by S. S. Engle
“Luca!”
“I thought it’d help you sleep tonight. You looked like you needed a pick me up.”
“Thanks. I did. Well, goodnight Raethe.”
“Raethe?”
“Figure it out.”
“Exodus of Peace.”
“And how many times have you read that book?”
“Like thirty. You?”
“I don’t know. Probably like…thirty-one.”
“Goodnight sweetheart.”
8
In the morning it was Luca who was up first scouring the ship for the spyglass. By mistake he had knocked over one of the stacks of books in the Captain’s quarters and startled Kassidy awake. But because of the sudden noise she was armed, wiping the sleep out of her eyes with a dagger in her other hand. Luca was out of sight inside the room, but Kassidy was able to follow the noise to where he was. Sometime in the middle of the night he’d also found a blanket and covered her up. It was dusty, but the chilly morning air in the magma chamber was unforgiving right now and she was very thankful to be covered in dust. She hung in the open doorway for a bit before stepping inside. Luca was rifling through papers in desk drawers and cabinets. She couldn’t get herself to do it. She couldn’t join in. She knew it didn’t matter, and if anybody had any right to anything here, it was her.
“It’s fine sweetheart. You don’t have to come in here if you don’t want to. I get it, but I have to give this place a good once over. I’ve looked so long for this ship, and to finally be on it, I don’t want to waste such an opportunity.”
“Take your time. If the spyglass is here I doubt it’d be in plain sight. Have you…have you checked that letter there?”
“No. I’m not interested in anything on paper. I need that spyglass. The code is built into it.”
“But maybe, maybe the spyglass was moved and the code is already written on something. You think?”
“I’d much rather have the spyglass so I could figure out the code myself. If somebody else wrote it down they could have gotten something wrong. Or it could be a decoy message. I need the spyglass.”
“But don’t you think that letter looks a bit…fresher than anything else down here?”
“I guess so, now that you mention it.”
“It couldn’t hurt to read just this one piece of paper.”
“Go ahead.”
“Um, Luca, I’ve got a problem.”
“What is it?”
“I can’t read this.”
“You can’t read it?”
“It’s not in English.”
“Let me at it. No, it’s certainly not English.”
“It’s Latin. You wouldn’t happen to know any would you?”
“No. But I don’t think I need to. See that mark down there at the bottom?”
“The big A?”
“Ring any bells? Asa made this mark with his ring. He has the spyglass. I should have known!”
“Any of the Ringers could have made this mark.”
“No, see how big it is? Asa’s ring is larger than any of the others the Ringers wear.”
“How do you know that?”
“I just know. We’ve got to go. The spyglass won’t be here. It’s back at the O’Brien mansion.”
“You sound awfully confident.”
“I just know.”
“Care to elaborate?”
“Actually I do, thank you for asking.”
“Why can’t you tell me what you know about Asa? Luca! This is my father’s ship, I think I deserve some sort of explanation!”
“Do you want me to stand here and explain something to you that isn’t that important or do you want to find this spyglass?”
“I don’t want to go back to the O’Brien mansion.”
“Then don’t go. When we get to the surface again you can stay home and I’ll go.”
“Ha!”
“What?”
“You think you can get rid of me that easily? You’ve told me too much now to leave me behind. This is my father’s treasure, you’d never be able to make sense of the clues to find it in time if you didn’t have me. Besides, I know how to get in and out of that mansion. You only know how to get in. That’s the easy part. The hard part is getting out. You need me Mr. Tough Guy.”
“So come with me.”
“I am, I just wanted you to know I’m not happy about it.”
“I think I can live with that. But what I can’t work with is the lack of trust between the two of us. You don’t trust me yet, do you?”
“I don’t trust anybody I’ve known for only a handful of days. Don’t think you’re special.”
“Have I done something in the short time you’ve known me to make you think I’m untrustworthy?”
“I just know I have to be careful this time around.”
“This time around?”
“I’ve made mistakes in the past of trusting the wrong people too soon. I won’t ever do that again. I’d trust you more if you could tell me why you’re so confident that Asa has my father’s spyglass back at his mansion.”
“I can’t tell you that. You just have to believe that I know what I’m doing here. It’s a highly educated guess. Besides, I’m Lucky, and I’m hardly ever wrong when it comes to this sort of thing.”
“That’s clever.”
“Thank you.”
“Your cleverness makes you cocky. That’s not a trait I hold in high regard.”
“I’m not cocky.”
“Then prove me wrong.”
“I look forward to it.”
