by Adam Dreece
Gretel glanced at him and then at the rapier. Unconsciously she started rocking herself back and forth.
“After he was down and no threat, I picked this and you up and went back to the cabin to check on Saul. He was gone. Not sure what to do, I just started walking. If you don’t want this, I’ll—”
Gretel stood and threw the rapier as far as she could. Ray caught her as she stumbled backwards.
“That felt good,” she said, laughing.
“What now?” he asked, steadying her on her own two feet.
“In the morning, we start our road to redemption.”
CHAPTER SIX
Pieces of the Pieman
Abeland groped around for something to cover his head and block the morning sun. The bed he’d cobbled together from the remains of Richelle’s estate had included a mattress and makeshift pillow, but no blanket. He sat up and yawned, gazing through the broken glass window. The fresh, warm summer air felt good. “Might as well get another breathing treatment in before breakfast,” he said, getting up and reaching for his shirt.
It had been a challenging couple of days to shake all of his pursuers, but once he had, he’d made his way to Richelle’s in hopes of meeting up with her. Along the way, he heard of the Laros coup, the dissolving of its parliament and the hunt for Richelle. He was relieved that there was no word of her having been captured or killed.
He nodded at the broom leaning against the far wall. It had been a long, long time since he’d used one, but it had felt right bringing a bit of order to the master bedroom before sleeping in it. It was one way of reclaiming the mob-ravaged home of his niece. Picking up the broom, he headed for the basement and the secret entrance to the laboratory where his spare breathing apparatus was set up.
As he double checked the dials and levers of his machine, he noticed a subtle closet door. Walking over and opening it, he laughed and clapped his hands. Richelle had several of his old shirts, pants and even one of his tricked-out long coats. “You are simply the best niece, ever,” he said. “The sun won’t set today until I figure out what happened to you, I promise.”
With the knobs properly calibrated and a fresh dose of medicine in place, Abeland sat in the chair and pulled down the barbaric looking helmet. For the next hour, as his lungs were exercised and the medicine pushed in, he planned his day.
After washing and dressing in fresh clothes, Abeland found a renewed sense of daring. He went into the small village nearby and bought some fruit, bread and meat for the day with coins from Richelle’s secret cache. No one recognized him, even all dressed up. Maybe it was the lack of his customary eyepatch or monocle. Maybe it was because no one was looking for Piemans. Either way, he knew not to push his luck.
He set his sack of goods on the kitchen table and put the lone surviving plate down gently. The white porcelain plate had a crack running from the edge through the Pieman’s crest. He remembered seeing a plate like that at Lennart’s, the last time he’d dropped in to visit. He’d played with little Beldon, and then, as always, he’d argued with his brother about spies and plots and things that they seemed to violently agree on rather than disagree about. He vowed to do right by his brother and make sure that his son would have a good life.
Abeland pushed the cracked plate away and rubbed his forehead. He’d lost his appetite. It was rare that he let his mind wander out of bounds, and always felt uneasy when it returned.
He gazed out a broken kitchen window at the beautiful day. He wondered how disciplined Caterina was, and how she would handle discovering that her little boy Beldon was now Bakon, alive and well. He was all but certain she wouldn’t be distracted for long, one way or the other. His sense of family responsibility was confused. Should he be trying to rescue Bakon because he was a Pieman, or treat him like a Maurice? He was Richelle’s brother, but neither of them knew that, which made it seem less real.
Walking out into the garden, he pondered his next move. Richelle was out there, somewhere. He needed to reach out to his spy network to find her, but if he tried too hard, he was sure that Caterina would hear of it. He had to be smart and careful, the latter of which he rarely was, particularly when he was by himself.
Returning inside and climbing the stairs to the second floor, Abeland started feeling along the trim of the corridor and of every room, looking for a secret panel. It was standard practice for the Piemans to hide their real offices, unless they were in Teuton. He doubted Richelle would have broken with tradition. He’d already searched the basement to no avail.
