All The King's-Men (The Yellow Hoods, #3)

by Adam Dreece

  Elly picked up the map and shook her head. “I can’t make any sense of this. It’s just mumble jumble.”

  “Well, you don’t read it that way,” said Tee.

  “What are you talking about?” asked Elly, studying it again.

  Tee took a deep breath, trying to settle her nerves. “Read it like it’s in a mirror.”

  Shaking her head, Elly shrugged. “It still doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Pretend you’re looking in a mirror, and think of the Yoyo code we’ve been using since we were little.”

  Elly gave Tee a serious stare, as Tee sighed and stared at the ground. Elly was scared to look at the map now. Her sense of guilt mounted as she forced her eyes on it. Elly mouthed the letters as she translated each character. “That… why?” she said, unable to get a clear thought out as she realized she could read the words, though very slowly.

  Tee choked up. “I… ah… I couldn’t leave you behind.”

  “But this goes back—”

  “To when we were little, I know.”

  “But we still use this,” said Elly. She stared at the ground, holding on to her emotions. “But…” she wasn’t able to complete the thought.

  “Enough gabbing, ladies, let’s get a move on!” yelled Franklin. “There’s a shortcut to Herve from here.”

  Tee had never been in the forests near the northern coast of Freland. The leafy canopy was even higher than in the Red Forest, and there were some tree species she’d only ever heard about from her mother. The part of Tee that would have normally been curious to examine them didn’t even hint at being present.

  Today, everything seemed to remind her of her parents, and she kept imagining different versions of the discussion that would one day happen regarding what she’d revealed to Elly. Tee went up to the widest tree she could find and gave it a knock, carrying on a Baker family superstition that the vibrations would make their way to her parents to let them know she was okay.

  “This seems as good a place as any for a break,” said Franklin as they entered a sunken clearing. It looked as if a giant had scooped up some land with both hands, leaving brush all around it.

  Elly frowned at the circle of stones making a fire pit in the middle of the clearing. “That’s convenient.”

  “It happens. Though,” said Tee, scanning around, “I haven’t seen one in a sunken area before.” There was something about it that bothered her.

  Remembering one of the important lessons Pierre de Montagne had given them, Elly went and checked the ashes. She pushed them around with a stick, then felt some with her hand. “There’s dampness. No one’s been here in a couple of days, I think.”

  “See,” said Franklin, smiling, “we’re safe. Anyway, I’m hungry.” Franklin opened the small sack holding his food and sat down by the fire pit.

  Elly followed suit. “Tee?” she asked, hesitating to take her first bite.

  Tee gradually brought her eyes to focus on Elly. “I’m just… I’m just tired, I guess,” she said, walking over and joining them.

  Franklin finished first, having devoured his sandwich, and stood up excitedly. “Elly, let’s get some fresh water. There’s a creek just about two minutes from here.”

  Elly was only halfway through her sandwich. “In a minute.”

  “No, come on. You can finish it as we go,” urged Franklin.

  Concerned, Elly looked at Tee for her approval.

  Tee shrugged. “I’ll be fine.”

  “Come on, Elly,” said Franklin, gesturing. “It’ll give Miss Gloomy Gus here a moment to herself.”

  Unable to find a reason why not, Elly wrapped her sandwich back up. “I’m not that hungry, anyway. I don’t know about you, Tee, but I’m going through my water faster than I’d thought.”

  “It’s okay,” said Tee, “go. I could use the rest.”

  “Okay,” said Elly hesitantly. “We’ll be back in five minutes, tops.”

  “Tops,” repeated Franklin, showing a hint of a grin.

  After Elly and Franklin left, Tee went to grab an apple from her backpack when she noticed the two pairs of shock-sticks still in there. Tee kicked herself for forgetting to give Elly hers.

  Tee paced around the stones, the two sets of shock-sticks in her hands, trying to figure out which way they’d gone. Giving up, she put the shock-sticks into the secret pouches in her cloak, figuring that they’d be back soon enough. She closed up her backpack and picked up the apple she’d dropped.

  Just as Tee was about to take a bite of her apple, something in the brush caught her eye. Tee pulled down her hood and crouched, closing her cloak around her arms.

