Iron Horsemen

by Brad R. Cook

  Lord Marbury quivered. “So they’re going after the oldest known source of the Horsemen’s power.”

  I glanced at Genevieve. Her brows knitted together in worry.

  Baron Kensington tugged at the cross on his cuff. “And they want Plato’s and Aristotle’s papers on the comet, but we don’t know why.” He walked up to his daughter and me. “That’s enough mystery for one night. You two should get some rest.”

  “Yes,” the Grand Master said as he picked up his top hat. “You have all you need from me, Baron. You know what to do. Start on Gibraltar, they’ll take him there first. Maybe we can get him before they arrive on Malta. Don’t worry, lad, the baron will rescue your father.”

  The sound of gears locking in place, the ticking of a clock spring and a low hiss drew everyone’s attention to the doorway. A bronze-plated mechanical cobra quickly slithered across the floor. Its black eyes sparked as it rushed the baron and his daughter.

  “Genevieve, behind me!” Baron Kenzington pulled his daughter back as the serpent sprang from the ground and sank its steel fangs into his forearm. The serpent’s eyes blazed, as electricity and venom coursed into the baron’s flesh.

  I threw my back against the wall to get away from the automaton. Fear seized me as it had in my father’s office.

  Twisting the handle of his cane, the Grand Master drew a hidden sword and struck the serpent just behind the head. He flung the automaton against the wall. It fell to the floor and the Templar smashed it with his boot. Oil ran like blood into the cracks of the wooden floorboards.

  Genevieve screamed, “Father!”

  The baron fell into a chair, gripping his arm. Genevieve rushed to his side. I heard a scuffle outside. Lord Marbury and the Grand Master bolted toward the front door. I pushed through my fear and followed. Finn wrestled with a man in a long black coat and derby hat. The henchman broke free of the Irishman but the Grand Master’s sword quickly found its mark.

  Genevieve cried, “Someone help!”

  I ran back into the dining room and found the baron slumped over the table with his daughter clinging to his shoulder. His shallow breath and vacant gaze stunned me. Rodin landed on his shoulder and nudged his chin.

  The men came back in the house and froze in the doorway. Lord Marbury sent Finn to fetch the doctor.

  Grand Master Sinclair shook his head. “The KGC are on to us.”

  I looked at the chaos swirling around me. These vile henchmen were following the men trying to rescue my father. Or were they following me? I didn’t know, but the possibility crushed me and I staggered back. If Baron Kensington is poisoned, who will go after my father?

  CHAPTER 7

  ESCAPE

  I lurked outside the baron’s room hoping to overhear his condition.

  “Without knowing what type of poison was used,” the doctor said, “all I can do is treat the symptoms. I’m afraid he’s still in danger.”

  “I’ll send for a chemist,” Lord Marbury said. “Maybe he can identify the poison.”

  “What the baron needs is some Four Thieves Potion.” Grand Master Sinclair hit his palm with a fist. “That stuff cures anything.”

  “We need real answers, not medieval superstitions,” Lord Marbury sighed.

  Grand Master Sinclair’s voice softened. “Have faith my friend, all will be well.”

  Lord Marbury’s tone trembled as he said, “Who will go after the professor?”

  “I will send word to the Order. Another Templar will be sent.” Sir Archibald put his hand on the Lord’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, friend, you’ve done your service. I’ll not ask you take them on again. Once we’ve heard from the chemist, I’ll visit the Tinkerer.”

  Just outside the door, Genevieve leaned against the chair rail that separated the blue-flowered wallpaper from the white paneling. The flickering light from the nearby gas lamp danced on her tears.

  She looked so sad and yet so beautiful.

  I ached to help her. An idea crept into the back of my mind. I took her hand. It was soft and cool like a shaded stone. She tensed. I tensed. I pulled and Genevieve followed.

  My heart jumped into my throat as we ran to the Blue Room and shut the door. “I want to help our fathers. I want to go with the Sky Raiders to Gibralter.”

  Genevieve spun on her heel and pulled her hand from mine. “This isn’t like lurking in corners!”

