by S. S. Engle
“Go downstairs. Against the back wall by the service staircase there’s an accounting office. Black windows, creaky door. I already unlocked it. Go inside and wait for us there.”
“How long should I wait if something goes wrong?”
“Just be smart about it. If nobody comes for you then you need to protect that Codex at all costs. Go on with your night. Asa needs to suspect nothing odd of you when he arrives. I’ve got too many men here tonight to jeopardize anything bad happening to them. I don’t want a repeat of my last visit here.”
“Nobody does. Go get our girl Lucky.”
“I intend to.”
Luca stood up and brought Harlan in for a hug. It was uncomfortable, but not as unusual as it could have been. There was a certain understanding between them now that they both placed Kassidy in their utmost concern. Her well-being and safety was a priority above all else. They could agree on that much. And now that Luca knew where he stood with the younger brother of one of his most hated rivals, he could separate the name from the man. Harlan left the room first, carrying the Codex down to the room that Luca had described. Luca turned the lantern off and waited a few seconds before making his move. Silas’ white suit was still glowing in the dark hallway. Coming up quickly he took his mechanical fist and balled it up tight, hitting Silas square in the jaw. One hit took him out, and he sprawled out awkwardly on the floor, passed out from pain on contact. The rough edges of Luca’s hand, even when in the white glove, were enough to bust open some of the stitches on Silas’ cheek. Blood was slowly pouring out of his mouth as Luca opened the door to find Blue pressing Kassidy up against the wall. She had a knife shoved deeply into the indent of his collarbone but he wasn’t giving in. Luca looked desperately around the room for a better source of light and found it. After igniting the main lamp Blue had taken a step back, he had drips of blood trickling down his neck. He wiped it away as if it was some badge of honor. Luca saw the terror in Kassidy’s eyes, but she looked untouched and gorgeous as ever still in her dress. It wasn’t the joy he wanted to see as he came to rescue her, but he wasn’t about to back away now.
“I warned you not to lay a hand on her Blue!”
“Took you long enough to work up the courage to come after me.”
“I didn’t want to walk in on Kassidy giving you and Silas matching scars.”
“What’s become of my lackey anyways?”
“He’s taking a break in the hall. Why don’t you go check on him?”
“I don’t take orders from you Lucky. We’re not kids anymore. I don’t have to listen to anything you say. I’ll leave when I’ve finished what I came for.”
“You’ll leave long before that happens.”
“If she asks me to leave, then I’ll leave.”
“I’m pretty sure she’s already asked you more than once, yet here you are.”
“You don’t know her as well as you think you do Lucky. If she had to ask one of us to leave right now, you shouldn’t be so certain that I’d be the one walking out that door.”
“Sweetheart?”
“Don’t listen to him Luca. He’s just twisting things around like he always does. I’ve tried to get him to leave me alone and he won’t listen!”
“If you really wanted me to leave you would have pushed that knife of yours just a little deeper. And we both know why you didn’t.”
“Just say the word and I’ll crack this chair over his head and he’ll be out for the rest of the night.”
“I’d like to see you try. You and your jerky reject of an arm? As if you could hide that under a suit?!”
“Shut up! The both of you! Blue you need to leave, or I’ll let Luca attack you. And believe me, you will fall.”
“So you won’t hurt me, but you’ll allow him to? Is this what you’ve chosen after all? I don’t understand.”
“No, you’ve never understood me Blue.”
“I thought, I thought we’d worked past all of this?”
“Sweetheart? What does he keep talking about?”
“More lies! It’s all Blue knows how to do.”
“Seems like I learned how to lie from the master. If I’m not mistaken, I’d say you were falling for this Dreadcranks trash Kassi. You are! Aren’t you?!”
“Of course she is Blue. Are you surprised? She’s genetically inclined to only fall for assholes. And we’re stupid enough to fall in return.”
Luca was gripping the top of a chair so tight the cushion was giving away to his mechanical hand. His fingertips plunging into the padding. Kassidy saw the silent rage in his face. She had hurt him. Not intentionally of course, but he was angry with her nonetheless. Blue had caused an unnecessary rift between them and all she could hear was Harlan’s voice echoing in her ears that she should have come clean with Luca when she had the chance. Now it was too late. Blue gathered his hat that he had remove and placed on the table, bowed towards Kassidy, and removed himself. Checking on Silas in the hallway he began to drag his partner downstairs out of the shadows. Kassidy was slow to bring her knife down, and even slower to put it away in her thigh sheath. Luca was still looking to her for an explanation and she had one, but she didn’t want to give it. As much as Harlan pushed her to be truthful with him, she just felt that the truth would do more harm than good in this situation. It was delicate anytime Blue was involved, and Kassidy’s overwhelming commitment to Blue’s engagement, even though all for a lie, may still be too fresh to not be misconstrued as something more genuine. Downstairs a roaring applause began and took Kassidy and Luca out of their moment alone. Asa had finally arrived. Now getting out of here was going to be even harder. Luca knew his men downstairs were at high stakes of being discovered now and made his way towards the door. Kassidy ran after him and stopped him in the doorway by tugging back on his white gloved hand. She squeezed it, but he didn’t squeeze back.