Luca bowed deeply at the doorway of the Captain’s quarters allowing Kassidy to leave before him. She scoffed at his exaggeration, but took him up on his offer and left first. Slinging her pack over her shoulder she jumped down over the edge of the ship first too. Luca followed, bringing the ropes with him as he left. Kassidy had to coil them up to make sure everything was going to fit back where it needed to go and make room for the rest of their ropes they left behind for the trip back. The walk out of the cave was done so in silence, and seemed to take half the time it had coming in the day before. Nearing the mouth of the magma chamber Kassidy began smelling rain, and once the opening could be seen her fears were confirmed. She didn’t have anything against the rain, it was such an infrequent occurrence she usually loved thunderstorms. But climbing up a cliff side in the rain, it wasn’t something she was particularly fond of doing right now. It took a couple minutes just to get a hold of the ropes flying through the air in the heavy winds. But after that the real challenge began,. With rain and wind pelting their faces they had to climb the cliffside back to Engia’s wall. Kassidy was extremely thankful for her fingerless gloves at the moment, but Luca was struggling with his left arm. The gears and cogs couldn’t function properly with the water beating down on them, so he was practically climbing the cliffside with only one arm. He wasn’t struggling, nor would he indicate he needed any help, but as the gap between Kassidy and Luca grew, she knew she needed to do something to help him that would damage his ego too much. After she got to the top of the wall she untied her rope, reattached it closer to his and threw it his way. It was just the stability he needed to balance himself out. By the time he reached the wall now the storm had reached a lull in activity, but the worst was still headed their way, rolling in offshore.
At the palace Kassidy dumped her pack off, grabbed a pair of coats from a closet and left. Luca hadn’t stopped, but continued on down the hill and waited for her at the street entrance. She felt like his mother begging him to take the coat, but he wasn’t interested in fighting, and gave in fairly quickly. The two were aided by the inclement weather this afternoon because the streets were flooding with their lack of proper drainage systems, which kept people inside as much as possible. Shops were closed early and any interference they might have crossed was virtually nonexistent. After crossing the bridge it was clear they were trapped on the outer reaches of the city now. The Steele River had crested over it’s banks, a
nd probably wouldn’t be able to recede for at least a day depending on what the rest of the storm had in store for them. The only place to go now was the O’Brien mansion.
Even from the back alley side they were approaching from the evidence of a party could be seen by the hot air balloons and airships parked in front and tied off. That was good. The sheer amount of people inside would be enough noise and activity t keep everyone inside preoccupied. With any luck Kassidy and Luca could slip right in, take the spyglass, and be gone. But the first hiccup had Kassidy taking a step back. The door she had entered in before was locked. Even her dagger wasn’t enough to pick it open. It’d been changed since last time. Soaked to the bone and exhausted from their day Luca was beyond upset, and preceded to shake the lock with his hands hoping to find a weak link in a chain somewhere and have it pop off spontaneously. Kassidy was panicking because of the racket and clasped her hands over his to try and get him to stop. He flung himself away and slid his body down the side of the wall beside the door. He rested his arms on his knees as he pulled them up into his chest. Kassidy wasn’t so quick to give up. This mansion had countless doors. She backed up into the alley to get a better look at the mansions other entrances, but when she did the door creaked open and she took a defensive stance in the shadows. It was Harlan! She ran up to him, and threw her arms around him, soaking his fine clothes to the bone within seconds.
“Kass-ss-idy? Wh-wh-what are y-y-you doing here?”
“Harlan I need your help!”
“W-w-why are you h-h-holding your s-s-s-ide like th-that?”
“I’m freezing!”
“Are y-y-you pregnant?”
“What?! No!”
“Is it, is it h-h-his?”
“Harlan no! Luca and I need your help. Can we come inside?”
“Of c-c-course. C-c-come in.”
“Luca, come on.”
“I can’t trust an O’Brien.”
“Luca don’t be stupid!”
“Where is your hero now? He already ran off to tell his brother we were here didn’t he?”
“No! Harlan wouldn’t ever do that to me.”
“He’d do that to me.”
“Not if you’re with me.”
“I’m with you now?”
“I didn’t mean it like that! Stop being such a proud ass and come inside. We’re both soaked, he probably went to get us something dry so we don’t draw attention to ourselves.”
“I bet he did.”
“We’ve come this far. Don’t blow this for us!”
“I won’t blow it.”
“Then come inside.”
“Will that keep you quiet?”
“Maybe.”
“I’ll try anything at this point.”
“Thank you.”
