“There are a lot of people here, Simon. How are we going to know where she is?” Fae tromped up next to him as she spoke, the loose fabric of her blouse waving in the slightly scented breeze tunneling around the towers. The faint odour of sulphur and eggs hung in the air, accented with the smoke of the factories.
“She should be at the entrance,” Simon replied, looking back over his shoulder to ensure that no one had gotten separated.
Cosette was standing by herself at the large entrance to Hamilton Tower, just as Simon predicted. She had a luggage bag in her hand and was wearing a new dress which seemed much more appropriate for their current environment than white lace had been. It was a slate gray with a black and ivory corset. It appeared to have a rather large bustle, but Simon surmised it was, in fact, the young lady herself that gave it shape. Many layers of sheer fabric all draped over her form in a manner that uncannily resembled spider’s web, and her dark hair pooled behind her back in a thick column that ended atop her head beneath a small, stylish top hat.
She smiled when she had espied the young accountant. All six eyes focused on him as he waved from the crowd. Mr. Todd turned to his fellows after he greeted her, complimenting her choice in attire.
“Cosette,” he said, gesturing to his friends. “These are my companions.”
Mr. Dashing was the first to step forward, taking the young lady by the wrist and kissing her on the back of the hand. Simon frowned at the obvious display of flirting he was exhibiting, wondering how long it would be until he had plum forgotten about the young acrobat from Manny’s exhaling circus.
“Who would have thought an old fop like Mr. Todd could produce such a lovely creature,” Dick exclaimed, releasing the girl’s hand as the others went up to introduce themselves. Simon supposed she was rather pretty, but stifled his thoughts as Miss Baxter smiled, approaching the girl with her crook in hand.
“Cosette, it’s nice to finally meet you,” the shepherdess said with a soft smile.
Mr. Todd nodded as the young spider girl looked towards him a bit uneasily. Simon figured that as long as he looked bright and cheerful, Cosette would realize his meeting with Miss Baxter went well.
“Thank you. Same.” The girl looked down and smiled.
“Are you really half spider? Ya don’t look like it!”
“Miss Hershal!” Simon exclaimed. “That’s a bit rude, don’t you think?”
Fae scoffed, making a face. “What? No! ‘Ow else ya supposed to learn anything if ya don’t ask questions?”
“She does have six eyes.” Mr. Darcy adjusted his spectacles. He had a book under one arm that he had been reading on the way. A slip of paper was sticking out one end. “They are very lovely,” he said, causing the young girl to chuckle. Some dragons, he remembered, had more than six eyes. He liked how shiny they were. They reminded Mr. Darcy of smooth, black quartz.
“My name is Jane,” he said.
Cosette smiled. “Hello, Jane.”
The dragon in disguise seemed relieved. “Finally, someone got it right.” He reached forward to kiss the tops of her knuckles.
“I suppose the rest of her is left up to the imagination, eh old boy?”
Simon flared forty shades of red as Dick whispered into his ear whilst elbowing him in the ribs. Clearing his throat after and sniffing when he felt a flare of allergies tickle his nose, Mr. Todd lamented the loss of his handkerchief as he stepped up to take control of the conversation before it spiralled into oblivion.
“Cosette, I’ve talked it over with my compatriots, and we’ve all agreed that if you were willing to oblige, we would like to invite you to accompany us to our destination.” Simon wasn’t sure that waltzing into a dragon’s home was the best way to protect the other half of his soul, but he felt uncomfortable with leaving her behind as well.
“Well I was hoping to come,” she replied, gesturing to her luggage. “I’ve come all this way on my own after all. It would be nice to have someone to talk to, finally.”
Simon watched as Miss Baxter walked up, taking the girl by the arm. Besides the obvious physical differences, the two looked almost like sisters. “It would be lovely to get to know more about you, as well,” the sorceress said. “I’m so curious about you.”
Cosette was quiet. Simon thought she may have been flattered. Her cheeks looked rouged. “I hope we can become good friends.”
“I do too,” Cosette agreed, allowing herself to be led away from the tower.
“So she’s coming with us?” Fae cocked an eyebrow, looking over at Mr. Darcy who swept back his blonde hair with his fingers before looking down at her.