“Turn around!” boomed a voice from the bottom of the staircase.
Abeland clutched his chest. “You scared the ghost out of me,” he said chuckling. “I’m glad to see you’re not dead.”
“We Piemans are hard to kill,” replied Richelle, relieved to see her uncle.
“We are, indeed,” he said, trotting down the stairs.
Richelle gave him a big hug. “Is that red in your cheeks, uncle? Is emotion creeping in along with the grey?” she asked.
“What? Never,” he said, touching his hair. “Have you perchance been taken to a new fashion in my absence?” She resembled a drowned cat who had then gone through a windstorm. Her hair was twisted and knotted, her clothes filthy and ruined. She had dried blood on her face and hands.
Richelle pulled a twig out of her hair. “I took a flying leap off a rail-raft into a lake. The hundred yard drop was exhilarating, but the sudden stop was rather painful. It’s been a long road home.” She gave Abe a smile. “It’s good to see you. I thought you were dead, and with Opa captured, I thought I was all that was left.”
“So father’s been captured?”
“Yes, by the Lady in Red,” answered Richelle.
Abeland glanced about. “Hmm, so she was striking at us from every angle she could, then. She must have a lot of royals in her pocket.”
“Where have you been?” asked Richelle.
“Prison, betrayed by Simon. I escaped recently and then was nearly captured by her. I then made my way here. So let me ask, is rail-raft jumping a new sport now? From the vanguard of innovation to just… things to do when bored?”
“Did I mention the Fare soldiers trying to kill me?”
“No,” replied Abeland. “You left that part out.”
Richelle smiled. “It turns out Ron-Paul Silskin is working for Caterina. He lead the ambush. Mister Jenny was there, too, though I think he’s the reason I had a chance to escape.”
Abeland was surprised. “Jenny, after all this time? Huh. It’s like the past is coming back to haunt us.”
Richelle detected something as he averted his gaze. “What is it? You’re hiding something from me.”
He was out of practice at keeping things from her. He’d trained her to notice the little things, and she was doing him proud, as always. “We need to talk for a moment.” Over the next ten minutes, he shared with her the discovery that her mother was alive, and that she was the Lady in Red. After that had settled in, he went on to tell her about her three brothers and why he and Marcus had never told her. To his surprise, she wasn’t angry
“Once… I think I was about ten, you told me about my brothers. It was one of those rare occasions where you were drunk before lunch. Something was bothering you, and I listened, and then you told me about them and my parents, and how much I meant to you. I didn’t know if you were telling the truth so I went to Opa. He took me into his secret office and sat me down. He gave me a cookie and told me everything. I was angry for months. But that was then. I’m not going to let old anger haunt or control me. That woman isn’t my mother, she’s just the woman who birthed me.” Her hands shook, betraying her air of calm.
He nodded, stopping himself from consoling her; it had never been his role. He’d always been the one to pick her up, set her focus and run with her, not the one to cuddle her in the dark moments. “Shall we put her on the revenge list?”
“The list is all her now,” replied Richelle.
“So,
what do we do next? I have no idea where we stand,” admitted Abeland.
Richelle bent down and picked at some chards of an old vase, thinking. “Simon should have the steam engine plans by now.”
“It was finally invented, then? Excellent. Klaus, I presume,” said Abeland.
“Watt, actually. Yes, I was surprised as well. Anyway, Simon’s still using the same manor in Staaten, so we should be okay.”
Abeland raised a finger. “A point on that—we’ll need to be careful. Besides being the Lady in Red, I think Caterina serves as Regent for Staaten. I noticed an insignia on some of her soldiers.”
Richelle nodded. “We should check any messages they’re sending by Neumatic Tube.”
“Check?” said Abeland, surprised.
“I don’t invent much,” replied Richelle, “but I did build a way to intercept most messages, at least within a region.”
“Clever girl,” replied Abeland.
Richelle rolled her eyes. “Girl indeed. Anyway, we should get to my office. Care to lead the way?” she asked gesturing to the stairs.
