The Pyrette Queen and the Patina Parlour

by S. S. Engle

  “Gl-gl-glad you got my ma-ma-mask.”

  “Glad to have it. I don’t think anyone’s suspected who I am yet.”

  “Na-Na-Natasha almost did. But I st-st-stopped her.”

  “Thanks. I know she would have blown this whole thing if she had gotten a hold of me. That was quick thinking Harlan.”

  “Wh-wh-what are y-y-you doing back he-he-here?”

  “I’m trying to get to the top story but there’s a crowd of people out there. I can’t get out of this staircase and up to the last one without being seen. Is that Luca out there with all those girls right now?”

  “Yes. But a-a-all he keeps talking abou-bou-bout is his wife coming back.”

  “He better. Bunch of little whores out there trying to get with a married man.”

  “He’s not really mar-mar-married.”

  “They don’t know that!”

  “Y-y-you sound jealous!”

  “He needs to be watching the room, not talking to the girls.”

  “He is watching the roo-roo-room.”

  “Well he has a funny way of showing it. Maybe if I can just peek out and send him a signal to move…”

  “Don’t!”

  “Why not?”

  “If any-ny-ny of those girls see you it mi-mi-might blow your co-co-cover.”

  “I have to. Oh my god!”

  “What’s wr-wr-wrong?!”

  “I can’t breathe!”

  “What?! Let me s-s-see. He’s just hug-g-ging another girl.”

  “She kissed his cheek Harlan. He allowed her to…”

  “It was j-j-just a kiss on th-th-the cheek Kass. Ca-ca-calm down.”

  “I thought you knew better than to tell me that?”

  “I thought y-y-you knew bet-bet-better than to lose your ner-ner-nerve over some guy?”

  “Luca’s not just some guy.”

  “Then what is h-h-he to y-y-you?”

  “I’m not getting into this right now. I have to get to that balcony.”

  “Then let m-m-me help.”

  “How?”

  “Use the g-g-girls to y-y-your advantage.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “They want to ta-ta-talk to Lu-Lu-Lucky as much as th-th-they want to talk to y-y-you.”

  “I doubt that, but it’s worth a shot.”

  Kassidy came out of the shadows now and rejoined with Luca for a quick drink. The girls seemed put off that she was back, but out of the thirteen that had gathered, one of them did want to pull Kassidy off to the side and speak with her. Luca played the part of a doting husband well, kissing her on the cheek and telling her he’d missed her this evening, joking about how famous she was. It was tongue in cheek with her infamous Pyrette Queen character. And even in disguise Kassidy and Luca had found a way to be themselves without being detected. Luca went downstairs now to speak with is men, this time under the reuse he was going to get something to eat. With the balcony clearing Kassidy was on full display again as Mrs. Willow Voss, a Lady of Point Clark. She was pulling on past knowledge of the city to make her stories seem as genuine as possible. But being a Lady there was also an excuse for her not being totally current on certain matters. A woman of her position couldn’t know what was happening on the streets. But as the girl kept talking to her it was harder and harder for Kassidy to keep her attention where it was needed. Her eyes kept drifting to Luca walking around downstairs. She felt so auspicious.

  “I’m so sorry to keep you from the party.”

  “What? Oh, no, I’m the one who should be sorry.”

  “You should be very proud of your husband.”

  “I am.”

  “The whole time you were gone he wouldn’t stop bragging about you. That’s a man in love if I’ve ever seen one. He’s amazing.”

  “Thank you.”

  “If I could ever land a man half as brave and caring as Roland, I’d be a very lucky girl.”

  “Yes, you would be. I hate to ask to be excused but…”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure lots of other girls want to speak to you too. Goodnight Mrs. Voss.”

  On the main floor of the Patina Parlour Luca had been meandering in and out of conversations. Blue had taken notice of the most interesting man in the room and wanted his own piece of the night to be so honored as to grace his presence. Mr. Voss seemed to be a very hard man to keep a hold of though. He was keeping a very close eye on his wife upstairs on the balcony, which Blue also couldn’t help but look at. He didn’t know what it was about her, but she was one of the prettiest women he had ever seen. He was eager to get up close and take a better look, so long as he didn’t have an angry husband to deal with. He assumed the smoothest way to get away with seducing the wife was to buddy up to the husband. But once he got closer he realized that Mr. Voss held his left arm in a very odd manner. It didn’t move right. Placing his hand on Mr. Voss’ arm to get a word with him he realized at once who it was through the suit and mask. When Luca shook Blue’s hand he kept up the charade, until Blue’s smile kept creeping up tighter and tighter, and he refused to let go of Luca’s hand. Not wanting to blow the cover of all the Dreadcranks in the room, and Kassidy, he kept his character up, and Blue was willing to play along.

  “You had me. I must admit, you could almost pass for a gentleman tonight.”

  “Almost. What do you want?”

  “I should be asking that of you. It’s damned bold of you to step foot in here.”

  “What can I say? I’m a bold kind of guy.”

  “No games. Are you here to take this place down?”

  “I can honestly say I had no intention of doing anything of the sort. The faster I can get out of here the better. Are you going to run off to Asa now and blow my cover?”