“Did you miss me sweetheart?”
“Of course I did.”
“Well you have an awfully funny way of showing it.”
“Luca! Where are you going?”
“Downstairs.”
“I found what was in the brick. It was a pair of goggles. We can use them to read what’s on page 666. That’s good news, don’t you think?”
“O’Brien is downstairs. You don’t want to keep him waiting do you?”
“Why are you so angry with me?”
“Who said I was angry? I’m not angry sweetheart, I’m just a little disappointed is all. If anyone’s angry, it’s your fiancé. And O’Brien’s still waiting.”
7
Going down the back staircase separately it took Kassidy a little longer to get to the back room where Harlan was waiting. Luca flew down with anger, regardless of whether or not he was going to admit that out loud. It killed Kassidy to know she had disappointed him, but she also knew she had a damn good reason for doing it. She just couldn’t find the right words to explain herself just yet. And that wasn’t enough for Luca. He didn’t trust her enough to know she had her reasons. Harlan didn’t trust her enough when he saw her in the room with Blue either. The common problem with both men was that Blue clouded their better judgment. It wasn’t her that made them question things, it was Blue. That gave her a little pep in her step as she came down the stairs, but with Asa arriving the parlour had turned into an uproar of activity. And even as powerful as Asa was, she still heard her name being thrown around in the chaos. Mrs. Voss. Asa wanted to know who this power couple was that had taken so much attention away from him before he even arrived. Following Luca’s coat tails into the back room Kassidy’s heart skipped a beat.
Harlan and Luca looked friendlier than they ever had been with each other. For once Kassidy felt like the odd man out. But the men were having a silent conversation between their eyes, and Kassidy was witness to a very hostile exchange. Harlan was tapping his fingers on the Codex, very upset about something. Luca looked annoyed, and was throwing his hands back and forth like it was out of his control. Then both of the men l
ooked at Kassidy, still standing by the doorway. She was as gorgeous as she was clueless right now. She still had Asa’s knife in her hand, and it still had Blue’s blood on it. Harlan looked over at Luca or a wound but Luca shrugged his shoulders against the idea. Harlan rolled his eyes now and seemed to come to some sort of understanding. Luca and Harlan looked over at Kassidy again. This time she put her hands on her hips as if to be included. The men glanced back at each other and decided to drop whatever it was they had been silently discussing. Harlan sat down behind the desk and Luca sat across from him. Kassidy took the chair beside Luca but it was uncomfortable, as if he didn’t want to have to sit next to her right now. Carefully she reached up the bottom part of her dress and unwound the goggles form her ankle, putting them on the desk in front of Luca, but he refused to touch them as he stared at them. It was painfully quiet as Harlan began rifling through the pages of the codex faster and faster. Kassidy furrowed her brow and looked over at Luca, but while he matched her expression he refused to look at her.
“Harlan, what’s wrong?”
“The p-p-page is missing!”
“What do you mean the page is missing?!”
“Look alive you filthy Dreadcranks! Are you missing something Kassi?”
Kassidy whirled around out of her chair so fast she nearly toppled it over. She scrapped her nails on the table top just trying to get to her knife in time. Blue welcomed himself into the room with a cowering Silas behind him. They were smart enough to shut the door quickly without drawing much, if any attention to themselves. In his hand Kassidy could see the Codex page crumpled up, and remembering the Codex had been in Silas’ room back at the mansion was making perfect sense right now. She closed her eyes and took immediate blame for the situation, hanging her head and placing it in the palm of her hand. Blue was back in charge again, where he preferred to be. Harlan became defensive over the Codex and slid it off the table to place it behind him, but that wasn’t necessary anymore. Kassidy insisted he leave it on the table. She stared blankly at Blue, hoping he wouldn’t push the issue further, but she knew better. All he did in return was grin at her, his hat cocked off to the side, his blue eyes boring hole sin her face. She felt her betrayal coming up in a hurry if she didn’t act fast. But before she could do anything to try and smooth things over Luca picked up the goggles and shoved them in front of her. he turned her head to see what it was he expected her to do but he still refused to look at her. He just held the goggles off to the side of him, insisting she take them. She did after a few seconds, but snatched them out of his hands with a force that had him recoiling. She took her copper tentacle mask off now and placed it on the chair behind her. The goggles were an odd fit, but after fidgeting with the strap a little and getting the colored lenses down in place she could make do with what she had. Blue came up within a foot of her now and unfolded the page. He was going to hold it up for her as she read it but she tore it away, insisting she could hold it on her own. But he didn’t step back. Silas was still whimpering by the door with a soaked bloodied towel on his cheek. Kassidy looked confused, then turned to see one of Luca’s white gloves smeared with blood.
