The Pyrette Queen and the Clockwork Codex

by S. S. Engle

  “That’s quite the rescue brigade Kassidy.”

  “I had no idea this was going to happen!”

  “Of course you didn’t.”

  “I didn’t want to be here!”

  “Do any of us?”

  “Are you going to jump?!”

  “I don’t know.”

  “I could get the guys to throw you a line. You don’t have to go back to Asa if you don’t want to. You don’t have to do this Natasha!”

  “Luca won’t save me. Asa won’t save me. They want you Kassidy. They all want you. The whole city wants you. You’re so lucky.”

  “Lucky?!”

  “It’s hard to resist a bad boy that’s a good man Kassidy. Treat Luca well.”

  “What are you talking about?!”

  “Stop talking to me! You don’t have any more time! Grab his hand and go! Don’t worry about me!”

  “Natasha! We can help you if you want help!”

  “GO!”

  The airship was hovering next to the O’Brien mansion now. Half the glass in the windows behind Kassidy had been busted out in Asa’s desperate attempt to grab onto her. At the last second he managed to lunge out and grab onto her dress sleeve. She frantically tugged herself away but with no use. Asa was wild with anger at this point of the night. Luca was leaning out with a rope around his arm and his hand plunging into the sky for Kassidy to take hold of. It seemed an impossibly long time until Kassidy could finally reach him. But as soon as she did Luca forcibly yanked her off of the balcony and she wrapped herself around him. The Dreadcranks were feverishly pulling the pair back to safety by the ropes, pulling in the landing

  dock as they flew out of sight. When Luca and Kassidy finally reached the deck of the ship the pair were so shaky from their success that they tumbled down to the floor in a heap of themselves. That rescue made absolutely no sense, but it worked. Kassidy couldn’t figure out so many things right now. How Luca even found her, the timing, the logistics, none of it made any sense. Wiping the tears from her face she tried to smile through to appreciate the miracle that just occurred. Luca noticed she was wet and ordered one of them to bring her a blanket to keep her warm up in the chilly air. He wrapped it carefully around her shoulders, pulling out her wet hair and setting it off to the side. As he was doing this he was composed and controlled. Kassidy was anything but, and threw herself at Luca, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face in his chest.

  “Did you miss me sweetheart?”

  “You found me! I can’t believe you found me!”

  “I’ll always find you.”

  “I thought you weren’t coming back? Harlan said you…”

  “I couldn’t stay away. I couldn’t just turn my back and pretend everything was going to be alright when I left.”

  “Why did you come back?”

  “I must be psychotic. It doesn’t make any sense.”

  “I’m just fine with that. I don’t need anything to make sense anymore.”

  “Then what do you need?”

  Before Kassidy had a chance to answer, the familiar sound of a steam gun clicking into action alerted the Dreadcrank gang they were not out of harm’s way just yet. Luca pushed Kassidy on her shoulder, signaling her to stay down, but as soon as he got back up on his feet she was right on his heels. The entire crew leaned over the top deck to see that none other than Natasha was wielding the all too familiar weapon. She was back in the mansion now, flashing steam all over the Ringers. Screams were echoing out into the night. Kassidy smiled and gripped onto Luca’s forearm hoping she was witnessing a monumental shift in the upper echelons of the city. But it was a short-lived moment. Natasha came out onto the balcony now, a bullet loaded gun shining in the moonlight. She took aim at the airship flying away and began firing. It wasn’t at any person in particular, but at the envelope itself. She was going to take the entire gang out! Luca rushed to the helm and began swaying around in evasive maneuvers. The deck fell into chaos and Kassidy was at a loss of what she could do to help. Her body was still trembling, unable to have a chance to recover yet.

  After Natasha had finished the clip, a total of seven holes had penetrated the Lydia’s envelope. They were losing pressure at an alarming rate and it was all Luca could do to hold onto the helm and be able to steer the airship. It was evident they were going to crash. The only variable left up to chance now was where they would be crashing. From the lower decks parachutes were being thrown up to the people lucky enough to grab and hold onto one. Kassidy wondered if there was enough for every man in the gang. The way they were scrambling, she assumed there wasn’t. From her end of the deck she managed to catch Luca’s passing stare, a determined assurance in his eyes. She knew they were going down, and he was in charge. He was going to go down with the ship. She shook her head in disagreement, more tears rushing to her eyes now. Luca was firm on his position. He shoved her way through a rude crowd of men now until she was back at Luca’s side. He was struggling to hold onto the helm as more and more air left the envelop up above them. He was aiming for the hillsides of Mt. Engia to avoid an inner-city catastrophe and capture. It’d be a miracle if they’d make it. And miracles don’t happen every day, not alone twice in one night. Not alone twice in one hour. Jasper came up now with a parachute for Luca and was immediately shoved off to the side by a force of wind. Luca gripped the parachute off the ground and thrust it into Kassidy’s arms.