Looking sheepish, he replied, “Um… why don’t you go first? I’ll follow your lead.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
One for the Road
The door of the abbey bedroom creaked open, rousing Tee from her troubled sleep. As the soft footsteps came closer, Tee peeked out at the world. When the figure bent down and laid his hand on her back, she knew immediately who it was.
“Dad?” said Tee sitting up and rubbing her eyes.
“Hi, little love,” he replied, his voice warm and loving.
She pulled him into a tight hug. “I’ve missed you so much!”
“I’ve missed you, too,” he said, rocking her gently. “The Abbott tells me you’ve been through a lot.” He remembered leaving a note for Tee, detailing that his wife, Jennifer, and he were going to check out some concerns in Mineau. He’d been certain they would see her for dinner. He was wrong. “Mind if I open the curtains?”
Tee sniffed and wiped her tears. “No, go ahead. What time is it?”
“Probably about six in the morning,” he said as he tied the curtains back. “I got in two hours ago.”
“Six, already? I should be doing my workout,” she said pulling her blanket aside instinctively. She then looked at him and smiled.
“So you really do take it that seriously, don’t you?” he asked, smiling.
Tee nodded.
He glanced about the small room. “This is a nice little room they have you in. Just enough room for the necessities.” He gestured to the sparse furniture.
“They gave Elly a visiting bishop’s room,” said Tee. “I’m not in here much—just to sleep.”
William stared at her and shook his head. “How can you look so much older? It’s only been a few days.”
“It’s been weeks,” replied Tee, chuckling. “You always do that.” Her smile halted as she sensed something from him. “Are you okay, Dad? You look thinner. Tired.”
He sat beside her and patted her hand. “I’m doing okay. I came here as quickly as I could, that’s all. You did a great job leaving me those coded messages, from Elly’s back doorframe with the chalk, to the notes with the innkeepers. I’m so proud of you. You did everything we told you to do in a crisis.” He gave her a kiss on the head. “Well done.”
A sense of relief washed over Tee. “I kept wondering if —”
“And you’ll never feel that way again. Right?”
Tee nodded.
“So, how are you doing, love?” he asked, brushing her long, black hair out of her face.
She looked at her hands. “Dad, Elly… she almost…”
He took her back into a hug. “Shh. She’s doing fine. You did great.”
“But I nearly… I nearly…” Tears streamed down her face.
He rocked her. “Nearly doesn’t count. It doesn’t matter what it was,” he said, his magical voice patching up some of the holes in her soul. He smiled as she sighed. “You’re becoming a remarkable woman. I’m so proud.”
Tee chuckled. “You’ve said proud about five times.”
He laughed. “Your mother has a better vocabulary. She reads more.”
“Yeah.” Tee wiped her eyes and nose. “Is Mom here?”
Standing up and looking out the window, William kicked himself. He didn’t want to talk about what was going on back home. “No. She’s helping the people deal with what happened, along with Squeals and Bore. We agreed that I should find you. We were certain you were okay, but still, we worried.”
“Dad?” asked Tee, her eyes welling up and chin quivering.
“Yeah?” he replied, rubbing her back.
“Can I… Can I tell you everything? I just feel so heavy,” she started to cry.
Without thinking, he reached into a long forgotten pocket and pulled out an old, yellow and brown handkerchief. “Here.”
Tee took it and chuckled, her face a mess. “You still have this?” she asked in disbelief. “I made it when I was three.”
“It’s always been there, it’s my lucky handkerchief,” he replied. “You made it for one of my burf-days, as you called it back then.” He nodded. “I didn’t know it was there, until just now. Funny how life is sometimes.”
She wiped her face and nodded. She then took the next hour to fill William in on her version of events, from Anna Kundle Maucher’s ill-fated plan to take on the Pieman’s that resulted in her capture and Pierre de Montagne’s death, to LeLoup’s help. As her burden lightened, his shoulders drooped and his face became more solemn.