  “Maybe Col. Hendrix has the antidote. It had to have been his poison, so it makes sense. I’m going to find him, find my father, and get the antidote to save yours.”

  “You’re bloody mad.”

  “Maybe, but I have to do something. I can’t just sit here. I can’t just go back to Eton and sit in class like everything is fine!”

  Genevieve was quiet for a moment. She studied me like she had never seen me before and then said, “I’m coming with you.”

  “You can’t, you’re a girl!”

  “Either I’m going or I’m telling Lord Marbury what you’re planning,” she said, a defiant glare in her eyes and obstinate hands on her hips. “What’s it going to be?”

  I wanted to argue—my father would never forgive me if I endangered Baron Kensington’s daughter—but to be honest I was more afraid of what she would do to me if I said no. “I’m…”

  “You have no choice. It’s a woman’s perogative.” Genevieve slowly stepped out the door, then leaned back in. “Prepare yourself. I’ll return in a moment.”

  “Dress warmly,” I said, but Genevieve had already disappeared. The room seemed emptier without her.

  I scoured the drawers for anything I could use on our journey. There wasn’t much. I only had my school uniform and the books and papers in my leather book-bag. The rest of the room didn’t hold much, unless I needed something blue. In the armoire, I found a pair of khaki pants and put them on with the white shirt and black vest from my school uniform. I pulled all the books from my bag except for my science book—all the equations and tables might come in handy. Then I rewrapped some food I’d swiped from lunch and stuffed it in as well.

  I spun around as the door opened. My eyes widened. Genevieve wore dark gray pants and a blue peacoat over a man’s shirt and suspenders. Her auburn hair, pulled tight, had been stuffed underneath a flapped cap and she carried a saber.

  Rodin sat on her shoulder with his wings tucked back and his tail wrapped around her like a bronze necklace.

  “You look like a man.” I blurted out. I had never seen a woman in pants. The dark grey fabric of her pants clung to her, I tried to look away, but my eyes wouldn’t move. I snapped up and shook my head. “You shouldn’t be dressed like that.”

  Genevieve chuckled. “I like pants and you’ve never felt the cold English wind while wearing a skirt.”

  “But—that’s not what I meant.”

  “Besides, the look on your face is priceless.” Tucking up a stray tendril, she tried to harden her expression. “So, do I look more like a man?”

  “You do… a good-looking man, I mean.” My words stumbled. “If you get caught, you could get in a lot of trouble.”

  “I know it’s dramatic, but a ship is more likely to take two boys.”

  I took a deep but stuttered breath. “Let’s go before they catch us.”

  I stepped up to open the window and a strong pain wrenched my stomach as if someone twisted my insides into a knot. The feeling was just as in my father’s office, or before the mechanical monster appeared. I doubled over and couldn’t shake the nagging voice in the back of my mind that kept screaming run.

  Genevieve peered through the window at the dimly lit street below.

  Fear seized my guts into a tighter knot, and I clung to the heavy curtain fabric. “They’ve come back.”

  “Men in long dark coats and derby hats are slipping through the shadows.” Genevieve pulled me back from the window. “How did you…we have to warn the others!”

  We ran to the top of the stairs. Lord Marbury, Grand Master Sinclair and Finn stood below.


  I gripped the railing. “KGC henchmen are right outside!”

  All three stood stunned for a brief moment. Then Grand Master Sinclair ordered, “Hide upstairs and don’t come down.” He turned to Lord Marbury and unsheathed the blade from his cane. “Get Kensington to the underground trolley. Finn, you and I play hero.”

  Finn nodded. “I’ll grab the shotgun.”

  As Lord Marbury slipped away to gather the baron, Finn ran for the den.

  The front door burst open.

  Col. Hendrix charged in but let his henchmen meet the old man’s sword cane. “I’m here for the boy!”

  “You cannot have him, you bronze abomination!” Sinclair’s Scottish drawl shook the house.

  Col. Hendrix looked up and roared, “Upstairs!”

  Genevieve grabbed me by the shoulder and pulled me toward the Blue Room.

