Reg drank a few healthy gulps of water. “I don’t feel any different,” he said, resting his hand over his belly. “What was in that stuff, anyway?”
Frolic grimaced as he recalled the stench inside the hut. “You probably don’t want me to tell you.”
Querry finished chewing a piece of melon and set down the rind. “Well, whatever it is, if it keeps the faeries from knowing our every move, I think it’s brilliant. It’s just a matter of walking through the jungle now, isn’t it?”
“I don’t think we should let our guard down,” Reg warned. “We still have the guns to deliver, and if I understand correctly, that potion won’t protect us from armed men.”
“You worry too much, love.” Querry stroked Reg’s cheek with the back of his hand, but Reg flinched away and caught Querry’s wrist.
“You don’t worry enough, Querry. We’re facing real and serious danger. It isn’t a game.”
“You really think I can’t elude a couple of backwater guards—”
“Querry!”
“Please don’t fight,” Frolic pleaded.
Both of them looked down in shame. “I’m sorry,” Reg said in a small voice. “I just think we need to stay alert. We shouldn’t be overconfident.”
“Reg, I’m good at what I do. You know I am. But I’ll take any precaution you want. I just don’t think this will be a big deal.”
Reg made an exasperated noise and shook his head. Frolic didn’t know what to say. He agreed with being cautious, but he also felt Querry knew his work, and the delivery wouldn’t be as difficult as Reg thought. He actually thought it might be fun, and he certainly supported the cause. The idea of helping people, of having a worthy purpose, appealed to him.
“I’m just so afraid your luck’s going to run out eventually. I can’t stand thinking about something happening to either of you. I can’t bear the thought of losing you.”
Frolic heard so much genuine fear in Reg’s voice that he reached out for him without worrying about who might be watching. He threw his arm around Reg’s back, pulled him close, and pressed the side of his face to Reg’s shoulder. “Please don’t worry, Reggie. We’ll be so careful, I promise. Me and Corny are working on several useful things to help us along the way. You’ll get a chance to put on that armor I made you. Remember how lovely your legs looked in that leather?”
Querry chuckled and winked at Frolic. “I remember how tight it was on your sweet little ass.”
Reg gasped, but it quickly turned into a low laugh, and he gave Frolic a quick kiss on the forehead. Querry’s eyes twinkled as he watched them, his lips twisting into a suggestive grin Frolic knew well. It made his heart burn a little warmer and a pleasant little shiver tumble down his back. He snuggled closer to Reg as Querry slid his hand over Frolic’s knee and up his thigh.
Before he spoke, Querry wet his lips with his tongue, making them glisten and causing Frolic to squirm as his trousers grew tight.
“We ought to spend some time together before we get back to work.” Querry’s gaze darted between Reg and Frolic’s faces. “What do you say?”
“Honestly, love. Where would we go? We share a room with four other men. There isn’t even a lock on the door.”
“Tonight, then. We’ll sneak out of here and hide in the jungle.”
Frolic didn’t have to see Reg’s face to know Reg smirked and rolled his eyes. “It takes half a dozen men to open those gates.”
Querry shrugged. “Won’t be a problem. We’ll just grapple up the wall and down the other side. I could use a bit of exercise anyway. Then we’ll do our thing and scale the wall again. Easy.”
“Oh, that sounds lovely,” Frolic said sincerely.
Reg punched Querry playfully in the shoulder. “For a moment there, I wasn’t entirely sure you were joking.”
“Neither was I,” Querry said with a wide grin.
“You mean, we aren’t really going?” Frolic asked, disappointed.
Laughter burst from Querry and Reg until they could scarcely breathe. Frolic soon joined them, even though he didn’t really understand the humor in it. It felt good to laugh, to see his friends happy and free of worry for a moment.
As soon as he calmed down enough to speak, Frolic said, “We are going, though, right?”