  “I’m not in the mood for needless slaughter tonight.”

  “You give me mercy?”

  “I’m letting you off the hook. I have more pressing matters to attend to right now.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like figuring out where that wife of yours ran off to.”

  “Leave her alone Blue!”

  “That’s her choice.”

  “If you do so much as lay a hand on her…”

  “You’ll what? In a room full of men who’d like to see your body burn like your fathers, you’d risk her safety all because of me?”

  “Don’t you even think about touching her.”

  “Oh I guarantee you, if you had any idea what I was thinking right now, you’d have me gutted right where I stand.”

  “Mr. Voss! Can I get a moment?”

  “I’ll let you speak to your admirers. It was nice seeing you again, Mr. Voss.”

  Luca was helpless in the crowd. Blue tipped his hat and walked away. He made his way for the staircase where Kassidy was up on the balcony, but had since disappeared. Luca’s only peace of mind now came from the fact that he knew Harlan was also keeping close tabs on her, and that she was going to such a remote location it’s be almost impossible to find her. Just to be safe he crossed through the room with a purpose, and moved some of his Dreadcranks away from the escape routes and upstairs to cover the staircases in the back of the building instead.

  Meanwhile, unaware of what was going on downstairs Kassidy was working her way at the mortar of the sixth brick from the top and the sixth brick from the left on the south wall. She’d chipped away at it painfully slowly due to the echo that followed when the chips hit the cobblestoned ground in the alley beneath her. But she had to keep diligently pulling the brick out of its resting place. Thanks to Asa’s knife, she was making good progress. The balcony was narrow, and for the most part was left in disuse. She was perched on top of

  the rod iron railing, her heels tucked close around the top bar as she leaned into the wall to support herself. And finally! The brick slipped out, as if the mortar that had held it in place had been repaired once before. As she had hoped the back of the brick was hollow, and she dropped a pair of rusted brass goggles int
o the palm of her hand. Careful to put the brick back she jumped back down to the floor of the balcony and inspected her most recent find. There were three layers of colored lenses in the goggles, probably to make certain inks appear and disappear as they were used. Pleased to be getting out of the parlour soon she wrapped the goggles around her leg just under knee so it was hidden by her dress. As she stood upright and tried to make sure her mask was in place she heard something inside. She froze, and the jitters she’d avoided for the past few minutes came back with a force. The room inside was pitch black, not even a single candle was lit. But somebody was in there. She hoped it was just Luca or Harlan coming to get her, but she couldn’t be so sure. This place felt like a cemetery to her, and she wondered if it was just her mind getting the best of her now. Making her think some ghost was coming out to greet her. She talked herself through her fears and reduced them to nothing more than an overactive mind. It was nothing. It had to be. But as she entered the dark room with her guard down an all too familiar voice was there to greet her, and she became paralyzed.

  “Good evening, Mrs. Voss.”

  6

  Luca had to find some way to get up to the balcony to stop Blue before he reached Kassidy. Down mingling in the crowd he was running short on ideas. Luckily Harlan came up and found him and drug him to the side. There were Dreadcranks and Ringers crawling all over the Patina Parlour now. They were making themselves more and more obvious as the drinking let their inhibitions fall to the wayside. Luca knew it’d already been an hour since they arrived, and they were pushing all expectations of getting out of there without a few losses. Harlan was still clutching onto the Codex as if it was a child and drawing awkward stares from the well to do politicians from neighboring cities. Asa had yet to make his ultimate arrival for the night, so since Harlan was the only O’Brien representative for Engia he was getting a lot of attention already. Mr. Voss was making quite a smash amongst the crowds so for either Luca or Harlan to steal five minutes away for themselves was going to be an uphill battle. But it was also an advantage being who they were because they could almost get away with doing anything they wanted.

  Knowing Kassidy was short on time upstairs Harlan and Luca broke apart and took the two different staircases to get up by the balcony. Harlan took the back service stairs while Luca ascended the grand staircase in the main room. They reunited on the second story and went up to the top story of the building which was covered in shadows. They weren’t alone though. A man standing in an all white suit was guarding a door. Harlan and Luca exchanged confused glances at one another. Neither of them had seen a man in such a suit all night long, and then suddenly for him to appear right outside the room Kassidy was supposed to be by. Luca made a sudden charge and Harlan dropped the Codex on the ground to restrain him. The man in the white suit made a quick jerk and turned his head towards the sound at the other end of the hallway. It was Silas. His read hair stuck out of his white top hat and gave him away. But it was clear Silas didn’t know who Harlan was with tonight. Luca’s identity remained hidden, given him a surge of confidence. Harlan and Mr. Voss approached Silas who was standing on guard for business reasons. Harlan didn’t ask about Blue and Kassidy inside, and Silas didn’t ask about the Codex in Harlan’s hands, but both knew what was going on. They stayed silent for resect of the new guy in Mr. Voss. But Luca

  couldn’t help himself from mentioning something.

  “Those are peculiar scars you’ve got there Mr. Foley.”

  “An unfortunate accident. How do you know my name?”