“I can’t believe he thought you were pregnant! Have you come to him with that problem before?”
“Of course not! I can’t believe he thought such a thing. I don’t look pregnant do I?”
“No. But we have been running. Maybe the adrenaline gives you that certain glow.”
“You’re making fun of me now!”
“Just call me the proud papa!”
“Be quiet!”
“If you insist.”
Harlan quickly returned with his arms full of towels. He ushered Kassidy and Luca into one of the many unused rooms in the mansion and told them to stay put until the party was over. He had to go, he couldn’t be missing for long or Asa would come looking for him. He promised to bring back some food if he could steal himself away again but Kassidy insisted that he didn’t need to get himself into trouble on just her account. Truth was Kassidy and Luca didn’t plan on staying put at all. And Kassidy knew Harlan had never been an excellent, or even fairly believable liar. If anybody thought Harlan was acting suspicious tonight, he’d reveal the unwanted guests in one way or another. It wouldn’t be intentional, but Kassidy knew she’d be on the other side of a barred wall if she didn’t act quickly. The storm was going to keep her and Luca trapped, but they could more than seek refuge at the Seaside Hotel rather than risking their chances at the mansion. Luca was hell-bent to reach Asa’s office up on the top story, and there was nothing Kassidy could do to slow him down from getting there. Even with the halls crawling with Engia’s finest and most prominent and influential figures, Kassidy and Luca managed to reach the second story before pressing their luck much further. Luca’s soaking wet boots had been leaving footprints, and a guard was hot on their tail until Luca found an unlocked door and shoved himself and Kassidy inside. With a hand over her mouth and his own they held their breath until the guard had passed, then passed a sigh of relief they’d even gotten this far. Luca couldn’t help but smile. In tense whispers Kassidy broke the silence first.
“What in the world could be even slightly amusing to you right now?!”
“You were right.”
“Thank you. About what?”
“I never would have gotten this far without you.”
“Thank me when you have the spyglass.”
“You hate me don’t you?”
“I don’t hate you. I barely know you. I prefer to hold judgment until I can say one way or the other.”
“Can you give me a little heads up at least as to what way you’re leaning towards?”
“You’ll know as soon as I decide.”
“Something to look forward to.”
9
In order to find the spyglass in the shortest amount of time Kassidy and Luca decided they should split up to cover more ground. Luca would take the front staircase to get to the top floor while Kassidy would take the back servant’s staircase. Whoever got to the office first and found the spyglass was to return to the room they had just left on the second story and wait for the other one to come back. Kassidy was sure she would be the first back, but as confident as she was in her own abilities, Luca was twice as confident in his own. They’d both been to Asa’s office before, but neither would outright admit that to the other. Kassidy knew Luca was hiding information from her about his connection to Asa, but she wouldn’t push the issue right now. She was sure there would be plenty of more time for that.
Luca left the room first. Due to his more exposed route Kassidy was going to leave second in case he needed help. She would cause a distraction of some nature, she was thoroughly capable of disturbing the space, Luca was well aware of that much already. But he was surprised by how little interference he actually received. The party was going on downstairs on the ground floor, and the wine was swilling through the halls at alarmingly high rates. Surely everyone here was made prisoner by the storm. Drinking themselves into a coma was how they were going to get through it. That was ideal because now their senses and response times were going to be dulled. Luca made it clear up to the fourth story without crossing paths with a single person. It wasn’t until he rounded the corner to the back hallway where Asa’s office was tucked away did he see someone. And unfortunately for him, he saw her too. She wasn’t alone. She was out in the hallway, fixing her smudged lipstick in a mirror when a man came out of the room behind her. Luca rolled his eyes and stiffened up. The man was putting his jacket back on, and when he passed Natasha he let his hand stroke across her back. A smile was plastered across his face from ear to ear. Luca had seen the expression many times before.
“She’s all yours now buddy. I got her warmed up”
“Lucky me.”
“You are aren’t you Lucky!”
“Evening Natasha. Busy night you’re having?”
“The rain just brings something out in me.”
“I’m sure it does.”
“What are you doing here Lucky?”
“I’m here on business actually.”
“Business with me?”
“No.”
“Bet you wish you were.”
“No, actually I don’t. I’d have to lose all my senses before I ever came here to do business with you.”
“You’re funny wh
en you pretend that you’re not interested in me.”
“And you’re annoying when you don’t understand the truth even when it slaps you in the face.”
“I’d let you slap me, if you wanted to.”
“Natasha no! Not now, not ever alright? I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that I don’t want you.”
“Every man wants me.”
