Gaslit Revolution

by Jason Gilbert

  “Besides, I’d be a fucking lousy father.”

  Tabitha squeezed his hand.

  “I can’t think of a better father,” she said. “Besides, it’s not like she won’t have two people watching her all the time.”

  “Her?”

  Tabitha pointed at her head.

  “Vision,” she said. “Same way I know I’m pregnant.”

  Something clicked in Kane’s mind, something Tabitha had just said. He stood, helped her to her feet.

  “I need to talk to Sandra. C’mon.”

  They made their way across the station towards the ticket booth. Chris was standing guard. He looked at Kane and backed away slightly, looking down as he went. Kane went up to him, breathed out. He had to say something to the kid.

  “About earlier,” he said. “I’m sorry. I don’t have an excuse. And I won’t try to make one up.”

  Chris nodded, looking back up at him.

  “I get it,” the newsie said, offering his hand. “I would’ve done the same thing.”

  Kane laughed, gripped Chris’s hand and shook it.

  “Good to know. I need to talk to Sandra.”

  “Go ahead,” Chris said, motioning to the booth. “She won’t talk to anyone else. Hasn’t said a word.”

  Kane nodded and approached the booth, Tabitha by his side. Sandra sat on a stool behind the desk, her face red and eyes swollen from crying. She looked at them, shook her head.

  “Two for departure?” she said, her tone bitter. She scowled at Tabitha. “And you had to bring her?”

  “I need to ask you some questions about the Seeker,” Kane said, pulling the device from his pocket. “Mostly, I need to know who gave it to you.”

  “I’ll tell you,” Sandra said. She nudged her chin at Tabitha. “Not her.”

  Kane looked at Tabitha.

  “It’s okay,” she said. “I’ll go see if I can help with the wounded. We’ve almost got them all settled.” She looked at Sandra and smiled sweetly. “So nice to see you!” She turned and walked off.

  “What’s your issue with her?” Kane said.

  Sandra stood, leaned close to the glass.

  “It was supposed to be us,” she said. Her lip trembled, her eyes wet again. “It was supposed to be you and me.”

  Kane blinked. He’d known Sandra liked him, but he’d also figured that it was an unspoken agreement that it wasn’t a reality.

  “Why would it ever have been you and me?” he asked.

  “You feel nothing?” Sandra asked. “Nothing at all, Kane?”

  “You’re my friend, Sandra,” Kane said. “Nothing more.”

  “Right,” Sandra said, her voice rich with bitterness. “But sweet, little Mad Tabitha. There’s a catch.” She looked at him, her eyes staring deep into his. “I’d have given it all up for you. All of it.”

  “So that’s why you took this Seeker?” Kane said, holding the thing up.

  “Part of it,” Sandra said. “Mostly to protect Miss Antonia and the girls. They said if I worked with them, they’d make sure we got out safely.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “And they promised not to hurt you.”

  “I seriously doubt you’re the reason why they won’t kill me,” Kane said. He dangled the Seeker from its chain. “Who gave it to you?”

  “Danwood,” she said. “While you were in the South. He said he could offer protection if I kept it with me at all times.”

  “Here’s what I don’t understand,” Kane said as he lowered the Seeker. “This is used to track spells. Someone casts within a certain range, and it points out where to go.”

  Sandra shrugged.

  “I didn’t know that. I don’t have any reason to use it for that. He just said that he’d give the house police protection if I kept it with me.” She shook her head. “It’s just a compass. At least, that’s what I thought.”

  Kane stood back, looking at the Seeker. Why would Danwood want her to keep it with her? It didn’t make sense.

  Something stirred in the glass face on the device. Kane looked closer, tried to make out what was happening. Movement again. Not the hands pointing in a direction. Not the gears in the device. A shape, almost like a shadow. He reached in his pocket and activated his amulet.

  “Aspectu aethereo.”

  His vision went to black and white, the Seeker glowing brilliantly in his hand as he stared at it again. The movement was clearer, defined. A shape. A face.

