The Strange Round Bird: Or the Poet, the King, and the Mysterious Men in Black

by Eden Unger Bowditch

  “Please, children.” Dr. Banneker was like a stone wall. Jasper wanted to see Noah and had pushed through the parents until he came to Wallace’s father. The large man stood between Jasper and Noah. Jasper could see Noah’s turned back, and he watched Noah’s head hang down as several people spoke to him in muted voices. Jasper looked up, pleading, at Dr. Banneker. “You need to stay back, son,” was all the man said.

  “No, we don’t.” Faye was suddenly at Jasper’s side. “Is this one more thing you will keep from us?”

  “No,” said Dr. Banneker, sadly. “We will not keep anything from you. Right now, I only ask that you give Noah and his father a bit of room. I’m afraid they’re receiving bad news.”

  If she had been slapped in the face, Faye would not have fallen back as hard. “Bad news?”

  “There will be time to talk, but please, let them be for now.” Dr. Banneker turned away from the two children. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his eyes.

  Suddenly, Jasper grabbed Faye’s arm. “Look!” he whispered, pointing to the edge of the crowd. He knew what he had seen, but when Faye looked, the man had gone.

  “What was it?” Faye was still looking around.

  “I thought I saw him,” said Jasper, knowing Faye would understand.

  “Him? Which one?” Faye ran through the various images of Komar Romak, including, most especially, cruel and slippery, but Komar Romak came in many forms. He had pretended to be the awkward Reginald Roderick Kattaning at Sole Manner Farm. They all thought he was funny until they discovered how cruel he truly could be. But Komar Romak had also been the fierce warrior in the tunnels of Solemano.

  “It was Mr. Kattaning from the farm,” said Jasper. “I’m sure of it.” He silently wished he had brought his night-seeing glasses.

  “I saw him too,” said Wallace, anxiously, as he tried to squeeze through the crowd towards Jasper. He had managed to only get his head between two large bosomed women who seemed not to notice the small boy. With a thwump, Faye pulled Wallace through. He was breathless. “I saw the awful man we knew from the farm. I saw him slip off the pavement and disappear around the corner.”

  Faye and Jasper, with Wallace in tow, struggled through the growing crowd. With great effort, they managed to make it behind the stage to the back door entrance. But when they tried to open it, they could not.

  “It’s locked from the outside.” Wallace was bending over, peering through the crack in the door. “Isn’t that strange? Who would lock the stage door from the outside?”

  Jasper and Faye nearly bumped heads as they, too, leaned over to look through the crack in the door.

  “It was Komar Romak. I know it.” Jasper’s heart beat hard against his ribs. The villains had broken into the theatre and, on the way out, locked it behind them to keep anyone from catching them. “We need to tell the parents.”

  “Why should we?” Faye was livid. “They never tell us anything. We’d be better off just hunting down Komar Romak ourselves.” But she knew it was anger talking, not intelligence. She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I’m just worried and angry and …”

  “I know,” said Jasper. “Let’s get back and tell them.”

  But when they turned around, the crowd had moved like a massive beast now blocking the way back to their parents. Wallace was guided from behind by Jasper. Faye followed and tripped over something, only to be shoved aside. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder as something dug into her skin with a grip that would have strangled her had it been around her neck.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  A LURKING EVIL

  OR

  THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ARIANA

  “Get off me!” Faye shouted and dug her nails into the hand that grasped her. The hand slightly flinched, but that was enough. She twisted the fingers and swung the hand over her head so she faced the attacker. Komar Romak. But not the wiry Kattaning. It was Komar Romak, the huge monster from the tunnels of Solemano. They always seemed to come in pairs. She felt a sharp pain in her wrist as a fist closed around it. Before she could struggle against the grasp, the hand quickly jerked away. Komar Romak took off through the crowd.

  Somewhere in the throng, a woman screamed. Faye saw the poor lady shoved hard by the large, hulking shape of Komar Romak as he fled. A man caught the woman under the arms and prevented her from falling.