  As we entered, I closed the door and Genevieve ran to the window. A loud gunshot echoed through the house. I hoped it was Finn with the shotgun from over the fireplace.

  The sound of crashing metal stormed up the stairs. I looked around for a place to hide, but it had to be Col. Hendrix, only moments from smashing in the door.

  Over the clashing swords I heard the Grand Master. “Alexander, run! Get to safety!”

  I joined Genevieve at the window as she lifted the sash. “If Sinclair wants us to go, it must be bad.”

  She pointed to a narrow ledge made by the elaborate molding and whispered, “The downspout can be used as a ladder.”

  “Sounds like you’ve done this before.”

  A sly smile came to the soft lines of her face. “Maybe.”

  “I think we’re going to get along.”

  I took a deep breath to calm my heart, then gripped the wall and took the first step onto the ledge. Genevieve followed and we slid over to the downspout. The treacherous footing made each step a cautious one, but fear of failing kept me glued to the wall. The thick metal bands that secured the copper downspout acted as a ladder to the safety of the street below, and soon we were on solid ground.

  I looked back at the window. Col. Hendrix ripped the curtain down. He leapt from the second story and landed hard but upright on both feet. Two of his henchmen jumped but crumpled to the ground.

  Genevieve pointed toward the docks, and we disappeared into the dense fog.

  Col. Hendrix kicked one of his henchmen. “After ’em, don’t let those little var-mits get away!”

  Another blast from the shotgun filled the night sky. The chilly, damp veil of thick, white mist obscured everything except the sound of metal clinking on cobblestones.

  London was huge, bigger than any place I had ever been, and I couldn’t keep this pace for long. Breathing heavily, Genevieve and I slowed to walk along a row of merchant ships.

  Col. Hendrix and two of his henchmen ran around a corner. He couldn’t see us yet, but it would only be a moment. I grabbed Genevieve and dove behind some wooden crates with barrels stacked beside them.

  Genevieve gripped her heaving chest and whispered, “Where do we run? I thought we would have lost them by now.”

  “Yeah, me too.” I hoped my heart would stay inside, but it was pounding so hard, it seemed as if it might leap from my throat. And then a metal foot stomped on the wooden dock. We froze.

  The Southerner’s guttural voice came from the other side of the crates. “They’re around here. Search everything.”

  I whispered to Genevieve. “Let’s slip into the water.”

  “No.”

  “What?”

  “It’s disgusting down there.”

  “Well, it’s better than ending up with him.”

  “He might have the antidote.”

  I couldn’t argue with that.

  Genevieve stood up and charged at Col. Hendrix with her hand on the hilt of her saber. “Give me the antidote for my father!”

  I yanked her back behind the barrels. She struggled, but complied.

  Col. Hendrix’s voice sounded like sandpaper. “I ain’t got it.”

  The gears and metal clicking and clanking got closer. We looked at each other and dove off the dock. The icy pin pricks on every part of exposed skin made me want to scream.

  We clung to the thick pilings and pulled ourselves along the ropes that tied the ships to the docks.

  Just above the water, I saw an aero-dirigible’s hull moored to the airdocks. As I looked closer, I realized it was the same one the baron had visited earlier.

  I grabbed hold of the Sky Raider’s vessel. Genevieve climbed inside and then I pulled myself to the open hatch. I dared to take one last look for Col. Hendrix and saw him pointing from the docks. I quickly slipped inside.

  Shivering from our short swim in the Thames River, we found ourselves in a corridor alongside the folded up wingsail. Beams with cutout interiors arched above us and formed the corridor, as a larger set of cutout beams formed the outer hull.

  We heard raised voices and looked out at the open port. Col. Hendrix and his henchmen stood before the captain.

  Col. Hendrix spit on the ground and said, “Bring me the children.”

  The captain spoke with a thick German accent. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “You got stowaways, and I want ’em.”

  “You’re not stepping on my ship.”

  The captain threw the flap of his red coat to the side as one of the henchmen tried to move around him. He drew a small hand-canon from its holster. I noticed a cord running from the pommel into his jacket. Lightning cracked as two bolts arced into the henchman who shook violently and fell to the dock twitching.