“Do you have any objections, Miss Hershal?” he asked, hoping the new addition to their merry band of adventurers wouldn’t prove too bothersome once they arrived at his home.
“No.” She pursed her lips into a rosette. Then, with a smile, Fae looked up to regard him. “Think she’ll like rollin’ a few dice around?”
Jane laughed, shaking his head. “I doubt she’ll know how.”
“Well that’s even better now, isn’t it?”
“Miss Hershal!” Jane chuckled. “If you were any good at dice, I’d think you’d have a hoard of gold even old Drayce would be envious of.”
“Think maybe Miss B. has a spell or two that could give me some more luck?”
Jane shrugged. “I’d think you’d have to make a deal with a demon yourself in order to help with your poor fortune.”
Fae stuck her tongue out, skipping up ahead to leave Jane in her wake. Mr. Todd, Dashing and Jane Darcy strolled on behind the three ladies, all lost in their own thoughts.
“How far is this dragon lair?” Simon asked, briefcase in hand. “It seems like you originally asked me along to hold the map, but I’ve hardly seen it since we left Darlington ages ago.”
“Map keeping is an enormous responsibility, Mr. Todd! Certainly not one to be taken lightly.”
Simon rolled his eyes as the moustachioed gunman reached into his jacket pocket to fetch the rolled up piece of parchment. He noticed a few crumbs fall out. Apparently crumb keeping was also abundantly important.
“Uh huh. So where are we going?” The party stopped at a crossroads, Miss Baxter and Cosette aimlessly chatting as Fae watched the sun-spackled automobiles zoom by.
“Well,” Dashing said again, obviously puzzled as he reached around to the pockets at his waist. “I know the Helvallyn Hills are about an hour to the north. They cusp around the city like a mother’s arm and Caper’s Creek splits them in twain like a lightning bolt.”
Simon guffawed at the young man’s use of words, but held his tongue, curious as to why Dashing hadn’t produced the map yet.
“Do we have to cross Caper’s Creek to get to it?” Though the name may have been misleading, the long river that ran just to the west of Ebonguard was in fact one of the deepest rivers in Freland. All manner of creatures swam its length, both down from the northern ice caps where it was fed, and up from the western sea against the current.
Simon heard a story from his father saying the sea dragon inhabiting the island to the west used to use the river to come to shore and steal treasure. Jane Darcy knew old George came to land now and then for a spot of fun, but always under the guise of a human. Dragon law was pretty stringent on dragon’s stealing treasure. That was, after all, what tribute and taxes were trying to prevent. Though, Darcy imagined, there really wasn’t anything humans could do to stop them. Dragon’s did as they liked.
“It’s close to the Creek, but we don’t have to cross.”
Though some of it ran down and collected in the lower tunnels of his cave, Jane thought.
“Well that’s a relief at least.” Simon had been lucky enough to stay away from the water. The mangle of the forest, swamp, and windy skies were enough for him.
“But we will have to climb a bit. There’s an old miner’s path through the hills that should bring us there in a jiffy.” Together, the six of them crossed the road, wandering away from the inne
r city.
“There is?” Jane was confounded. There was a miner’s path? Neighboring his lair? How had he missed this?
Dashing nodded. “Captain Dirk, my father himself used to use it when his lads needed a bit of time offshore to enjoy the earthly delights Ebonguard had to offer.” Dick winked. “Caper’s Creek is deep enough for a sailing vessel, and that path is good enough to find one’s way down the Helvallyn if you’ve got the right know how.”
Jane was concerned.
“Used it myself a few times, back when I used to sail with the ol’ sea dog.”
“Where’s your father now?” Simon asked, looking up to regard the young ladies as they all angled down a smaller alleyway.
“Dead at sea, Gods bless him.” Mr. Dashing pressed a closed fist to his heart, making a sign that resembled an anchor over his face with his other.
“Sorry to hear.” Simon bit his lip, noticing Jane seemed a bit vexed at the moment.
Dashing waved it off. “Best way for a pirate to die, Mr. Todd! The maid of the sea swallows sea men harder than any girl at the Thirsty Bush.”