  “What rudeness!” shouted the woman, brushing herself off. “He nearly ruined my red silk shoes.”

  Faye turned back to see Jasper right by her side, terror in his eyes.

  “I’m OK,” she insisted, “but I saw that horrid Komar Romak from the tunnels. He grabbed me.” Faye rubbed her shoulder.

  Jasper’s eyes flew to the torn fabric on the shoulder of Faye’s dress. There was blood. “He hurt you.” Jasper paled.

  “It’s just a scratch,” said Faye. “Where is Wallace?”

  Jaspers eye scanned the area frantically. He only realized he was holding his breath when he let it out with a gasp of relief. “He’s there, with his father.” Jasper inclined his head towards the building. They immediately headed back in the direction of their parents.

  “But I insist,” Dr. Banneker was saying. “We must move.” Wallace said nothing but nodded to Faye and Jasper as they joined the group. Dr. Banneker had placed his large frock coat over Miss Brett’s shoulders and now wore only his shirt and waistcoat against the chill night air. Lucy clung to Miss Brett, hiding her face against the undulating mass of people. Having Dr. Banneker at the helm made their movement through the crowd much easier. He simply parted the sea of people.

  “Sir,” Faye began, “what about Noah’s mother? We might have seen—”

  “There will be time for discussion once we’re home,” he interrupted her, placing a firm but gentle hand on her shoulder.

  Faye winced, both from the pain of her injured shoulder and from Dr. Banneker’s shutting her off. Dr. Banneker removed his hand quickly and saw the rip in her bodice. Faye lifted her chin in defiance.

  “Yes, I’ve been hurt.”

  Dr. Banneker shook his head, “I didn’t know. We must—”

  “We want to know first,” Faye insisted. “We want to help.”

  “We are not sure yet,” said Wallace’s father, looking from Faye to Miss Brett, who also had pleading in her eyes.

  Dr. Banneker turned away. He began walking to where the carriages were parked.

  “Did he hurt her?” Faye reached for Dr. Banneker’s arm.

  Dr. Banneker stopped dead in his tracks and turned to Faye. “He?”

  “Not he.” Lucy reached out to Faye’s arm. Faye ignored the little girl’s touch.

  “We saw …” Faye looked at Jasper who nodded back. “We saw—”

  “Komar Romak,” said Wallace.

  Dr. Banneker’s hand flew to Wallace’s mouth. The large man could not contain the fear in his eyes as he looked around from one side to another. Grabbing his son by the arm, he pushed all the faster from the crowd, Wallace dragging alongside. Jasper and the girls followed. As soon as they were away from prying ears, Dr. Banneker stopped.

  He looked panicked. “You saw…you actually saw …”

  “Them. Two,” Faye said in barely more than a whisper.

  “There are always …” Dr. Banneker mumbled to himself. He nodded, leaning down so they could speak quietly.

  Faye, Wallace, and Jasper told Dr. Banneker about seeing Reginald Roderick Kattaning. Miss Brett sucked in a breath. She had not forgotten the trauma that man had caused. Dr. Banneker put his arm around her and she looked up at him, thankful. Faye pointed to her shoulder and explained the tangle she had with the other Komar Romak. Miss Brett immediately looked at the wound. It was not serious but it was real. Komar Romak had been here.

  Dr. Banneker took a deep breath to gather himself. “We must get back to the palace,” he said softly. “I want you children and Miss Brett to take the carriage back. We will meet you there. We will discuss what happened as soon as we are abl
e to get more details.” He looked at Miss Brett, reassuring her. He held one of her soft hands in his large, strong hands.

  “You didn’t answer.” Faye did not let up. “Did he hurt her?”

  Dr. Banneker turned from Miss Brett and looked down at Faye. “We do not know.”

  On the ride home from the opera house, a heavy chill descended and they could feel its weight. Fear can chill the air faster than a bitter wind, thought Jasper. The four children and Miss Brett were huddled close in the carriage. As the carriage circled back and passed by the stage door, they could see Noah being led, numbly, towards his father’s carriage. His face was a mask of stone, frozen from the fear of what could be.