  “It’s been far too long, Mademoiselle Tee, or should I call you ‘The Little Yellow Hood’?” said the smooth and hauntingly familiar voice. “Your cloak must be new. I don’t remember it shining in the light like that.”

  Tee’s eyes darted around the brush line as she heard branches snapping all around. “Care to reveal yourself?”

  “Oh, I will. Give me a moment, I don’t move as well as I used to. Mind you, I have you to thank for that, now don’t I?”

  A chill ran through Tee. “LeLoup?”

  Two rough-looking bandits stepped out of the brush, pistols pointing at Tee. They started slowly walking down the edges of the bowl-shaped clearing towards her.

  With his men in place, LeLoup stepped out of the brush. It took Tee a moment to recognize him, given he was well-dressed with a three-barreled pistol resting against his shoulder. “Ah, you know, it is so nice to be remembered,” he said, grinning sinisterly from ear to ear.

  “You’ve got some new clothes,” said Tee awkwardly.

  LeLoup gave her a disapproving look. “Really?” He gestured to his men. “That’s not the retort I expected. I was expecting something more like…” LeLoup started to pace a bit, staying more than five yards from Tee. “Like ‘Oh, LeLoup, I almost killed you last time and this time I’ll finish the job.’ Or maybe something like...” He tapped his pistol to his lips. “I don’t know, I can’t think of everything. I’ve been looking forward to this so much. But that line? You’re already ruining it.”

  Shaking his head at Tee, he sighed and continued. “I’d like to introduce you to the Liar. That’s the name of this little toy of mine. Remember me telling you how I wanted to introduce you to it? Well, here it is. State of the art in modern firearms. It’ll kill you very well—very well indeed.”

  “Franklin,” said Tee, with defeat in her voice.

  LeLoup frowned at her. “That was rude. I was introducing you to the Liar, and you changed the subject.”

  “Franklin did this,” said Tee, frustrated.

  “Who?” asked LeLoup, frowning at his men playfully. “Oh, the Watt boy. The one who is going to give me the steam engine plans that I will take to Simon St. Malo and complete the mission I was originally given? That boy has a real future. He might even be better than Klaus ever was, who knows? But what am I saying. I have no idea who you’re talking about,” said LeLoup, chuckling menacingly.

  Tee glanced at the two henchmen standing a yard behind her, one on each side.

  “Now, mademoiselle, if you’d be so kind as to stand up and drop those sticks that I know are in your hands. I don’t care if Franklin said that you don’t have any. I know you’re more resourceful than that.” LeLoup pointed his pistol at Tee. “This,” —he waved the gun at Tee—“this feels like old times, doesn’t it?”

  Tee stood, but did nothing else.

  LeLoup growled. “You’re going to make this difficult, aren’t you? Allow me to show you what the Liar can do.” He pointed it at a tree and blew a huge chunk out of it. He then pointed at another tree and blew a chunk out of it. “Repeating pistol, rotating its barrels. Two shots per barrel. Lovely little thing. Has a bit of a kick, but when you have a temper like that, what can you expect?”

  At the sound of the shots, Elly dropped her wineskin in the creek and started running. “Tee!”

  Franklin ran after
her, tackling her. “She’s going to be okay! He’s just going to put a scare in her.”

  Rolling over, Elly kicked Franklin squarely in the left eye. Franklin screamed as Elly got back to her feet.

  “You have no idea what you’ve done!” she yelled, running. Elly already felt guilty for not trusting her instincts and for forcing Tee to tell her things. Now she was adding to it with the knowledge that she had abandoned Tee when she knew that Tee wasn’t at her best.

  As Elly got to the brush-edge of the clearing, she saw Tee standing with her hands in the air and what appeared to be shock-sticks at her feet.

  “LeLoup!” whispered Elly, turning to see Franklin only a couple of yards away and closing quickly. “Do you have any idea what you did?”

  One of the henchmen glanced up at the bushes.

  “Don’t get distracted,” LeLoup told his henchmen. “The Watt boy knows the deal. He’ll take care of the other Hood.”

  “So Tee— oh, how rude of me; may I call you Tee?” LeLoup asked.

  Tee shrugged.

  “Stop that! Stop it!” he yelled, firing into the air. “Are you even her?” he growled. “Maybe I should just skip all of this, kill you, and see whether or not I’ve spoiled my fun. You sound like Tee, but you aren’t acting like her.”

