by S. S. Engle
“I know what my problem is. My problem is placing trust in a man like you! A man who’s stolen my fiancé, and has been trying to undermine our relationship ever since the beginning!”
“You’re mad! I wasn’t even around Engia when you two were together!”
“She would have come back to me this time if it wasn’t for you! I know she would have. There’s still something there. I can feel it. I can see it when I look at her. If there wasn’t anything there she would have killed me as soon as she got back. And she won’t do it. You know why she won’t kill me. She can barely even hurt me. She still loves me!”
“You can’t love two people at once.”
“That’s what you’re afraid of isn’t it? I’m competition for you.”
“You’re not my competition. You’re merely a painful thorn in my side. And one of these days I’m going to be able to remove you for good and throw you down into the gutter where you belong. And I’ll walk away feeling better for it. I don’t need you in my life. She doesn’t need you in her life.”
“It doesn’t matter if she needs me, because she wouldn’t know what to do with herself without me.”
Luca shoved Blue out into the line of fire now and left the table. The Dreadcranks were holding their own on the main floor covering all of the exit routes, but the Ringers had gained the high ground. Shots fired from the balconies were lethal. Luca already saw two of his men succumb to their wounds, and he was ashamed the situation was turning out as it was. He knew better than to come here. He knew it! Asa saw Luca as he moved across the room with ease. Taking shelter behind overturned tables and pillar sin the room. He ran up the staircase despite being shot at by every Ringer with a loaded gun. Even steam guns weren’t enough to slow him down. Asa turned his shoulder as a shot came close to him, and he saw Natasha further down the hallway. She wasn’t taking refuge with him, she was running towards Luca. Asa fumed, knowing Kassidy had to be somewhere upstairs where Luca was headed. Natasha could have Luca for as far as he cared. Asa’s real prize had always been, and would always be the von Detten inheritance. And what better way to lay claim to the treasure than by marrying into it. Asa was shrewd, but he was no fool. He could play a loving husband to Kassidy, if she would just let him.
Kassidy was tired of being confine din the back room with Harlan. While reluctant to leave her old friend behind, the flashbacks from when she was a child were too much to bear. She needed to find Luca, knowing she would be safer with him than anyone else. She was uncomfortable being armed with nothing but a knife to her name, but was going to take her chances. She ran out into the main room of the shootout now, but the concentration had moved upstairs. There was a mass exodus out the front doors now, but Kassidy was more interested in going up. She went over to the service staircase and began climbing as quietly as her heels would allow. She clutched onto the knife of Asa’s now for dear life, and kept to the shadows as much as possible. But as soon as she saw Natasha darting across her line of sight she perked up and decided to give chase. Natasha was running towards somebody in an awful hurry. Careful to stay behind the curtains Kassidy trailed her rival through the second story balconies. Ringers were a terrible shot overall, but their numbers were wreaking havoc on the Dreadcranks down below. Kassidy hated to see it, but hated what she discovered even more. Natasha had fallen into the arms of Luca, and she had herself wrapped around his neck with her head buried in his chest. He had an arm around her shoulders, shielding her away from the gunfire coming his way. Kassidy couldn’t stand to see Natasha doing this to her again. And rather than taking it out on Natasha, she decided to be the bigger person and just leave. It wasn’t worth another scar across her face. She threw the curtains aside, revealing herself, and flew down the staircase. Luca for the first time was aware Kassidy had found him up on the balcony and tried to tear himself away from Natasha but she refused to let go.
“I have to go after her!”
“What’s the point? She’s already given up on you.”
“I can’t let her get away from me! Not like this. I have to make sure she’s safe! Natasha let go!”
“She probably hates you now.”
“I don’t care!”
“So she’s the woman who’s finally broken you?”
“I’m not broken!”
“You haven’t been able to take her eyes off of her since she came back to Engia.”
“That doesn’t mean she’s broken me.”
“Keep telling yourself that. Hopefully for you she isn’t dead when you find her.”
“If she is dead you better believe your fate will be the same for keeping me from her.”
“You’d be doing me a favor.”
Ammunition was running low. The fighting was beginning to spread out now into hand to hand combat. This was where the Dreadcranks excelled. Kassidy had found herself stuck in a room with no exit on the ground floor, both ends of the hallway were packed with Ringers. She didn’t even have a window for relief. Clueless as what else to do she lifted up a chair and began throwing it against the wall. She was trying to break one of the legs off to use it as a weapon. But all she had managed to do was draw attention to herself. Natasha had run downstairs now as well to try and get herself back out into the streets and get a ride back to the mansion. But she’d followed the sound of what could only have been a body being slammed repeatedly against a wall. Curious as to who was getting the beating Natasha found the room Kassidy was in and was startled. Realizing Kassidy had now twice seen Natasha with one of her lovers the girls began racing through the Patina Parlour. Kassidy kicked off her heels in mid run and was making good time against Natasha who had taken a head start. The men were done firing their guns now and had resorted to barbaric wrestling to take a victory tonight. Some bodies were being hurled form the second floor, and crashing down mangled onto table tops. Natasha got taken out by one Ringer on his untimely descent and became pinned by the bleeding body. Thinking that justice enough Kassidy clapped her hands together. But she was cut short of enjoying herself for too long when a more shots began rattling what windows were left, from the outside. Reinforcements. Out of nowhere Blue came hurdling towards Kassidy with his long black duster thrown over her for protection. He whisked her off back upstairs before she could figure out what was happening. He took he rout onto a balcony and looked the glass door behind him, isolating themselves outside.