  William Gentry smiled up at Kane from the Seeker. It went dark as something rumbled from above, the sound of boots and guns being made ready faint in Kane’s hearing, growing louder with each passing second. Orders being shouted from the staircase entrance that led up to the New Chicago streets.

  Chapter Seventeen

  He backed away from the ticket booth, wiping the rune from his amulet as he looked at Sandra. She gave him a curious look.

  “What? What is it?”

  “Kane!” Tabitha put her hand on his shoulder. He turned to her, saw her eyes had turned completely white. “They’re coming!”

  Kane looked around the area. Still too many wounded. People limped, waiting for their turn for healing. Young children held close to their mothers, the older children doing what they could to help the adults.

  Casualties. All of them would be casualties.

  Kane looked at Tabitha as her eye went back to normal.

  “We’ve got to try to keep them out of here,” he said.

  She nodded.

  “I’ve got my bag. Our Grimoires. I’ll look in mine and see if I can find something.”

  Kane shook his head, moving past her, motioning for her to follow him as he made his way towards where Hoyle was.

  “No time. We’ve got to act now.” He stopped as Hoyle looked up at him. Wilhelmina was the one healing him, her hands out over his leg where a thick green moss had grown. “How’s the leg?”

  Hoyle nodded.

  “Better. Hurts, but I can use it.”

  “You’re gonna need it. We’ve got company. Find every able man, Magician or not, and get ready.”

  “Who?”

  “The Special Forces. We can’t let them get in here.”

  Wil’s eyes widened as she pulled her hands away. The moss receded into Hoyle’s leg, the spot glowing green.

  “That’s as good as it gets, soldier boy,” she said as she looked up at Kane. “You got that hearin’. You hear my Lexi?”

  “No, but I’m not ruling out anything,” he said. “Rally the Magicians and get them to the staircase. We don’t have much time.”

  Wil nodded, stood, and went to a nearby group. Kane looked at Hoyle.

  “Get any able man to the stairs. They’ll be backup for the Magicians.”

  “Roger that,” Hoyle said with a salute.

  Kane turned to look at the staircase, try to listen for how close Chesterfield and his men were. Bootfalls. Armor. Guns at the ready. Take Shepherd. Kill the rest.

  They were close.

  Kane made for the staircase, Tabitha falling into step with him, shouldering the large satchel with their Grimoires as they went. Chris approached, matched his pace.

  “I just talked to Wil,” he said. “Are you fucking crazy?!”

  “Nope,” Kane said, not looking at him.

  “I am!” Tabitha said cheerily. “I hope that helps!”

  “You’re asking a bunch of people who aren’t trained for combat to walk into war,” Chris said, ignoring her. “They barely know how to defend themselves!”

  “Your group did a decent job at the conference the other day,” Kane said. “And I’m not marching them into combat. Combat is marching to them. We don’t have a choice.” He reached the steps, took them two at a time as he focused his hearing again. The bootfalls were coming. Stairs. They were coming.

  Kane turned as a crowd formed at the bottom of the steps. Several homeless and neighbors Kane looked up at him. Kane recognized a few of them, having seen them around Hidden Valley in the years he’d lived there. S
ome had their hands glowing, ready for a fight. Others held their amulets A few men were armed with guns they’d taken off of fallen Special Forces and Templars. Some had found planks of wood or scrap rebar to use as a bludgeon.

  All of them wore various expressions of panic and fear.

  Kane felt his heart racing.

  Say something to them, white boy, Wil’s voice echoed in Kane’s mind. They lookin’ to you.

  “If you’re willing to fight, follow me,” Kane said. “If you’re not, I don’t blame you. And I don’t hold it against you.”

  The movement in the tunnel stopped. Kane looked over his shoulder. He listened. Rustling. Breathing. They were close. Maybe a hundred yards away. A muffled voice came from the darkness, echoed throughout the station. He made his way up the steps, heard Tabitha catch up to him, heard her mutter her Ghostly Frost spell. He activated his amulet, cast his Ethereal Fire. He felt the heat in his hands as Tabitha moved up to his right.

  “I’d rather you not do this,” Kane said. “It’s too dangerous. You’re carrying our child.”