They broke into a fresh fit of laughter, and the last of the tension between them evaporated. Frolic held his sides and collapsed in the soft grass with the top of his head against Reggie’s thigh and his cheek only inches from Querry’s hip. He put one of his hands on each of their legs and watched a few puffy clouds creep across a sky so blue it almost looked unnatural. Despite the baron’s potion, he still felt the wind and the trees whispering to him, telling him to abandon their quest, to be content and just enjoy the sun on his face. At the moment, he wanted nothing more than to agree. He considered sharing his perceptions with his partners, but he suspected it would shatter the peace and contentment they enjoyed. He was beginning to understand how human moods fluctuated, so he decided to just enjoy the proximity of his partners as they picked at the remains of their meal. Frolic liked listening to Querry and Reg chew and swallow, liked watching their jaws and throats move as they ate. It made him impatient to taste their lips.
They passed a quarter of an hour in easy silence, just enjoying each other’s company. Though it was hot and sticky, a refreshing breeze rustled the broad leaves of the trees and ruffled their hair. Frolic felt perfect as he observed his lovers finishing their lunch. He never wanted to leave his spot beneath the tree.
The sound of heavy boots interrupted Frolic’s peace, and he turned his head to see the leader of the quilombo, Abiya, approaching them with a chubby infant on his hip and a little girl in tow. The big man stopped a few feet from them with a gentle smile on his face.
Reg and Querry skidded away from Frolic, and it made him sad. He trusted their reasoning, though, and sat up, putting his weight on his palms behind him. He didn’t trust himself to know the right things to say, so he stayed quiet and waited.
Reg, always the diplomat, smiled at the chieftain and said, “This is a beautiful country.”
“I thank you for that,” Abiya said with a nod. “To me, it is the most beautiful country in the world, but surely very different from your chilly Anglica, non?”
“Did Jean-Andre teach you Anglican, then?” Querry asked.
“Oui, he has been a valued friend,” Abiya said. “Is that a problem?”
“Of course not,” Querry muttered.
“What can we do for you, sir?” Reg asked.
Frolic propped himself up on his elbows and looked at the little girl peeking out from behind her father’s knee. When he smiled, she ducked behind Abiya’s leg, but she soon emerged with a coquettish grin. Frolic met her fascinated gaze. Her hair looked a little like his, but a bit frizzier, the curls not so defined. Humans were always less perfect, but it made them so much more intriguing. As Querry and Reg talked with Abiya about the delivery, Frolic studied the little girl, amazed by her beauty and wondering what she might be thinking as she regarded him.
“I want you to know how much I appreciate what you’re doing for us,” Abiya said. Querry got to his feet to shake the other man’s hand.
The little girl pointed at Frolic’s left eye and giggled. He touched his brow bone and eyelid, expecting to find something amiss. His actions only amused her more, and she daringly reached out and captured the end of one of his ringlets. He held his breath as she pulled it completely straight, released it, and let it bounce back into shape with a laugh. She spoke a few words Frolic didn’t understand at first. As he listened to her, though, he gradually made sense of her language and could respond.
“Your hair’s a funny color,” she said.
“Is it?”
“Like an old person’s hair. But you ain’t old.”
“I’m over a hundred,” Frolic said.
“I don’t believe that. My Gran is only seventy-four. How come you got gold eyes?”
&nb
sp; “I don’t know.”
“My pa always says I have me mum’s eyes. Do you have your mum’s eyes?”
“No.”
“You must take after someone,” she said.
“Maybe, but I don’t know who,” Frolic said. “I wish I did.”
“I got a little brother,” the child said with a wide grin, pointing to the baby Abiya held. “You got a brother?”
“I want to have one, someday soon,” Frolic replied.
“Well, you should tell your mum,” she said, seeming very pleased with herself as she planted her small hands on her hips. “She’s got to make you one.”
“Oh, I think I can make one myself,” Frolic said. “As long as my friend helps me.”
She laughed. “You got no idea how it works.”