Simon grimaced. “Yes well,” he cleared his throat, “do you know how to get out of the city, Mr. Darcy?”
The red spectacled man looked over, eyes blinking as his brain raced to catch up with their conversation.
“We’re on our way, Mr. Todd!” Mr. Dashing, who had meant to clap a hand on the young accountant’s shoulder, stumbled a bit when he went plum through the skinny bank man.
Simon had a bit of a laugh at the gunslinger’s expense, excusing himself thereafter.
Dick, who tended to always be a good sport, joined in the laugh, holding out empty hands with a shrug in Mr. Todd’s direction. The sight of the gunman’s calloused palms made Simon vaguely aware that Dashing hadn’t actually produced the map. He wondered if perhaps Dick had lost it, then felt ornery at being refused it in the first place.
“We’ve got to pick up Miss Baxter’s Salvador first, and then we can load up and head off.” Simon had completely forgotten to pick anything up for the adventure to the mountains. He had been so preoccupied with his parents, Cosette and the entire ordeal involving Miss Baxter, that he had overlooked the fact he’d originally drawn from his savings in order to purchase more travelling supplies.
“The Hills are only an hour away? So we could be back by suppertime?” he asked a bit stiffly, glad not to be feeling cramped under the young man’s arm.
“It will take longer than that to locate the lair,” Mr. Darcy piped in, feeling petulant that the two young men would think his home so easily discoverable. Maybe he ought to go ahead and eat them after all! See how smug they’d be then.
Luckily, perhaps for them, Dashing unknowingly assuaged Mr. Darcy’s fury, admitting that though the trail was easy to locate, the small dune of rock hiding the entrance was not.
“Have no fear however, I’ll find it! Can’t have the ladies parading around in dresses along the mountainside all day.” He laughed.
“Well, one is a spider girl,” Jane mumbled. “Aren’t spiders usually rather good at climbing?”
“And the other has the Grim Reaper bound to her by a friendship bracelet,” Simon added with sarcasm. “I think they’re better equipped than us, to be honest.”
“Maybe you’re right.” Dashing stepped away, looking at the three young women all conversing a few large strides away down the road. “When the dragon comes then, make sure you hide behind them.”
“How about if the dragon comes, we all turn around and run away and be content to know that we tried?” Jane smiled. If only all of his companions could be as cowardly as Mr. Todd.
Simon had begun to reply as well, when one of the girls called to them from the corner.
“Dick?” Penelope called, arm in arm with Cosette still. “You said Oma would be here with Salvador?”
Jane looked up. Though they were all still very close to the Ebonguard city center, the vast skyscrapers they had encountered at their arrival were mostly behind them now. Betwixt two double story houses with bronzed, cockeyed weathervanes was a large windmill with sooty blades. It stuck out between them like a sore thumb and would have looked right at home in the plains of Darlington, but here in the city it was an odd sight. Behind them was a small platform leading to the outbound Gray Train. Once it arrived, they’d board and take the second stop out of Ebonguard.
“Right you are, Miss Baxter!” Dick shouted, picking up pace to join them. “Oma said she’d come ahead to make sure your old donkey and our belongings were all taken care of.” He tipped his hat. “You’ve not to worry a thing,” he said to Cosette, regarding her large, bead-like eyes. “My Oma will ensure all the provisions we need for the rest of our tromp to Helvallyn is secured.”
Simon hoped that meant for all of them.
The older woman appeared a short time later, holding the ropes tied around Salvador’s neck in one hand and Lucifer in the other. The rugged, old beast with a slight dent in the back of his skull made it hard to believe that it had once been the mount of the Grim Reaper himself, but Simon supposed he had to believe it when the creature walked forward and nuzzled his shoulder.
“He remembers you.” Miss Baxter giggled.
Simon grimaced.
“Everythin’ you need is strapped to that beast!” Oma called, the long sleeves of her blouse rolled up to her elbows. She had big arms, like the back legs on a boar. Her waistline ended just below her breasts and the swell of her rounded belly was tucked into the same purple skirt she had been wearing at breakfast. Lucifer was chewing at a piece of hair dangling down from the crown of her head.