  “Put this on!”

  “No!”

  “I wasn’t asking!”

  “Luca! I can’t!”

  “Bullshit you can’t! If I die, then I need to know my men are taken care of. They’ll need a leader sweetheart. They’ll need you!”

  “You have to take the parachute! This is my father’s airship. Let a von Detten go down with it!”

  “I won’t watch you die!”

  “But you’ll ask me to watch you?! Luca, I won’t do that!”

  “Lots of people are going to die tonight whether we want it to happen or not! I promised your father the night he died I’d do anything to keep you safe. Don’t make a liar out of me! Don’t do that! Now put on that parachute!”

  “You risked everyone’s life to come save me tonight.”

  “They knew what was at stake when they got on board! Don’t feel guilty about any of this! Hold on! You haven’t got much time! You have to suit up and jump!”

  “You shouldn’t have done this!”

  “I’m saving your life and you’re mad at me?!”

  “What’s the point in saving my life if you’re risking yours to do it?!”

  “If the situation was reversed, are you saying you wouldn’t risk everything you have to save me?!”

  “Luca! Don’t make me do this!”

  “Don’t make me throw you off this ship! Everyone else that’s going is gone. Dreadcrank can’t die tonight. We can’t let them win.”

  “If you die they’ll already be on their way.”

  “Don’t! Don’t say that! You can’t think like that. Now sweetheart, it’s now or never. We can’t both die tonight. Think about all the people down there. They need you! They don’t need me! They don’t fight for a poor boy; they fight for you!”

  “But Luca!”

  “Go sweetheart! Just go! GO!”

  Luca picked Kassidy up as she was kicking and fighting him all the way. She didn’t want to let go, but she had to. He heaved her over the side and she yanked the cord on her parachute that he’d fastened on to her while they were arguing. The airship was nearly spinning out of control by the time Luca got back to the helm. But it didn’t matter. The damage had already been done. The airship crashed into the side of Mt. Engia. An explosion quickly followed as the steam system burst into pieces. Kassidy was the last one to come colliding back down to the ground. The Dreadcranks were scattered all over the hillside and surrounding valley outside the walls of the city. Any hope of survivors from the crash was a slim hope at that. But that didn’t mean everyone who could still run wa
sn’t pushing themselves as fast as they could towards the wreckage. Some me were still dragging their parachutes behind them as they struggling to free themselves of the life saving device. Kassidy looked around her as she was passed up and followed by all sorts of men. New recruits, old recruits. They ran just the same after friends who were also too proud and too caring to take a parachute for themselves when the time came. Names were being called out, but nobody was walking around from the rising steam cloud on the side of the volcano. The moonlight lit the way for dodging the rocks scatted around the landscape. People were falling all over themselves. Kassidy had been tripped up a few times, scraping her hands and knees, still pushing forward. If Luca really was gone now, she was the new leader. And as such, she was going to lead by example.

  Climbing Mt. Engia was presenting itself a challenge in and of itself. Parts of the decking and rigging were periodically still rolling down towards the gang members trying to rescue their friends. Kassidy soon found herself in the company of Jasper, the last man she had recognized on the airship speaking with Luca. They exchanged less than optimistic looks with one another as they began clinging to the rocky, lava corroded hillside. When one slipped the other was there to catch them. In fact, Kassidy was soon made aware that many of the men were there to catch her and make sure she was alright. Any guilt she had worried about from the rescue mission at the mansion had faded away. They weren’t angry with risking so much for her. They were happy to fight beside her, and see her fighting with them. A handful of men had beat Kassidy to the wreckage, and just stood in awe at the carnage. Many men had tried to make a last-ditch effort and failed. Their collapsed bodies lying uncomfortably odd in the moonlight. The search was on now for Luca. Wary of another explosion or further deterioration of the airship, there was hesitation to getting on board what remained of the Lydia to look for survivors. But Kassidy rushed right into it, screaming out for Luca. Men behind her soon followed, calling out friend’s names and removing planking as they trailed moans. Kassidy was headed for the helm to search, but Jasper called out not long after she reached it. He was standing by a blood-soaked mass of the envelope. The body hidden from view. Shaking his head back and forth in disbelief. Even without saying a name the entire gang suddenly bowed their head and became very quiet.

  “Kassidy! I found him.”