“Maybe,” Frolic said, not sure how to counter her logic.
“You’re pretty, like a doll,” she said, fondling his hair again.
Frolic found it offended him, though he didn’t blame the child, so he endured her clumsy groping until her father pulled her away. Since when had being considered a doll bothered him? Before, he’d liked it when Querry called him a doll, which he only did in their most private moments.
“I really want to thank you for all you’re risking on our behalf,” Abiya said, pulling his son and daughter near. “It makes me sick that this is necessary.”
“Me too,” Querry said, and Reg nodded.
“Thank you,” Abiya said again. “I hope you don’t feel coerced.”
“I’m happy to do it,” Frolic hurried to say.
“Thank you. The Fair Folk have been good to us.” Abiya kissed Frolic’s knuckles as he bowed. It made Frolic feel almost sick; he didn’t want adulation, didn’t feel he deserved it.
“Faerie—” The cute little girl hid behind her father as she pointed at Frolic.
“No—”
“Faerie, faerie,” the girl sang.
“I’m not a damned faerie,” Frolic shouted, standing, turning his back on them all, and swatting tree branches aside to enter the village’s square. Querry and Reg hurried to follow him, reaching for his shoulders and asking him what was wrong.
Frolic didn’t face them and kept walking because he didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know why it upset him to be called a faerie. He had nothing against faeries, and readily admitted part of him was fey. But he wasn’t a faerie. Why couldn’t people just see him as normal, the same as anyone else?
He turned to face his friends. “I’m sorry, Querry, Reg. I have no reason to be angry with you. I’m not angry, I just… I just need to go back to the workshop now, where I belong. I’ll see you both later tonight.”
Though they protested, Frolic hurried away, and eventually they stopped following. He hated leaving them hurt and confused, but he needed to be alone. He planned to work without stopping until the carts were ready and then beg Corny to help him get started on a companion. He pulled the metal feather amulet from inside his shirt and ran his finger along the edge, remembering the clockwork angels he’d been designed to command. What had his creator planned for him in the event of their destruction? Had he planned anything at all, or only intended Frolic to serve the purpose for which he’d been built? Had he imagined any other future for Frolic, anywhere he could belong?
It didn’t matter. Since Frolic would never know what his maker intended, he’d build a world where he wasn’t the only one of his kind, a world where he’d never have to be alone again.
Chapter 16
REG STOOD far off from the others as they loaded dozens of rifles and even some explosives in the four carts Frolic and Corny had built so adeptly from scrap. A fifth cart would carry the coal to fuel the others for the remainder of their journey. The sun hadn’t risen, and the others worked by the light of several dozen torches affixed to the walls.
A young girl tugged at the cuff of Reg’s sleeve and held out a basket full of native fruit and small, round loaves of bread. Reg muttered his thanks but waved it away. He felt much too sick to eat anything. Despite scouring Querry and Frolic’s contract for twelve hours a day over the last week, he hadn’t managed to find a way out of it. Now the men he loved would walk into one dangerous situation after another, and Reg could do little to protect them. How would they ever make it home now? Reg had one opportunity to save them all, and he’d failed. Now, he didn’t even feel like he could face them. He felt like he didn’t deserve to because Querry had watched out for him since they’d met as young boys, and he couldn’t reciprocate.
The first fuzzy strip of pink light appeared above the sharp edge of the barricade just as the men of the quilombo finished loading and concealing the weapons. One by one, the engines fired up, spewing coal smoke and steam into the lightening sky. It felt unreal, more like a dream, as Reg walked toward the procession. Not for the first time, he felt it couldn’t be happening, that he’d wake up nestled between his lovers with the sound of the Thalacean tide luring him back into unconsciousness. But of course, he knew it wouldn’t happen, so he checked the antique pistols hanging from their leather holsters beside his hips. Frolic and Querry had augmented them, and Reg vowed to use them to defend his friends. It was time to be a man and face reality, instead of hoping for a miracle.
