ensure her return to the London society she missed so dearly. He knew he would never be able to take Allie home to his family’s estate, nor would she ever be acceptable to his socially conscious mother or her cohorts.
Plus she was born into a guild. A shadowy world, full of rumours and stories, or if he listened to others, a world populated by criminals with no honour. How much could he believe? How far could he trust Allie?
She’s not marked, but when they call she has to answer. Just how deep does the guild’s hold over her go?
Duncan told him to tread carefully, before they lost a friend. Though bound to Madeline, it never stopped him from enjoying other girls. She never seemed to mind, knowing he always went back to her. But this was different. Thoughts of Allie consumed him, seeping into every corner of his brain. He wondered if Madeline suspected; could that be why she was so poisonous about Allie?
He wasn’t proud of his behaviour at the dance. Allie was tightly wrapped in armour and he needed to break through to her. His tactic worked and he shattered her defences. Now she would be more vulnerable and he nearly had her. As long as she didn’t take out her anger on him with a blade again.
Pure joy stabbed through him when she told him to kiss her. It took all his control to touch her lips lightly and pull away. He stared at his palm; faint red indents remained from where he dug his fingernails deep into the flesh, trying to rein in his instinct.
He couldn’t explain how being near her raised the hairs on his body. He had his own secrets. The men who found the Stone of Coulags decades ago discovered it altered more than their pocket watches. It changed them. Years later, they discovered the changes passed to their sons and then their sons, changed them in ways kept secret amongst that tight band of men and they ensured no one else ever exposed their bare flesh to the stone.
He shook his head into the wind, seeking answers on the swirling currents. If he took the path he craved, was it fair to Allie? What future could there be for them? He knew what he wanted to do and it had nothing to do with honour or family expectations. He wanted to follow his gut for once in his life and let the consequences flow.
The Lithgow family carriage waited for the airship when it docked. With their luggage loaded, it conveyed Jared and Duncan through the streets of Edinburgh, out towards New Town.
Zeb’s family home in Eton Terrace was a huge old rambling house with grounds running down to the Water of Leith. The house façade of faded rose-coloured brick was echoed in the walled gardens, adjourning stables and carriage house. It was ideally situated, an easy half hour ride to the military base and on the edge of town for when nocturnal entertainment beckoned.
Zeb’s mother emerged from the house in a palpable state of agitation as she hurried down the wide stairs. She was tall and slender with sandy hair like her son’s, contained in a neat bun at the nape of her neck. Age only lightly touched her and showed in the laughter lines around her eyes and the slight greying at her temples.
“What is to be done?” she cried on seeing them and before they had a chance to say any word of greeting. “KRAC won’t tell me a thing except he’s deep in research and can’t be disturbed. What rubbish if they think I’m swallowing that, it’s never stopped Hamish getting a message home before. And now they have Zebidiah locked up as well.”
Lady Lithgow wrung her hands, and then remembering herself, she gave Jared and Duncan a quick kiss on the cheek. Looking somewhat sheepish at her outburst, she led them up the wide front stairs and into the house. They crossed through the cream and dark green chequered marble entranceway, to the private reception room.
“Have you seen Zeb?” Jared enquired, concerned for his friend’s wellbeing.
“Oh yes.” She breathed a slight sigh of relief. “The soldiers bring him home for dinner every night. General Galloway has some respect for social niceties, even if he won’t tell me what has happened to my Hamish.”
She swept her skirts to one side as she sat on a pale rose patterned chaise. Jared threw himself on one of the deep green sofas, glad of the distraction from his own problems. Duncan joined him, crossed his booted ankles and laced his hands behind his head in a languid stretch.
“We’ll head over to the base tomorrow, Lady Lithgow,” Jared said. “And we’ll see Zeb and find out if he has unearthed anything over the last week.”
Mentally he hoped Allie could wring some information from Le Foy, but didn’t want to worry Lady Lithgow by mentioning the underworld involvement. The fact KRAC had failed to find Lord Lithgow preyed on his mind.
Jared drifted off into his own thoughts and Duncan spoke up. “Our friends Allie and Eloise will join us later in the week. Hopefully Zeb remembered to tell you. So you will have a full house these holidays.”
“Lovely,” she said. “Zeb has never brought girls home before. It will be nice to have s
ome feminine company. Not that I ever mind seeing you handsome lads, but the conversation is quite different.”