“We are much obliged,” Simon replied, looking at the elder woman who was eyeing up Cosette sideways. Mr. Todd supposed the plump, old lady had only heard of the so-called spider girl from their conversation at breakfast. He supposed he couldn’t blame her for taking a bit of a look considering all the hubbub that had been made about her.
“Well!” she said after a moment, looking towards her grandson. “I’ll keep this mangy mutt here with me until you get back, Dicky. Fatten him up a bit. Hurry up though. He’s bound to turn yellow if he stays here too long.”
Fae snorted at the use of the pet name. Jane too cocked a brow at her.
“You can’t rush adventure, woman! At your age you should know that by now!” Dashing hauled his arms up into the air, turning on his heel as he began to lead the old donkey away in hopes the others would follow.
The woman laughed, waving her hand at his back. “Well don’t go getting yourself swallowed up by any dragon,” she called, prompting Jane to press his lips into a thin line. “Lost one son, won’t be losing a grandson.”
“Next time you see me, I’ll be a rich man!”
“A rich baboon, more like.”
But she didn’t say anymore as Dick and his retinue began making their way from the windmill. Simon had to admit that the old lady may have been a bit rough around the edges, but she certainly had her grandson’s character down pact. Mr. Todd chuckled into his sleeve as they left, thinking of a red, rear-ended monkey throwing coins about with a gun in one hand, but said nothing of the sort when Cosette inquired as to his mirth.
“Just thinking of an old gag,” he lied, blushing a bit when she took him by the arm. He was a tad uncomfortable with how close she was to him as they began walking towards the train. Together they looked more like young lovers than friends. As they boarded and Salvador was ushered on in the back, Cosette did let go for a few moments, but every time their eyes chanced to meet, Simon saw her smile in that way young ladies do when they are fond of someone.
“I’m very fond of you.” Her words echoed in his head as they all stepped off the platform. There were few people inside, Simon noticed. Now that the large buildings and houses were sparse on the outskirts of Ebonguard, Simon could clearly see the Helvallyn hills tinted green in the distance.
The Gray Train shrieked its goodbye as it bounded away from the city. The farm land
s of Ebonguard stretched out in blankets of golden fields towards the hillside. Long birch trees looked skeletal sticking up between the ragged alders and berry bushes, and the lingering scent of Ebonguard struggled weakly against the fresh odours of damp grass, soil and farmlands.
Simon smiled as they all found seating. There were only two benches on the train, beneath the long windows on each side so passengers could either look at each other, or between heads at the scenery beyond. Mr. Todd looked away awkwardly as young, prudish gentlemen were wont to do, as soon as Cosette regarded him warmly from across aisle. What she saw in him, he couldn’t really gather. Did she have a soft spot for accountants? Men who wore tweed suits?
Though Mr. Todd was often self-branded as a ninny, he did know fairly well that she thought he was visiting her all those times up on the neighbor’s rooftop.
She’s mistaken. But really, he hadn’t the mind to tell her the truth either.
“Does she like you or somethin’?” Fae rudely broke into his thoughts.
Simon couldn’t help but pretend he hadn’t heard a word. Instead, shuffling to the right to join Jane Darcy in a conversation that was entirely to the liking of the disguised dragon, Mr. Todd contented himself to ignore both his own thoughts and Fae Hershal for a few short hours of speculation about the concepts of literature. To which Simon had little to relatively no input.
They reached the foot of the hills after suppertime.
Chapter 38
A Tetley Fall
Cosette wasn’t used to travelling with companions, however she thought she rather fancied the change in comparison to skulking about in the brush. Though she couldn’t walk as fast while wearing a dress, it didn’t seem to matter much considering she wasn’t the only female wearing one.
She was glad to be able to walk alongside Mr. Todd, even if his attention was with someone else at the moment. Cosette was simply content to look at him when she could and smile, thinking how lovely it was to finally be able to be next to him.
How she did love Simon Todd. The man who went through so much trouble to climb the roof and ensure she had an amicable gossip right before tea time was much sweeter now she was able to reply. She was beyond delighted he had forgiven her for the rather nasty fall, and more so that he seemed to be warming up to her.
The Curious Case of Simon Todd Page 41