  Franklin glared at Elly, rubbing his eye. “He works for my father! He’s going to take us to him after we get the plans. He just wants to put a scare into Tee. He said he owed her, and frankly, I think she deserves it.”

  Tears of rage streamed down Elly’s face. “You are the world’s biggest idiot! He’s going to kill her!”

  Franklin scoffed, reaching for Elly.

  “Stop right there, or so help me, I’ll make your black eye the best-looking part of you,” said Elly, her fists at the ready.

  “You stop and look at them,” said Franklin, pointing. “He’s just scaring her.” Part of him felt for Elly and wondered if he’d done the right thing, but he knew he was in too deep to change anything.

  Tee glanced up at the moving brush and caught a glimpse of Elly’s yellow cloak. Hesitating for a moment, she pulled her hood back.

  “It… it is you,” said LeLoup, surprised and disappointed. “You… you look terrible. What happened to you?”

  Tee dropped her gaze to the ground. She seemed completely defeated. “Do what you’re going to do, as long as you let my friend live.”

  LeLoup rubbed his free hand into his forehead angrily. “This isn’t… this isn’t how it’s supposed to go! You were supposed to fight, and then with the last shot, I would win with the Liar.” He glared at Tee. “Put your hood back up! I can’t stand looking at that face.” He nodded to one of his henchmen. “Ruffo, pick up those sticks.”

  Tee raised her hood back up and dropped her hands to her sides quickly, the cloak swallowing them from sight.

  “Oh no,” whispered Elly to herself. The guilt in her head pounded as she saw Tee’s shoulders slump and her head bow slightly. “She’s not going to fight back. She’s going to let him kill her.”

  “She’s fine,” said Franklin to Elly, making a grab for her.

  Elly bolted out of the brush, screaming, “Tee!”

  Tee and Elly instantly locked eyes. Elly saw the wolf that was hiding in Tee’s sheepish appearance.

  Without a thought, LeLoup turned and fired repeatedly.

  One shot hit soil, one hit a tree, and then blood flew and Elly went spinning in the air, crumbling to the ground in a soundless heap.

  Tee screamed like a vengeful god awakened in pain. She flipped over the shock-sticks on the ground, picked them up, and broke one of Ruffo’s ribs as she hit him in the chest, shocking him. She threw the other shock-stick, hitting the remaining henchman squarely in the jaw, dropping him as well.

  LeLoup laughed maniacally. “THAT’s the Tee I was looking—” LeLoup leveled the Liar at Tee, and stopped as her brown eyes drilled fear directly into his soul. He took a step back, trying to reaffirm his grip on the Liar as his hands became slick with sweat.

  Tee reached into her cloak and pulled out the other two shock-sticks, her predatory eyes locked on LeLoup. She yelled as she ran at him.

  LeLoup backed up more and more. He tried firing at Tee, but nothing happened. He was out of bullets.

  Franklin ran down and glanced at Elly in horror. Instantly his mind was filled with terrible regret. “This is going all wrong. She’s… she’s going to kill him!” His eyes welling up with tears, he stared at Tee. He remembered seeing how she’d lost control after Pierre’s death, and hearing about what happened in Elly’s house. Running as fast as he could for Tee, Franklin screamed, “Stop! Tee, stop!”

  LeLoup pulled back on the Liar’s lever to get the secret, extra bullet, and it jammed. Tee smacked the pistol out of LeLoup’s hands.

  “Stop, Tee!” repeated Franklin, only a few yards away and closing fast.

  Tee whipped a shock-stick at Franklin, sending him skidding to the ground, flailing about as electricity coursed through his body. She turned her fiery gaze on LeLoup. He was whimpering, clutching his broken hand. She wasn’t anything like he’d remembered or imagined. Had she been so fierce during our first encounter? Had she been holding back? he wondered.

  Tee walked over and picked up the Liar, pulling back hard on the lever and hearing the click of the bullet finding its home. She pointed it at LeLoup, her head a swirl of noise and rage, with images of Pierre’s death and Elly’s tumble through the air seared in her mind’s eye.

  “No!” screamed LeLoup, trying to scramble backward. “Please!” He felt whatever it was that had broken inside him on their first encounter break a little more.