From this vantage point Kassidy could see more Ringers, this time not dressed for the party, storming the parlour from all sides. It’d been a trap for her gang all along. She felt so ashamed of herself. She plastered herself against the glass doors to try and see what was going on inside but it was hard to tell by the way everybody was running back and forth. The Ringers were running in fear from the latest wave of gunshots as much as the Dreadcranks were. Kassidy couldn’t figure out what was going on. From up above there were politicians in a mad scramble to evacuate the city and go back home. The sudden igniting of flames for the hot air balloons and the airships were nearly becoming a steady reason to shutter. Blue kept his body wrapped around Kassidy for protection but she refused to accept his help. She felt herself shaking form anxiety and couldn’t do anything to try and control it. More flashbacks from her father’s death here seventeen years ago were consuming what she kept thinking she saw. Asa was stealing himself away, dragging a man in all black behind him, and threw him against the wall. Kassidy kept thinking the prisoner was Luca, she even rubbed her eyes to try and make it go away, but it was true. It made no sense. Blue saw what was happening inside and tried to pull Kassidy back but she fought him, and he eventually let go. She stood up now, still plastered against the glass doors, hidden from nothing anymore. She locked eyes with Luca inside, crammed up against a wall by Asa with a gun shoved into the bottom of his chin. Her face became hard as stone as her fists balled up against the glass.
“Any last words Ventimiglia?”
“I’m worth more to you alive than dead Asa.”
“Y
ou waste your last breath on a hollow bargain?”
“It’s far from hollow, or else you would have shot me already.”
“I’m listening.”
“If you killed me, she’d never forgive you.”
“You sound pretty confident for a nearly dead man.”
“I know her.”
“All the more reason for me to shoot you. It’d make my life so much easier.”
“She’d make your life a living hell, every single second of every single day.”
“So what do you propose then? I spare your life?”
“Kill me and see what happens. You really want to bet that you know her better than I do?”
“You get your way this time Ventimiglia. But you won’t always be so lucky. One of these days I’m going to have her on my side, and she won’t be reason enough to save you. Now take what’s left of your sorry little gang and get the hell out of my city!”
“My sorry little gang just killed half of your men!”
“Then leave them behind and they’ll all die!”
“I’ll take everyone I can get my hands on. Dead or alive.”
“And what makes you think you can drag that many men out of here?”
“I have the Lydia.”
“And I have Kassidy.”
“She’s too smart to still be anywhere near here.”
“I have reason to believe otherwise. So, you take your gang, take your life, and I’ll take my prize.”
“The hell you will!”
“Then make me a deal Ventimiglia. What is this Pyrette Queen worth to you?”
8
Once Asa released Luca both men left the room. Kassidy was left outside on the balcony with Blue to try and figure out just what she had seen. It made absolutely no sense. The gunfire had stopped again, whether for good or for reloading Kassidy was just happy to have some time to think. She turned around to face the street now and slid her back down the glass doors. Blue followed suit, sitting down in front of her in her line of sight. But she wasn’t looking at him, or through him. Blue tried to reach out and grab hold of her hands because she was still trembling but she kept recoiling away from him. As much help as she would accept from him was wearing his long black duster. She was cold, and absent mindedly picked it up from the ground and placed her arms thought the sleeves. It was huge on her, but it was something. Still barefoot she was careful to tuck her feet into the flowing trail of her dress, now dirty from all of the running she had done that night. None of this had gone as she planned, not in a million lifetimes would a scenario like this come to be. She pulled her knees into her chest as far as her dress would allow and ran her fingers through her hair.
“I have to get out of here.”
“And just how do you plan on doing that?”
“I’ll find a way. I have to find a way. The Dreadcranks will only wait so long for me.”
“You mean Lucky will only wait so long for you.”
“His name sounds wrong coming out of your mouth.”
“It sounds bitter coming out of yours.”
“You know nothing about what’s gone on between Luca and I.”
“No, but I know Lucky didn’t know much about you and I either.”
“Didn’t know? Did you say something to him?!”
“Only what he needed to know. Man to man, he asked me and I answered.”
“I hate you.”
“You used to love me.”