Duncan snorted and even Jared smiled at the image. He couldn’t see Allie having a quiet cup of tea and a chat about fashion. Eloise would be a much better distraction for poor Zeb’s mother.
Lady Lithgow stood and Jared and Duncan quickly rose to their feet. “I’ll go find Matisse and tell him to expect further guests this week. I’ll also check the cook has a hearty meal ready for you boys. You must be hungry after your flight up.” She started to head out the door, but paused with her hand on the frame. “Thank you for looking out for my boy. I am grateful he has friends such as you.”
Jared nodded at the compliment.
“Come on.” He tapped Duncan once she left the room. “Let’s see if the horses arrived safely.”
Saturday, 24th September.
Straight after breakfast, they saddled the horses and rode out to the KRAC base. On the ride, Jared caught himself wishing Allie accompanied them. He regretted how they left things and wanted to talk to her, to hear her voice, and explain himself.
At the entrance to the base, two bored-looking guards staffed the front gate. They gave the cousins a familiar salute and waved the duo straight through to the grounds. They walked their mounts down the wide main road toward the heavily fortified research building. On the manicured lawn in front of the main building, a drill sergeant yelled at a rangy group of hopefuls.
Duncan drew his horse to a halt, a wistful look on his face as he watched.
The sergeant had eight recruits lined up, about to start a game of capture the flag. Jared halted next to Duncan and let the reins slip through his fingers as his horse nibbled the short grass. They knew the sergeant; he designed brutal exercises for the cadets each holiday.
“Two men in each team,” the sergeant yelled. “Hand to hand, first team to capture the flag wins the round. Last team standing wins the game and full bragging rights.”
The sergeant glanced over to where Duncan and Jared sized up the recruits with open interest. “Are you two slack jaws in or out?”
Duncan turned to plead with Jared. “We have to do this.”
“We don’t have time,” Jared said. He knew how much Duncan would want to participate, but they should check in with Zeb first.
Duncan had the expectant look of a large puppy desperate to go outside. “Oh c’mon,” he wheedled. “They want us to join in, look at them all fresh faced and unsuspecting, they’re just asking for it.”
Jared was as eager as Duncan to burn off some energy. And he hated to overlook the opportunity of a fair fight. It was a brief tussle to decide to put their mission aside for a short time and go with his gut for once, tired of always putting duty first. Zeb would be busy in the laboratory anyway and wouldn’t notice their delayed arrival.
“You’re right, it won’t take long and it would be rude to refuse the sergeant’s invitation.”
Duncan gave a whoop of joy and leapt off his horse. Jared vaulted down and they hitched the reins over a nearby rail. Both youths took off their jackets and threw them onto the grass before joining the line-up. Half the recruits looked to be of a similar age to the McLarens, the rest a few years older.
“Who wants to be first up?” the sergeant barked.
“We do,” Duncan replied. He leapt out of the line-up, practically skipping to the middle of the field.
Jared followed him out as they waited for the game to commence.
The sergeant pointed to the next two recruits in line. “You two, out you go.”
Two older men strode out, elbowing each other, confident they could easily beat the two pups before them. Proving pride comes before a fall, the older recruits were both on the ground before they knew what happened. Duncan utilised an elbow to the head and Jared took a slightly longer two blows to fell his opponent. Duncan strolled over and plucked up their opposition’s flag while the two older men lay prone on the ground.
The next two recruits were more cautious, having seen how the cousins dispatched the first couple. They still only lasted about sixty seconds longer, before they too were on the ground while a whistling Duncan took their flag.
By the time the third pair hit the ground the sergeant started to laugh out loud. Jared and Duncan displayed a lifetime of fighting each other and together. They covered one another with an innate sense of where their partner was. They virtually didn’t have to look, let alone voice, their intentions and they moved like well-oiled clockwork. They were also fit, strong, and fast with good technique, not to mention they spent every holiday since they were twelve training under the old sergeant. The other recruits didn’t stand a chance.
The sergeant waved the last two hopeful soldiers into the fray.
“Up and over?” Jared asked of Duncan.
“Aye.” His cousin knitted his fingers together and bent at the knees.
