The Pyrette Queen and the Schismatic's Spyglass

by S. S. Engle

  Within seconds Natasha was screaming inside, somebody had been murdered, but the body was missing. Lucky was quick to disguise himself in a moshing crowd that was flowing from inside the hotel to outside in the garden. A hollow center was formed around his drawing. He took no credit for the crude rendering, but he did manage to whisper rumors throughout one man to the next and let things explode as they do Engia. By the time he had finished making his rounds nearly everyone had come outside to make their own speculations on who was missing. Couples were searching for each other, making sure it was not a loved one who had met their fate this evening. But drinks had been circulating for hours now, and anything logical had been thrown out for quite some time. With haphazard chaos consuming the party Kassidy squeezed back into the crowd with ease. She’d by now had chance to rifle thought the notebook, but with little success as to what anything really meant. She had more questions now, and knew only one person would be able to answer her. Luckily he was living up to his name. Lucky spotted Kassidy in the crowd, nodded his head back towards the hedge that surrounded the hotel, and Kassidy joined him in a moonlight stroll. She showed him the notebook with a devilish grin, but kept it in her possession.

  “I underestimated you once, I don’t intend on doing that again. But I would rather like to have my papers back now.”

  “That depends.”

  “On what?”

  “If you can answer my questions or not.”

  “I feel like all you ever have for me is questions.”

  “Who’s Lydia?”

  “Lydia? You read my papers?!”

  “Why would I steal it and not read it?”

  “They don’t belong to you!”

  “According to what’s in here, you’re trying to get something that doesn’t belong to you either.”

  “Good point.”

  “So my answer then. Who’s Lydia? The last entry in here says the secret lies with Lydia. What Lydia are you looking for?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “You don’t trust me to tell me. No answer, no notebook.”

  “You’re an extortionist.”

  “I learned from the best.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “No hug, no help. Sound familiar?”

  “This isn’t the same thing at all.”

  “Why are you even talking to me right now then?”

  “What?”

  “Why are you talking to me?”

  “I don’t want to talk to anybody else, I don’t like anybody else.”

  “You were talking to Natasha earlier.”

  “Natasha was talking to me.”

  “You said you don’t like anybody else here. How can you like me then? You don’t even know me.”

  “I like what little I do know.”

  “You obviously didn’t talk to Natasha for long.”

  “What happened between the two of you?”

  “A mistake.”

  “You don’t like answering my questions.”

  “My answers are more complicated than yours are.”

  “That’s a matter of opinion.”

  “Well I’m highly opinionated.”

  “I’m getting that. You seem fairly educated sweetheart, what the hell are you doing here in Engia?”

  “I already told you back inside. I have unfinished family business.”

  “But you seem to have your wits about you. From what I can tell you have a solid head on your shoulders. You’ve got a reputation that precedes you. Why come back? Why get mixed back up in the gangs?”

  “Because the Ringers can’t get away with what they did. No amount of time will heal that for me. I wouldn’t expect you to…”

  “I understand completely.”

  “How?”

  “You weren’t the only one who lost a father that day.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

  “There’s a lot you don’t know.”

  “Here.”

  “You’re giving me my papers back? Just like that?”

  “I was waiting for you to have a human moment. That treasure of my father’s obviously means a lot more to you than it does to me. I have no concern for what my father hid. I have no interest in riches, I can steal whatever I need. I just want to do right by him.”

  “I’ll help you.”

  “You will?”

  “It’s only right the Dreadcranks avenge their leader, isn’t it?”

  “Yes. I suppose so.”

  “What do you say we get out of here. I want to show you something.”

  “I can’t.”

  “You can’t or you won’t?”

  “I’m sorry, but I just can’t trust you yet. I have to be careful.”

  “Alright then. But honor me one last answer?”

  “Sure.”

  “Why did you come back?”

  “I already told you why.”

  “No, not to Engia. I mean tonight. You already stole my notebook, you were well on your way out. I couldn’t have caught you. Why’d you come back?”

  “I heard screaming.”

  “And your natural tendency is to run towards the sound of danger?”

  “I was curious.”

  “About?”

  “I was just curious is all.”

  “It’s alright to admit you were worried about me. So what did you think of my drawing?”

  “That was you?!”

  “I had to figure out some way to get my papers back.”

  “That was clever, but it was a crude drawing. From what person were you pulling reference from I wonder? He must have been a fat and contorted man.”