  Tears streamed down Tee’s face as she steadied the pistol with her other hand. “You just took everything from me!” she screamed.

  “Tee,” whispered Elly, her voice cutting through everything and grabbing Tee’s attention. Tee whacked LeLoup in the head, and fired the pistol at a tree, before dashing to Elly’s side, repeating her name.

  Elly was face down, curled into a tight ball. Her yellow-hooded cloak was splattered with red and dirt. “It hurts so much, Tee,” whispered Elly.

  Tee stuttered as she tried to clear her head. She wanted to scream and cry and yell and laugh, all at the same time. Seeing Elly’s clenched jaw and tightly-closed eyes gave Tee focus. “I—I need to examine your wound. I need to roll you over,” she said, trying to remember the brief medical lessons that her Granddad, Samuel Baker, had once given her.

  “I don’t know if I can do that, Tee,” cried Elly, grabbing Tee’s hand, nearly crushing it.

  Tee wiped Elly’s tears with her free hand. “You can do this. We’re going to do this, okay? We still have that no dying rule, remember?”

  “Oh yeah,” said Elly, wincing. “The no dying rule.”

  Tee surveyed Elly, trying to figure out the optimal movement. “I’m going to help you,” said Tee, placing her hands on Elly. “When you’re ready.”

  Elly took a pained breath and steeled herself. “Okay, now.”

  Tee carefully rolled Elly over onto her back and straightened out her legs. Elly did her best to suppress her screams.

  Peeling back the yellow cloak, Tee saw that Elly’s blouse was blood-soaked. It was clear the bullet had gone through her left side. Tee stopped herself from touching it. “I’ll be right back,” she said, darting over to her backpack and bringing it to Elly’s side.

  Tee took out the small block of soap from the mobile medical kit she’d taken from the lab, and used the water from her wineskin to wash her hands properly. She then took out the vinegar and rubbed her hands in some.

  “I… I know what to do,” said Tee, her hands trembling as she reached for the blouse. “I can fix this. I’ll save you. Please don’t die, Elly.”

  “I should have—” said Elly, sobbing.

  Tee shushed her. “Stop. Don’t say that. Whatever it was, don’t say it, okay? Let’s just talk about stupid stuff, okay?”

  CHAPTE
R THIRTY-ONE

  Loose Ends

  Simon walked into the library, yawning. The two large cups of black tea that he’d had at breakfast had yet to make their presence known. He wished he could drink something stronger, but his stomach couldn’t handle it.

  “Sir,” said Cleeves, greeting Simon at the entrance. “There’s a letter.”

  Simon glared at Cleeves, expecting to see it on a silver dish. “Well, where is it?”

  Cleeves hesitated. “It’s in your study, sir.” He pointed with an old, crooked finger.

  “Why did you put it there?” asked Simon, annoyed. He prepared to march over and retrieve it when Cleeves motioned for him to stop.

  “I didn’t, sir. I…” Cleeves pointed at the study’s inner office. “I found it there.”

  Simon knew his servant to be many things, but liar or joker wasn’t among them. He looked up at the skylights, then over at the front double doors.

  “Were they locked when you got in this morning?”

  “Yes, sir,” replied Cleeves. “And I locked them properly when I left last night, as always.”

  Simon scanned around, trying to see something out of the ordinary. A chill ran through him as he started to slowly make his way to the office doors.

  No one had ever breached his library. In addition to the official guards, he had secret guards. Added to that, he had devices and contraptions designed to detain, or even maim, anyone who tried to break in.

  As he turned the corner, he noticed that the ornate white door to the office was halfway ajar. He turned to Cleeves, who put his white-gloved hands up.

  “I didn’t touch it. I closed the doors last night when I left, and locked them. When I came in this morning, it was like that. I was able to just barely get my head through and see that there was a letter on your desk. I then waited for you to arrive.”

  Simon sighed and nodded. “You did the right thing, Cleeves. I’ll be back.”

  When Simon reappeared a minute later, he was carrying a long, thin piece of wood. He carefully shoved the thick door open with it. Stepping in, he studied every detail. There was not a single thing he could detect out of place. The only thing different was the letter on his desk, leaning against two books that had been there the day before.