  Tabitha looked at him.

  “I’m pregnant, Kane. Not made of lace. Besides, you can’t stop me.”

  Something moved to his left. He turned and saw Wil walking next to him. She glanced at him and grinned.

  “You think I’m gonna let you have all the fun, Kane Shepherd?” she said. “Gonna kill me some soldier-boys ‘til my Lexi turn back up.”

  Kane heard shuffling behind him, murmuring in several languages, guns made ready to fire. He glanced over his shoulder, saw the full contingency of men and women behind him. Hoyle nodded from the front of the group.

  “Let’s do this,” he said.

  The tunnel grew darker as they went, the gas sconces lining the walls snuffing out. Kane looked around, even Tabitha and Wil becoming harder to see in the shadows. He stopped, holding his arms out slightly to indicate his companions to hold up. He stared into the sea of black.

  “Okay, Chesterfield, enough with the dramatics,” he said. “Show yourself.”

  The gaslights along the walls of the tunnel came on in quick succession, filled the area with blue. At least twenty troops had their guns aimed. Kane kept his stare on the platoon of Special Forces in front of him, Chesterfield standing at the forefront.

  Lexi at his side.

  Wil growled.

  “Let her go, you piece o–”

  “Careful,” Chesterfield said, cutting her off. He held one hand out over Lexi, his other hand clamped on the girl’s shoulder. Her face was tear streaked, her eyes wide with terror. “A small child drains quickly. She’ll be dust before you take a step.”

  Wil’s possum wandered out from under her dress and hissed at Chesterfield. Kane took a step forward, motioned for Tabitha and Wil to stay put.

  “Kidnapping a little girl?” he said, putting some disdain in his voice. “That’s what we’ve come to?”

  “It got your attention,” Chesterfield said. “For all intents and purposes, she’s done her job.” He squeezed her shoulder until she winced and cried out in pain. “Since she’s also a Magician under that creature you brought back from the Confederacy, I have every right to terminate her.”

  “Yeah, look at you,” Kane said. “Hiding behind a little girl like a true hero of the Oligarchy. You have no proof that she can use magic.”

  Chesterfield breathed deep in the mask on his face. Lexi winced again, the General’s fingers relaxed slightly on her shoulder.

  “Watch your tone, Shepherd,” he said. “And know when you’re beaten.”

  “Why the airships?” Kane asked. “Why the sudden raid on Hidden Valley? Just to look for me?”

  Chesterfield laughed. “I see you don’t read the papers. Hidden Valley harbors the Magician threat in New Chicago. We couldn’t chance any of them escaping to harm innocent people in the city. We had to make sure all routes, land and sky, were blocked.”

  “Including this one,” Kane said.

  “What better way to get every Magician in the city into one spot? Take them all out in one move?”

  “I’d think you’d be a little more subtle.”

  Chesterfield nodded. “People are terrified of the Magicians invading New Chicago. They needed to see that the situation is being handled.”

  “And what about the innocent people? How many innocent civilians did your Hunters take out as Magicians? Does that matter? Think the people will have an opinion about that?”

  Chesterfield shrugged. “War has casualties.”

  Kane heard something behind him. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Sandra approaching. She looked at him as she passed by, then turned her gaze away, her expression heavy with guilt.

  “It could’ve been us, Kane,” she said as she kept walking. She approached Chesterfield and held out the Seeker. “I did my part. I led you here. I want passage out for me and the girls before you do it.”

  “Do what?” Tabitha asked.

  Chesterfield turned his masked gaze to her.

  “It’s not always water that falls from the sky.”

  It dawned on Kane.

  “You’re going to bomb us?”

  “As soon as we’re out,” Sandra said, still looking at Chesterfield. “I need help with Antonia. We can’t carry her. Some of the girls are too weak and injured.”

  Chesterfield stared at her, unmoving. Sandra blinked, held her ground.

  “Did you hear me?” she said.

  Chesterfield nodded to her. No. At her. Kane sucked in a breath as two men stepped forward and grabbed Sandra by the arms. She struggled against them. Kane stepped forward, but Chesterfield jerked Lexi close to him, causing the girl to cry out. Tabitha grabbed Kane by the arm. Wil shouted at Chesterfield, her body shaking with fury.