  “So my drawing may not have been the best, but it was enough to get you smiling. Did you at least think it was funny?”

  “A stunt like that? It was dangerous and wrong.”

  “But did I get you to laugh?”

  “That’s not the point!”

  “My point was made.”

  “Harlan’s coming out here. I should speak to him.”

  “If you insist.”

  “One more thing Lucky.”

  “Yes?”

  “LMV?”

  “My initials sweetheart. Luca Milo Ventimiglia.”

  “Well goodnight, Luca. I’ll see you around.”

  “It seems to turn out that way, doesn’t it?”

  Lucky faded into the dark with his notebook firmly in hand now. He heard Kassidy and Harlan’s voices trail off together as they went back inside the hotel. She was an interesting person to say the least, and he was sure he hadn’t seen the last of her. Harlan was uncomfortable with the fact that Kassidy had been talking to the Dreadcrank leader for so long, but he was so nervous she couldn’t detect any malice at all. She laughed at his awkwardness, their arms linked together casually as Harlan filled her in on random goings on in the city that she had missed over the years. Most of them were just personal stories, Harlan was a fairly sheltered individual with little in the way of friends outside of the staff of the O’Brien mansion. Kassidy appreciated the man Harlan had become perfectly reflected the boy she remembered playing with as a child. He had not inherited the mean streak that his older brother Asa had from their crooked father Patrick. That was always a worry in the back of her mind, she was glad to be wrong about this. But as the party slowly resumed its carefree demeanor, not everyone had been able to have such a joyous return.

  Up on a balcony overlooking the main floor Natasha had found Asa. Asa was a tall man with slicked back hair under a top hat pulled down low over his eyes. You never could tell just who or what he was looking at, and he liked it that way. It made him harder to read. He wore pointy black shoes that clicked when he walked, and carried a white tipped cane with a little something extra tucked up inside. He was a sharp dresser, only the finest material money could buy ever touched his skin. Between his money and his dimples he never had trouble finding a girl when he felt lonely, and even with Natasha hanging on his every word, he was lonely an awful lot.
The two were sitting now in a pair of overstuffed velvet chairs, him smoking a costly cigar, and she was taking a drag. He could tell she was upset, and cared little about the reason, but felt the need to ask anyways to get her talking and break the silence. As she began her usual string of gossip he stood up and leaned against the railing, taking in his guests. He soon found his brother escorting a lady far too gorgeous to be coincidence, and interrupted Natasha without hesitation.

  “Do my eyes deceive me?!”

  “I don’t know. How much have you had to drink tonight?”

  “Two glasses of wine.”

  “That’s not nearly enough to be deceived. What do you see?”

  “Who is my brother walking the room with?”

  “Oh no, you‘re not deceived. That’s her.”

  “Kassidy von Detten is back in Engia and you didn’t think to tell me?!”

  “Lucky told me not to.”

  “Lucky?! When we get home tonight you’re going to have a lot of explaining to do!”

  “What did I do?! Asa! Asa where are you going?! Come back here and talk to me!”

  “Silas!”

  “I’m right here Boss. What’s wrong?”

  “It seems that the Dreadcranks paid us a little visit tonight.”

  “How many Boss?”

  “I don’t care how many. I’m only interested in one. Lucky.”

  “I’ll take care of him for you.”

  “No. That won’t be necessary. I just want to scare him, rough him up a little bit. Let him know who runs this town. Take some of the boys with you.”

  “I’m on it Boss.”

  “Oh, and Silas? I want proof this time. Bring me back his arm.”

  “Which one?”

  “The fake one you imbecile!”

  4

  With the party behind her and a bucket full of fresh possibilities Kassidy still had some loose ends to tie up before she got too invested into anything new. On her walk home across the city she kept to the alleys as much as possible. She didn’t want to be followed or draw any attention to herself. So far she’d been back two days, and she wanted to go as long as she could without getting into all that much trouble. Though she knew herself well enough to know, trouble seemed to follow her wherever she went. But the palace was dark as ever when she returned, and as dusty as it may have been on the outside, it was home on the inside. She kicked off her boots and fell asleep on the couch she had pulled into the library. The sun came streaking through the cracks in the wooden boards over the windows and woke her up impossible early. She felt like it’d only been five minutes since she laid down, but another day had already arrived.