Gazing out the window and holding her hand, he said, “You shouldn’t have had to go through all of that. I… don’t know what to say.”
“I’m stronger for it, right, Dad?”
He turned to her, nodding. “Incredibly so. I’m going to say it again.”
“What’s that?” asked Tee, confused.
“Proud. I’m proud of you,” he said with a grin.
Tee sighed. She squeezed his hand. “Can we go home now?”
His eyes darted around the room, which had gone from cozy to confining. “No. I’m sorry, little love. It’s not safe,” he said, his voice trembling slightly. “You need to stay with Christina and the others.”
“But I can help,” said Tee, frowning. She squinted. “What’s going on?”
“Everything is fine, and you’re amazing, but I can’t have you come. Not yet. I need you here,” he replied.
“Christina’s not even here,” said Tee.
“Actually, the Abbott told me Christina and Mounira arrived last night. I’m surprised Mounira hasn’t bolted into your room to wake you up.” He stared out the window. “Listen, I know Christina can be a bit… intense sometimes, but she’s a good person. I’ll send word, probably in a month or two, for you, Elly and Mounira to come home.”
“Okay,” replied Tee reluctantly. “Are you sure Christina won’t mind?”
“I’m going to have a talk with her. It’ll be okay,” he said with an odd smile.
Tee glanced about. “I’d like to go do my exercises now, if that’s okay. You’re not going to leave without saying goodbye, are you?”
“No way,” he said, giving her a kiss. “And you know what, if you don’t mind, I’d like to join you for that workout. Maybe you could show me some of your moves.”
“Okay,” she replied with a big smile. “I’ll meet you in the courtyard in ten minutes.”
Elly laid on one of the abbey’s courtyard benches, propped up with pillows. The black wooden wheelchair was on one side, a table with the remnants of a breakfast of tea and toast on the other.
She put down her book on the mountain of pillows and gazed at the manicured gardens. The surrounding old-world buildings protected the courtyard’s beauty from the rest of the world. She loved the serenity of the abbey in the early morning, and the fireflies at night.
“Do you have need of anything?” asked one of the monks.
“No thanks
, Jayne. I am fine, thank you,” said Elly with an appreciative smile.
“It is our duty, and our honor,” replied the red and gold robed monk. He bowed and left.
Elly glanced around, feeling something was missing. It had been there since she’d arrived that morning, and now it was gone. Then it hit her. She couldn’t hear Tee and William sparring any more. She glanced up at the sun, her hand over her eyes. She wasn’t very skilled at telling time from the position of the sun, but she knew it wasn’t lunch time yet.
“Is everything alright?” asked another monk. “It is nine o’clock and twenty minutes, if you were curious about the time.”
“Thank you… Malcolm?”
The monk nodded and left.
Every day had been similar, and though she’d expected to get quickly tired of it, Elly still loved being spoiled. Tee had started teasing her about the extent, which Elly took as a sign that the days of the dark and brooding Tee were going to pass.
“Hello, Elly,” said William, walking up and wiping his flushed face with a towel. A monk quickly took it from him and disappeared. “I was just on my way to talk with Christina and noticed you out of the corner of my eye. You’re looking comfortable.”
She smiled. “Did you manage to keep up with her? I heard the two of you.”
He glanced over his shoulder. “She’s really good. Honestly, I’m surprised, and exhausted. I don’t remember her always being that intense. Is that new?”
“She’s just… um…” Elly wasn’t sure how to answer and then stopped, noting the look in his eyes didn’t align with his question. “Is everything okay, Monsieur Baker?”
“Yes, yes. Well, as much as could be expected, given what’s happened, I suppose,” he said, offering the classic smile she used to see nearly every day when she’d pop over to Tee’s house.
“Are my parents with you?” she asked eagerly.
William gently shook his head. “Your parents are helping Jennifer in Mineau. They’re well, and, of course, worried about you.” He crouched down and looked at her, eye to eye. “How are you doing? You’ve been shot, but I’ve heard you’re recovering well.”