  We’re leaving without him, thought Faye. They had not tried hard enough to push their way through the crowd to be by Noah’s side. Faye’s throat was tight with anger and shame for simply departing as instructed. They had left Noah to his fate.

  “What about our parents? What about Noah?” Faye’s voice felt weak in her throat, but she was insistent.

  “They will come,” said Miss Brett. “They will come when they can.”

  “But, Noah…What about Noah?” insisted Faye, finding strength to command an answer. It did not sit right with any of them to leave Noah behind, even if he was with his father.

  “Oh, dear, dear, dear…Noah is so sad,” said Lucy, looking out the back window of the carriage, waving at Noah, tears silently streaming down her face. Noah was simply staring at nothing, being guided into the cab. He did not see Lucy. He did not seem to see anyone.

  “Yes, he is, Lucy,” said Faye. “We…we need to stand by him.” She squeezed Jasper’s hand, which had been holding hers.

  Miss Brett waited for her voice to find enough strength to stand on its own without cracking. “I’m sure everything will be all right once…once everything is settled.”

  “Will it?” Faye asked, with more desperation than malice in her voice.

  “I do hope so, sweet angel,” said Miss Brett. She reached out to wipe a stray tear from Faye’s cheek.

  “Poor Noah.” Faye leaned on Jasper, letting tears come down.

  Jasper, in another place and time, would have reveled in this closeness, but not here and not now, when things were grim and every thought was shadowed by the big question: What happened?

  “Who took her?” Lucy broke the silence. “And why her? She’s not done anything inventionishy or scientifical.”

  “Maybe it isn’t related to all of the other things,” Wallace said. “Lucy’s right. Maybe it’s a terrible mistake.”

  “It doesn’t make any sense. She’s an opera singer,” said Jasper. “She’s not a scientist. Why would Komar Romak want her?”

  “Surely, it would be to hurt Noah and his father, to hurt all of us.” Faye considered how she felt. This was an attack. Komar Romak was using Ariana to get at us all.

  “When I first saw Kattaning, he was alone,” Jasper said. “Wasn’t he, Wallace?”

  “There are always two,” whimpered Lucy. “Komar Romak is always two.”

  “Alone or not, it doesn’t mean anything. As we know, Komar Romak can be anywhere.”

  The carriage turned off the road, away from the city. It drove away from the buildings and streets, between high stone walls and what seemed like a maze, first down, then up, then across sand. It came out on the edge of tall hills, then passed through the side of the sand cliff. Through a tunnel, then out beneath the night sky, they rode together, not saying another word.

  Driving through the gates of the palace grounds, they passed by the gardens, rode around the circular drive, and pulled up to the front entrance. There, waiting, were brothers in black. The children and Miss Brett descended and walked up the steps. She was still wearing Dr. Banneker’s frock coat. She clung to it as if it offered protection.

  The large wooden door opened. Waiting brothers bowed their heads and stood on either side of the entrance. Before the children entered through the doorway, however, the sound of a carriage could be heard coming up the drive. The carriage stopped and out came the Vigyanvetas, the Modests, Nikola Tesla, and Dr. Banneker. Following them, slowly, came Clarence Canto-Sagas and Noah. No one spoke. No one looked at one another. Dr. Canto-Sagas had his arm around his son, but they did not speak to each other either.

  In continued, uncomfortable silence, they all entered the palace. The brothers led them to the salon, where a fire was lit, warming the cold room. Some took seats. Some stood. Except for the occasional sniffling, no one made a sound. They waited, all of them, looking at the door.

  Finally, they could hear a shuffling sound in the hallway. Someone was coming. Wallace adjusted his glasses and looked up at his father. His father put his arm on Wallace’s shoulder but found Miss Brett’s arm already there. The two looked at each other, then down at Wallace, then each moved an arm to one of Wallace’s shoulders.

  In walked the brother dressed as Robin Hood, whom they had first met in Solemano. He looked at each of the parents, who returned his gaze and nodded.