Jared took a run and planted a foot in the awaiting hands and Duncan hefted him upward like a caber. Jared somersaulted in the air, soared over the heads of the last two men and then landed on the other side. There was a grunt from one man as Duncan hit him in the kidneys, and he hit the ground with another blow to the neck.
The remaining man took a foot in the chest from Jared, who finished him with a blow as he descended to the ground. The cousins strolled over to the last flag; Duncan plucked it from the ground and held it over his head, an enormous grin plastered over his face.
Both boys puffed from the exertion. The adrenaline of the fight kicked in and released endorphins through their bodies. Duncan slapped Jared hard on the back and wore the widest grin; even Jared smiled openly for a change.
The sergeant approached. “Always a pleasure watching you work, boys.” He gave them a crisp salute. “The general asked earlier if I had seen you two, so you better report in.” He turned back to his recruits, littering the ground.
The cousins picked up their discarded jackets and then headed down the wide road leading toward the laboratory. As they approached, Jared thought how unremarkable the structure looked from the outside. The wire fence ringing the perimeter, a tiny stone guard hut and the two sentries blocking the entranceway, the only clues the building was anything other than an enormous storehouse. Only on closer inspection did you see there were no windows and the walls were constructed from enormous slabs of hewn stone. Each large block interlocked with its neighbour to make impenetrable walls. The sentries carried rifles, which they unslung as Jared and Duncan approached.
“Where do you think you’re going?” one guard asked as they halted at the gate.
“Zeb Lithgow is expecting us, we’re helping him with a project,” Jared replied.
The guards looked them up and down. One grabbed a clip board from the hut. “Names?”
“Jared and Duncan McLaren.”
The guard ran a finger down a list before looking up. “You’re on the list, you can go through.”
A few long strides down the short walkway and they pushed through the heavy metal doors into a small atrium. The doors had a mechanism that didn’t release the inner doors until the outer ones closed and vice versa. They waited as the outer doors gave a hiss and sealed themselves, and the inner doors released with a slighter higher pitch.
They exchanged looks as they entered the dim interior of the enormous building. On first entering the warehouse the interior seemed sparsely lit. They soon realised it was simply because the hanger was so vast, and so completely taken up with contraptions of every kind, that the multitude of light globes struggled to penetrate the space. They stared in wonderment at the array of contraptions and devices scattered around them.
A smaller block structure dominated one corner, with another set of mechanical doors secured by a time delay lock. Each dial contained a mechanism that triggered an hour delay before the next dial could be turned. Large waxed canvas suits hung on a wall next to the heavy door. Fabric limbs dangled, waiting to be filled. The very few allowed in the bunker ha
d to wear the protective suits and brass helmets.
Behind the thick steel doors lay the meteor known as the Stone of Coulags. Foreign governments paid or negotiated for access to the stone. Mechanisms were arrayed around the meteor to absorb the invisible emissions, which gifted metal components with sentient abilities and perpetual motion.
Zeb’s laboratory at St Matthews looked like a toy shop by comparison to the hangar. His tinkering with clockwork pets and trinkets transformed here into items of dark intent. In the main body of the hangar, numerous tables held automatons, weapons and unrecognisable twisted metal in various stages of evisceration. Strange metallic marionettes made from artificial limbs hung from the ceiling, arms and legs akimbo and catching the light like alien puppets. Every object created for one purpose: war.
At the back of the warehouse, Jared could make out the skeletons of two airships, but couldn’t ascertain if they were being stripped and cannibalised, or reassembled. He thought warehouse a far more fitting epitaph than laboratory, as this was no simple lab. The sheer scale of the work in progress made him wonder that Lord Lithgow and Zeb toiled here alone. Around them were enough projects to bury a team of scientists for decades.
As they scanned their surroundings, they kept their eyes and ears peeled for any sign of Zeb. They detected a scurrying noise from a far corner, like a rat burrowing into a nest of newspaper. Jared followed the sound, skirting around an enormous metal contraption stretching out lobster claws the size of an average man. Vacant eye orbs the size of dinner plates dominated its cow-sized hulk.
He found Zeb scratching through papers on a workbench running almost the entire short side of the warehouse. The wall behind was covered in enormous pin boards and black boards, each decorated in complicated schematics, diagrams, calculations and notes.
“Ahh,” Zeb said, peering over the top of his magnification goggles. “You finally got here.”
Duncan beamed. “We had to take care of some recruits on the way in.”