“I used to be a lot of different things. When I was five I wanted to be a mermaid.”
“And look at you in that dress tonight.”
“Shut up. I don’t want to hear your voice right now.”
“You used to love talking to me. We’d stay up for hours just talking about anything.”
“Everyone makes mistakes.”
“Is it because I make you nervous? Is that why you try to avoid me still?”
“You really are full of yourself, aren’t you?”
“Just answer the question Kassi.”
“I do avoid you, but not for the arrogant reasons you believe. You remind me of a part of my life, a part of myself, I’d rather forget.”
“Why?”
“Because it was all lies. It wasn’t based on anything real. It was based on you securing a prize, and me being stupid enough to trust you were a good man.”
“I admit I made mistakes too. I never once claimed to be free of blame in anything that happened. And I did view you as my prize, I still do.”
“You do not Blue!”
“I like it so much better when you call me by my name. It hurts when you call me Blue. Strangers on the street call me Blue. But it sounds so harsh coming from you. Tell me something?”
“What?”
“If I make Engia so terrible, why are you still here? You think you can overrun the Absynthe Ring? You think you take out Asa? What if you can? I don’t doubt your hate or your determination. But what would you do if Asa died? Who would rule the city in his place? Who would want such a job? You? I wouldn’t think you had the head for such things. You wouldn’t want that kind of responsibility pulling you down. You’re too much of a free spirit for politics.”
“I think I can bring change to this city. I think if Asa is removed from power the Ringers will be without a leader. I know you’re his second in command for all intensive purposes. I know you too, lack a head for politics. Not that such a vanity project would be out of your desires, but it would move you ugly. Having power like that would consume you. I’d like to think you wouldn’t let it, but I don’t know you like I thought I did. I never knew you to the extant I thought I did. I was wrong coming back here when I did. I don’t know if I waited too long or not enough, but here I am. And I don’t intend on walking away without giving it my all. Whatever that may be. Now, I’d like you to tell me something.”
“Anything.”
“You’ve told me many times that you would do anything I asked you to do to make me happy. Does that still hold true?”
“You’re still my fiancé. I’m a man of my word.”
“Will you leave me alone if I ask you to?”
“Is this you asking me to leave you alone?”
“It is.”
“Then of course I will. So long as that’s what makes you happy and keeps you safe. But what happens if I do leave you alone, and you end up needing me?”
“Trust me, that’s not going to happen.”
Kassidy stuck her arm out for Blue. It was shrouded in his jacket but he could still see her shaking. Unsure if it was from cold, fear, adrenaline, or a combination of the three, he couldn’t deny her regardless of how mad he knew he should be with her. He bypassed her extended arm, reached up to her shoulder and slid the coat off of her. She was confused, but let him proceed. He was up on his knees now, half hovering over her. He leaned in close to her face and she pressed herself back up against the glass doors. He didn’t force it, but stayed put, and shook her hand now in agreeance to her latest request. She closed her eyes and bowed her head. Blue stood up now and unlocked he glass doors with the key in his pants pocket. He extended his hand out to help Kassidy up off the ground and she was slow to take it, but eventually accepted his help. His bright blue eyes were full of tears, but not one fell down his face as hard as Kassidy was looking. As he left the balcony he turned the lantern on inside, and brought some light back to the darkness they’d been sulking in.
Scanning her surroundings one last time Kassidy heard her name from the ground below. She quickly turned around towards the street but was slow to reveal herself until she noticed it was Harlan. He was waving her down frantically, suggesting she jump from the second story balcony. As sweet as his gesture was that he would catch her, she knew better than to expect such a thing. She held her finger up to her lips insisting he stay quiet, and then drew a path in the air behind her, hoping he would understand she panned on travelling back through the parlour to get to him. He didn’t look happy about it, but pointed to the buil
ding across the street where he would be waiting. Pleased with her first plan of the night she was startled when she noticed Blue directly behind her. He’d put on
another black coat from somewhere inside the parlour, and picked his up off the balcony and placed it back on Kassidy. Knowing how much Blue hid in his coat she accepted the gift with fake sympathy and batted her eyes. Tempting her fiancé one last time to make a clean getaway was all she could do. As he was lingering adjusting the oversized coat on her shoulders she wrapped her hands around Blue’s neck and pulled him down towards her face for a kiss. He was keen on reciprocating without much in the way of hesitation, or questioning the validity of what was going on. From down in the streets Harlan could see what was happening on the balcony, and took his hat off and hung it down in his hand, nearly dropping it all together, exasperated at the turn of events. He had hoped his old friend wouldn’t have gone to such extreme measures to make her getaway. But he knew she was doing it for a reason. Not that he agreed, but he was powerless from where he stood. And he was not alone. Luca had by now found Harlan in the streets, and was eager to see what it was that was holding Harlan’s attention so strongly.