  “I’ll send your soul straight to hell, you harm my sweet baby!”

  “Then everyone needs to calm down,” Chesterfield said. “I don’t want to harm her.” He looked at Sandra. “You’ve done well.”

  “You promised,” Sandra snapped back. “You promised you’d let us go!”

  “I’ve changed my mind,” Chesterfield said. He reached around behind him and brought forward a revolver. It wasn’t large, a .22, but a Blood Priest wouldn’t need a massive firearm anyway. Kane looked at the rest of Chesterfield’s men. They weren’t just carrying rifles and blunderbusses.

  Tommy Guns. They had Tommy Guns.

  “You aren’t going to bomb Hidden Valley,” Kane said. “You had no intention of bombing us. You’re going to do it quiet. Make us all just disappear.”

  “You’re smarter than Commissioner Gentry gives you credit for,” Chesterfield said, his tone wry and dripping with disdain. “Of course, no one will be able to enter this station. We had to block the entrance off due to a collapse.”

  “What about us?!” Sandra cried out. “What about our deal?!”

  Chesterfield pressed the barrel of the revolver against her forehead.

  “The deal is off.”

  The report was loud in the tunnel. Tabitha screamed, buried her face in Kane’s shoulder. He blinked, the image of the back of Sandra’s head blowing out, brain matter, blood, and bone spattering against the tunnel wall as her lifeless body fell to the ground.

  Sandra. She’d cared about him. She’d cared more about Antonia. She’d died trying to get her sisters and Antonia to safety.

  She was just trying to protect her own, Kane thought.

  “She done made a deal with a devil,” Wil said, spitting out the last word.

  “Chesterfield, stop!” Kane shouted. “This is insane!”

  Chesterfield pressed the gun to Lexi’s head as he shouted back at Kane, his voice booming in the tunnel, a canned roar.

  “This. Is. WAR!!”

  Chesterfield’s battalion took aim, the sound of a dozen Tommy Guns being readied filling the tunnel. Guns and magic blasts were made ready behind Kane.

  Shit. This won’t end well.

  Kane held his hand out, taking a
step forward. He wiped the amulet with his free hand. The fiery glow disappeared.

  “Whoa, stop,” he said. “Okay. Look, I’m unarmed. Stop.”

  “I propose a trade,” Chesterfield said. “You for the girl.”

  “I’ll set the terms,” Kane said, keeping his expression hard. He lowered his hand and stood tall. “I don’t know what Gentry wants from me, but it’s gotta be important enough for you not to kill me where I stand. You hurt that little girl, this place goes to shit. And you’ll never kill these people without catching me in the crossfire.”

  Chesterfield nodded, motioned to his men to lower their guns.

  “I come peacefully,” Kane said. “You release the girl. Same time. We pass each other. No one gets harmed. You call your men back, leave these people alone.”

  Chesterfield kept his goggled stare on Kane. He looked down at Lexi, then back at Kane. The little girl stumbled as the General shoved her forward. Kane began to walk, the sound of Tabitha whispering “Kane, no!” in his ears.

  Kane kept his eyes on the little girl as they walked towards each other. Any other child would’ve run to safety, gotten away from her captors as fast as possible. Lexi was calm, her expression serene as they closed in on each other. He heard whispers in the air, difficult to make out. Too soft? No. Not English. What language was that? Who was speaking?

  He shook his head as Lexi’s mouth broke into an evil grin. Her eyes went to black orbs as black veins spread over her face and hands like dark spider webs. She stopped next to Kane, spun to face Chesterfield and his men, her body rigid. Shadows on the wall came to life. No, not shadows. Vines, black and hideous, the smell of rot and dead things filling the air quickly as they lashed out at the Special Forces. The men shouted and panicked as the vines wrapped themselves around arm, leg, and neck. Soldiers scattered, only a few remaining as one was lifted into the air, a vine on each appendage and one around his throat. He gurgled, the sound through his helmet muffled and grotesque.