Everyone seemed to agree that Querry should lead the party, and he took his place at the front of the line with Lord Starling and Tom as the back gates creaked slowly open. Frolic and Corny made some last minute adjustments to the machinery, and they prepared to set out. They’d only made it a few hundred yards when the carts skidded to a halt. Reg, who’d been trailing along behind everyone else, lost in his thoughts, hurried forward to see what caused the delay.
Backlit by the morning light, Querry stood facing Jean-Andre with Frolic just behind him. The Belvaisian stood with his arms crossed, his posture relaxed, and a smirk on his face. Querry, in contrast, looked ready to explode with his hand waiting on the hilt of his sword.
“No one said anything about him coming along,” Querry said, clearly fighting hard to keep from shouting.
“I am more qualified than anyone here to lead. I have been working with these people for months, and I know my way through the jungle.” Jean-Andre sounded slightly amused. “What’s your problem with me, anyway, Monsieur Knotte? I daresay you’d be dead if not for me. I remember when I found you naked in that Halcyon alleyway, half-covered by the snow—”
“Shut your mouth,” Querry roared, lunging at the other man. Frolic barely managed to restrain him. “I don’t need anything from you!”
Jean-Andre winked and thrust one hip up. Reg had to admit it made a seductive show. “I think you protest too much, mon ami.”
“Fuck you,” Querry said.
“I’ve always imagined it the other way around,” Jean-Andre said.
“You son of a whore!”
The Belvaisian chuckled. “Well, we have that in common, Querrilous.”
Reg didn’t know what to do. He wanted to draw his blade, call Jean-Andre out, and defend his lover’s honor. If Querry had been a woman, he wouldn’t have hesitated. But he couldn’t acknowledge their relationship, and Querry might be insulted if Reg implied he needed shielding, so he held his tongue as outrage coursed through his veins.
Frolic, who didn’t know any better, hurried to stand in front of Querry. “Don’t you dare threaten my friend! I’ll take care of him. We’ll take care of each other. We don’t need you.”
“Oh, go away, little machine.” Jean-Andre flicked his fingers at Frolic like he was an annoying ball of dust.
“That’s it.” Querry rushed past Frolic, toward Jean-Andre, but the baron stepped deftly between them.
“Both of you are wasting my time,” Starling said. “That’s unacceptable. Both of you are useful to me at the moment, so both of you will focus on the task at hand. Is that understood?”
“He’s a pompous ass.” Querry stabbed a finger toward Jean-Andre.
“Pardon me, my lord, but I am not in any way b
eholden to you or your cause,” Jean-Andre reminded the baron. “I don’t have to cater to you as these others must. My only concern is securing the liberty of these people.”
“Nonetheless, if you want to accompany me, you’ll obey me,” Starling said. “If that’s not acceptable to you, stay behind. I won’t deal with this distraction. I’m leaving.”
With that, the baron waved his hands to direct the carts forward, and they followed him out of the gates and down the steep slope of the hill, into the jungle. Frolic grasped Querry’s shoulders and said something Reg couldn’t hear above the noise of the engines. Querry shook his head, pinched Frolic’s chin, and fell into step beside the carts. Reg hesitated until he resumed his position at the flank, desiring distance from everything. He remained there for several hours as they descended into the tropical forest. The carts easily adjusted to the bumpy, winding trails between the ancient trees.
They stopped around midday to have a quick meal of roast goat, bread, and fresh fruit. After less than half an hour, they set out again. Reg stayed toward the back of the party, hoping to be left alone, but eventually Jean-Andre circled back to walk beside him.
“Reginald, non? That is a fine name. And you seem much more refined than these others. I assume you had a proper upbringing.”
“I certainly did,” Reg responded, recalling the hazy memories of his mother and father, his real mother and father, and not the wealthy couple who’d adopted him in the hope of marrying their way into the aristocracy.
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