  “Asa speaks highly of you very often to my friends in Point Clark.”

  “He does?!”

  A little offhand compliment could always do wonders. But it was Luca who really walked away with the satisfaction from that short conversation. Luca and Harlan both recognized the marks on Silas’ face were the handiwork of Kassidy. They just weren’t entirely sure when she had done it. His face was still black and blue form his chin to his eye, his whole cheek discolored form the injury. Both sides of his face were matching in detail. A brutal scar was beginning to take shape as permanent smile lines were going to be carved up the sides of his face. Crude stitching was going to make the scars worse, but given the massive gap they were trying to pull back together, Silas was lucky to still be alive. Luca walked off with a slight win seeing Silas so visibly marked, but he still had that sinking feeling knowing Kassidy needed his help inside that room. Silas was a diligent Ringer if Luca had ever seen one. But now that Silas had seen Harlan with the codex again, Harlan had to make himself scarce. Harlan escorted Mr. Voss down through the dark hallway and the pair disappeared to try and regroup. They stowed themselves away in a dark room and found a lantern to light. They hovered close to it sitting in partial darkness. Harlan was surprised at Luca’s restraint back in the hallway and couldn’t figure out what could be the source of it. But now in the dim light he could tell, his one-time rival was not himself. He was jittery, and lacking composure. Luca had taken his masquerade mask off and was running his hands through his hair like a fiend, running sweat slicked tracks through it. His eyes were bouncing back and forth on absolutely nothing in the darkness.

  “What’s wrong with you tonight Lucky?”

  “I know Kassidy was in that room. Blue recognized me down in the parlour and told me he was going after her.”

  “We’re close enough to hear anything if it happens.”

  “I don’t want to hear anything happen! Don’t you understand? Then by the time we reach her it’ll already be too late!”

  “You’re in no condition to go running in after her right now.”

  “Who are you to tell me such a thing?!”

  “Somebody who knows you haven’t been yourself all night. What’s going on with you?”

  “I don’t know what to do around her anymore. I’m so worried about her when I’m not around her. I can barely think. And she’s counting on me, and I’m letting her down.”

  “You’ve never let her down.”

  “Don’t lie to me O’Brien. You and I both know better than that.”

  “She’s forgiven you for leaving her in the hospital.”

  “How? Why?!”

  “Because she loves you.”

  “Has she told you that?”

  “I’m not blind Lucky. Anyone with eyes can see what you two are like together.”

  “But we haven’t...”

  “Just because you haven’t said it to each other doesn’t mean you don’t feel what you feel.”

  “I don’t know what to say when I’m around her. It’s like I keep holding back. And if I keep doing that I think I’m going to lose her.”

  “If you don’t know what to say then just kiss her. She knows actions speak louder than words anyways.”

  “I can’t just do that!”

  “Why not?! Every other man in this city and the next wished they had such an opportunity! Myself included! But you’re the only man she’d even allow anywhere near her to have such a chance. Genuinely.”

  “Genuinely? I can’t…I can’t do anything to screw this up. I lost her once O’Brien, and I lost her good. You know I almost found her all those years ago?”

  “What?”

  “Seven years ago, I ran into Blue and he had leads on her in Point Clark. I followed them against his will and I got this close. I was an hour away from finding her, but I missed out. Blue got to me first and I never found her again until a few months ago in that alley behind your mansion.”

  “You have to tell her now Lucky. You have to tell her before time gets in the way of you two again.”

  “What if I tell her I love her and she can’t say it back? I’d be the biggest idiot in the history of idiots.”

  “What if you don’t tell her and you end up missing out on the best damn thing that’s ever happened to you?!”

  “O’Brien?!”

  “I missed my chance, don’t be like me.”

  “What if this isn’t my chance? What i
f I’m just overthinking all of this?”

  “Do you know how jealous she was when she saw you kissing one of those girls on the cheek earlier tonight?”

  “She saw that?”

  “Oh yes, she saw it. And she wanted to kill that girl.”

  “But it didn’t mean anything. I was just playing the part. We’re both acting tonight.”

  “Well she sure as hell wasn’t acting when she wanted to kill that girl. She meant it. It was all I could do to keep her from lunging out of the curtains. Lucky, she wouldn’t even give any of the guys in the room tonight the time of day because she doesn’t care about any of them hitting on her. Those men have money, and they could give her a life of security you and I could only dream of. She doesn’t want them or anything they have to offer. She wants you. And if she doesn’t have you then no other man is good enough. I saw what she went through when she thought you left her for good. She’s settled on you and her together for the long haul, and anything else just won’t do. She doesn’t want anyone else, just like you don’t want anyone else. You could have taken over fifty girls home with you tonight if you wanted to. But you didn’t even care about them fawning all over you. It’s like they were nothing. The old Lucky, the Lucky before Kassidy arrived, he would have jumped on over half of those girls. You’re not the same without her. Now she’s waiting for you to rescue her in that room with Blue. Are you going to stand up for her or are you going to keep sitting here in the dark talking with me? We both know the answer to that one. You don’t want to be talking with me Lucky. You want to be with Kassidy. So, what’s it going to be?”