  More gunfire erupted. I watched Col. Hendrix and his remaining henchman run away. The Colonel stopped, turned around and stared into the open port, looking right at me. I feared the bronze demon would never stop hunting me.

  As Col. Hendrix walked away, I released a huge sigh.

  Footsteps on the metal planking alerted us to someone’s approach. Genevieve and I ducked behind a series of wheels and gears that unfurled the wing. Would we get blasted by his lightning cannon too?

  The sound drew closer.

  I peered through the gears.

  Genevieve sank as low as she could against the outer hull and tugged on me to do the same. I saw the captain’s red coat and wondered if I’d made a bad mistake. Were Sky Raiders any better than the KGC henchmen? I held my breath.

  The captain spotted the wet floor and spun around. “Who’s there?” When he threw the flap of his coat to the side to reveal the lightning cannon, I stood.

  “Wait, please don’t shoot.”

  “You can tell your lady friend to stand up too. Nice disguise but your features are a little too soft.”

  We stood onto the metal planking. The captain looked over us and laughed. I wondered what was so funny.

  The captain let his coat fall and crossed his arms. “You got names?”

  “Alexander.” I fell silent as three men came down the corridor. One wore a turban, the other dressed like a cowboy, and the third carried the biggest rifle I’d ever seen.

  The three men stood quietly, examining us. Then the cowboy tipped his Stetson to the captain. “I’ve got a couple of men at the gun-ports in case they come back, and we’re ready to depart on your order, captain.” He spoke with an odd combination of Continental accent combined with a southern American drawl. “You want me to drop ’em in the drink?”

  “Get us up into the skies. Those guys are coming back.” The captain pointed at the soaked girl. “And you are?”

  “Genevieve Kensington.”

  Her harsh tone surprised me, and I saw a wet plunge in our future. The men laughed, except for the young Indian man, whose narrow eyes studied her.

  A flash of bronze darted through the port. Rodin landed on Genevieve’s shoulder, his spread wings and snarling open jaw made it very clear they would have to go through the ferocious little dragon to hurt her.

  “What the hell is that?” The startled captain as
ked.

  Genevieve stood like a proper English noblewoman and announced, “He’s my dragon. Now, if you please, may we have the honor of knowing whom we are addressing?”

  The men laughed again. “I am Baldarich, captain of this vessel and raider of the sky.” He smiled and bowed. “What brings you to my ship, other than your displeasure with your previous watery accommodations? Two young lovers running away? No, I don’t think so. Too determined.” He looked us over and ran his fingers along his sideburns and mustache. “I want the truth or you can feed the fishes.”

  Genevieve’s brow lowered. “You were taking a man to Gibraltar, we were sent to replace him.”

  The blue-turbaned teenager, dressed in a matching tunic over white pants, stepped between them. “Captain, I know this girl.”

  From the look on Genevieve’s face, I could tell she didn’t know him.

  “I know her father, Baron Kensington.” The Indian man appeared to be slightly older than me. “They have the same spark, and he, too, had a dragon of bronze.”

  “What a small world we live in.” The captain leered at us. “Now where is your father?”

  I blurted out, “My father was kidnapped and I am trying to rescue him.”

  Genevieve said, “And my father was going to search for his father, but was attacked and poisoned before he had the chance. I now seek his cure.”

  The Indian teenager approached Genevieve. Rodin shifted but seemed to smell something familiar and eased his stance. With a look of concern he said, “I am sorry to hear of your father. May my gods and yours bless his health.”

  As Genevieve bowed her head in thanks, I asked, “Captain Baldarich, will you please take us to the Port of Gibraltar? I don’t have much to offer, but I’m certain that Queen Victoria would reward you.”

  The four men laughed, and the cowboy slapped his knee.

  Genevieve stepped forward. “If you’ll grant us transport, I can pay you when we arrive back in England.”

  Captain Baldarich crossed his arms. “We’re on our way to Gibraltar; I could take you there. For a price.”