  Noah’s father moved forward. “So we know?” he asked, his voice rough.

  “For Père, it so,” came the reply, which the children found meaningless. Not so the parents.

  “Goodness.” Dr. Canto-Sagas sagged into the nearest chair.

  “Unacceptable,” said Nikola Tesla, rapidly pacing back and forth and shaking his head.

  “What?” asked Noah. “What did that mean?”

  But Dr. Canto-Sagas stood back up with the help of Dr. Banneker. He, Tesla, and the other parents walked together out of the room. Before the children could say anything to stop them, they were gone and the big wooden doors closed. The children and Miss Brett were left behind once again.

  Faye ran to the door and tried to pull it open. It would not budge.

  “Arrrrrrrgh,” she groaned in frustration. “They’ve walked out on us again!”

  “Are we supposed to wait here for them to come tell us?” asked Jasper.

  Noah was staring off at nothing. For him, the shock of the evening still hung over everything.

  Jasper walked over to the shelf full of wooden boxes and scrolls and sextants and small telescopes. He began touching the lids of the boxes and accidentally unlatched one. He lifted the lid on the wooden box. The box lid was heavier than it looked.

  Faye walked back over and joined Lucy, Wallace, and Miss Brett, all of whom were standing around the backgammon table. The tabletop was a drawing of flowing lines that looked like calligraphy. Beneath it was a familiar symbol. He picked it up and brought it over to the table.

  “The three flat wings,” she said, pointing to the symbol of the three wings.

  Inside, there were two smaller boxes. One had the symbol of the wings. The other had the calligraphy. Faye picked up the one with the wings and Jasper, the other. Jasper’s box was lined with silver. Inside it were small scrolls tied with gold thread. Beneath them were leaves of parchment, each marked by the same calligraphy. Faye’s box didn’t seem to open.

  “This is like a signature,” he said. “This symbol, this drawing, it’s someone’s family crest or something. Maybe these are things he’s written.”

  “Or she,” said Faye, as she struggled to open her box. She handed it, absentmindedly, to Noah, as she picked up a scroll from Jasper’s box.

  “Or she,” agreed Jasper. While the writing was similar, he could see that some of the pages were in different languages.

  Jasper flipped through the leaves of parchment, some with a few words, some with scribbles that were crossed out and rewritten.

  And then he found it, written in very old, barely legible script. It seemed as if ages of writers had rewritten words on top of one another. Jasper could hardly make out the words of the following diary entries, letters, scraps of notes, etc:

  Istanbul, 28 May, 1555

  My dearest love,

  Please do not ask about it again, my love, my smiling love. I will say only this: Of all the great inventions of that
of which we know, of all the great creations we have seen, beneath the skin of science, below the line of vision, there is something so fantastic, so magical and dangerous and terrible and great…something so very, very powerful, you are safer not to know.

  1558, 15

  (Persian)

  Я вкрав секрети ангела,

  щоб задовольнити вимогам, що

  пред’являються до диявола.

  Прости мене, моя любов

  15 Квітень 1558

  (Ukrainian)

  I have stolen the secrets of an angel

  to satisfy the demands of a devil.

  My love, forgive me

  Yours, Roxalene, 15 April, 1558

  Thrice betrayed

  I once was betrayed by love

  Twice betrayed by silence

  Thrice betrayed by greed

  All my own,

  And set upon me

  Love lost

  Silence broken

  Greed merciless

  Each brings an end

  All ends upon me

  Strange round bird with three flat wings…

  strounge rounde Bridd

  (but under that word was written ‘fugol’)

  mid three flette Wenges

  nev’r ev’r doth heo stop when thou shiverest and singan

  nev’r to be touch’ed, yea if thou art bold

  A went the world to asce and lead into gold

  Tri (but under that was written ‘three’)

  are thy Wings, one is thy Caeg (also written was ‘kay’)

  one is that element that clingest to the three

  Wend like a Planete but ahealdan such stour

  clingest to hitself as that Petalos of a Floure

  mdlxiii

  “That’s not very good spelling,” said Lucy.