“What’s it say Kassi? We don’t have all night and Asa will be expecting me out there.”
“Well I wouldn’t want to deny Ass his most prized possession.”
“Your sarcasm is not appreciated.”
“You’re not appreciated.”
“What does the page say?”
“It’s cryptic.”
“Do your best.”
“It’s incoherent unless I use the green lenses. I get, an intersection.”
“An intersection?”
“I don’t make the clues Blue!”
“What intersection?”
“Barrow Street and Parker Avenue.”
“Are you sure that’s what it says?”
“Are you doubting my ability to read?”
“No. I know better than that. But why would the next clue to your father’s treasure take us to Engia’s cemetery?”
“Like I said, I don’t make the clues. I just follow them.”
“You wouldn’t…GET DOWN!”
Shots were fired in the main room of the parlour. In addition to women shrieking and people shoving themselves into harm’s way, the voices of Dreadcranks and Ringers were making themselves known. Luca and Blue had a short second to stare at each other in a fit of rage before the glass in the back room was shot out. The glass shattered and sprayed the inside of the room from wall to wall. Already crouching on the ground Luca threw his body over Kassidy to shield her from getting any glass stuck in her. But she was already shoving her hands down into numerous shards and picking up bloody palms. Once the glass settled Blue ran out of the room with his gun drawn. Silas was quick to follow, using his partner as a shield as he seemed to be unarmed, or at least unwilling to let go of his cheek in favor of a weapon. Luca didn’t want Blue to get away with what he was holding onto tonight and left Kassidy and Harlan in the room alone to join in the continuing shootout. Harlan was taking refuge behind the desk, huddling himself up into the fetal position. He urged Kassidy to join him by scooting over, but she refused. As she made a jump to go run into the shootout for herself he latched onto the bottom of her dress and yanked her back. Meanwhile out in the chaos of it all Luca had caught up to Blue behind the safety of an overturned table. Between firing shots out to their sides, both men had each other’s shirt collars firmly grasped in their fists.
“What happened between you and Kassidy while I was away?”
“What makes you think anything happened?”
“I’m not stupid. For some reason, she told you something that made you have hope again. And I want to know what happened before…”
“Before what?”
“Before I have the chance to make a mistake I might regret for the rest of my life.”
“A mistake huh? You think you’re going to make a mistake with her? Word of advice from a man who already has…go away. Step back before you make that mistake. You’ll be happier for it.”
“What if I’m not?”
“You love her don’t you Lucky?”
“What happened while I was away? I know something happened!”
“She came back to me! She came back to me alright? That isn’t what you wanted to hear was it? That’s why she didn’t tell you.”
“You’re lying!”
“You look in my eyes and tell me if you think I’m lying.”
“She came back to you?”
“She never meant it. But damn was she a good actress while she was there. If I could live those two days over and over again I’d never want to leave. It was like the old times, things were just good. They were perfect. I thought I had her back. Like really back. She had my ring on again. I couldn’t get any higher.”
“So what happened?”
“Relax Lucky, she was just using me and I was too stupid to realize it. As soon as she got what she wanted from me she got me so drunk I couldn’t see straight. She bashed me on the head with the barrel of my own gun. Next thing I know Asa’s got me put up in the hospital with a short-term coma. Silas has scars up both sides of his face. The Codex is gone. She’s gone. The Lydia had crashed into the side of Mt. Engia. I had no idea what was going on. And until tonight I never had the chance to figure out what happened myself. But I saw it tonight, saw it with my own two eyes. You and her. That’s what it comes down to every time. You and her.”
“You live a lie Blue. You’ve become such a hollow man from the ambitious boy I once knew. I don’t know what your grand plan was for Kassidy once she came back, but she can’t fix you. Only you can fix what you’ve done to yourself. But you don’t think you have a problem.”