  On today’s agenda was making amends with an old jailer. She took a wad of cash she’d just recently stolen from the O’Brien’s treasury the day before and stuffed it into a thigh sheath hidden by her dress as it fell to her right side. The railroad was in operation during the daylight hours only, and she could ride it around the perimeter of the city and reach the jail far more quicker this way than by walking. She hit the morning rush as it was crowded for everybody headed into work for the day. She fell right into place, making small talk with a woman working at a steam factory sewing pillowcases for the jail. Kassidy lied her way into the woman’s heart, confessing she was visiting her estranged uncle to let him know his wife had been killed at a party the night before. The scandal from the hotel had by now made it to the streets of the everyday man and she decided to run with it. Praising Kassidy for her warm heart she decided to help Kassidy get past the jail’s strict security fences to visit her loved one.

  The woman and Kassidy quickly parted ways, the woman after all had a legitimate job to do and was also no longer useful to Kassidy once inside. This was the lower security prison, of the two designated jails in the city. It was usually for lower offenders or mild criminals with petty rap sheets. Gang members usually ended up here unless they killed somebody. And if you squealed, which the jailers encouraged, you could get out in half your sentence for good behavior. Everybody always squealed. Three years ago Kassidy found herself locked up here in some unfortunate circumstances, and squealed herself to get released. Too bad her squeal was a lie, and the jailer knew it too. He was a kind older man, a reformed gang member of her father’s, and upon learning her name he didn’t have it in him to keep Kassidy in jail. In his words, she didn’t belong there. She had not forgotten his kindness. After criss-crossing the halls of inmates she finally found the jailer on guard at the corner. She was pleased he hadn’t lost his job because of what he did for her. She pulled the money out after she got close to him and pushed it into his hands.

  “You didn’t need to do this.”

  “Yes I did. I told you I would pay you back some day. I didn’t mean to take so long to do it.”

  “How did you manage to get yourself in here?”

  “That’s not important. I just wanted to settle my debt with you and tell you thank you again. You’re a good man.”

  “And you’re a good woman too.”

  “That’s still up for debate.”

  “No it’s not.”

  Past the jailer on the table behind him Kassidy noticed a mechanical arm laying across the top. It looked too familiar to her to be a coincidence. The cogs and gears that ran down the side, the makeshift fingers towards one end. How many of these could be floating around Engia? Kassidy thought for a second and hugged the jailer quickly. He was so grateful for the money and kindness he was completely unaware she stole his keys right off of his belt. Tucking them behind her back she then pointed to the arm and asked the jailer about it. It was supposed to be taken in for evidence, but he wasn’t very happy about it. He joked that it would be better off if it just went missing. He didn’t think the man who it belonged to deserved it because he was a gang member. Kassidy whole heartedly agreed with the old jailer, nodding her head and painting a convincing scowl on her face. She lifted the arm up, acted disgusted by it’s gang affiliations, and promised to make it disappear for her old friend. It was a means to make it up to him for keeping her secret escape all these years. Again he was blown away by her kindness, and let her take the arm away with her as she quickly scampered off through the halls as quickly as she had come. He watched her until she disappeared, shaking his head back and forth in approval.

  Kassidy didn’t get too far when she found herself turned around in the halls. She’d made a wrong turn somewhere, and rather than seeing the factory door she had entered in she was faced with a quiet hall, full of isolated cells. This was where the jail kept their most dangerous of the low offenders. If she was right, and this was Luca’s arm, he’d be somewhere along this hall. For being such an important area she was surprised by the lack of guards here, but she didn’t want to question it. She just peaked through the small windows at the tops of the doors hoping, or not hoping, to find somebody she knew. On the last door on the right she found him. He was rolled over on his side on his cot, sleeping she thought. With the ring of keys she managed to find the one that unlocked his door, and carefully crept inside. He didn’t even roll over at the sound of the door closing, but Kassidy was sure it was him. He wore the Dreadcrank stripes, and he had the same shaved haircut as Luca, with it longer in the middle. Right now it was slumped off to one side. He must be sleeping she thought to herself, and went over carefully on her tiptoes to wake him up. As she got close however she saw his right arm tense up, it was a reuse. She threw his arm at him and he lunged over on his feet impossible quick with a sharp piece of metal firmly grasped in his gloved hand. She threw her hands up in the air and dropped the ring of keys in surprise.

  “It’s just me!”

  “What are you doing in here sweetheart?”

  “Trying to catch my breath!”

  “Sorry. But you’re the last person I expected to walk in here right now. Not that I wasn’t hoping it’d be you, but…thanks for getting my arm back. How’d you manage to do that?”