“You finished it?” her voice filled with the awe.
“Yes, and you can have it.” He waved in the carriage’s direction and the store where his sister still perused the shelves. “I have a carriage. We can go and get your new foot and you can disappear again. He won’t have time to make plans if you leave now.”
“Quickly.” Her actions followed her words as she glided past him on her crutch.
Everett skipped to catch up and to express the joy in his heart at finding her again. Once at the store he caught Katherine’s attention.
Katherine snapped her book closed. “What? Wait, is that a girl? Oh, my goodness she’s albino.” Katherine knocked a small table of display books in her haste to reach them and it wobbled precariously.
The gleam of scientific discovery in Katherine’s eyes had Everett stepping between Medea and his sister. “She’s not to be experimented on.”
Katherine’s eyes showed her hurt. “I wouldn’t do that.”
“You experiment on everything.” Everett accused. Over the years her experiments had included dead bodies and creatures in glass jars. Medea was rare enough to tempt even the most ethical of scholars.
“Not on living people. You know that.” Katherine tilted her head around Everett’s form so she could address Medea directly, “I’m Katherine and you are beautiful. Are you courting my brother?”
Everett deflected. “We don’t have time for this. Medea needs her new foot and we have to get out of here.”
Katherine went from offended scientist to a fellow conspirator in a flash. “A new foot. Was it an accident? Our sister lost her hand in an accident.”
Medea followed them as they headed out of the store. “No, they took it from me.”
Everett had done some research after the crazy man had attacked him. “I have some friends living in Africa and they said some witch doctors use albino children for their spells. That they believe it will make them rich.”
Katherine gasped at the horrifying prospect and glanced around to see Medea’s face. “Is that true?”
“Cayman is the one who took my foot and he made a small fortune from it.” Everett made sure to keep his face forward so they wouldn’t see his reaction. It was awful to think of the fear and pain of being used as an ingredient for a spell.
“Is Cayman the crazy man who attacked me?” It was good to be able to put a name to the enemy.
“He’s the witch doctor who tried to own me after I got away from my master.”
Katherine asked because Everett had trouble breathing. “A dragon owned you?” Katherine made the assumption but the slight American accent to Medea’s words implied a different ownership. He had already made this assumption. Few who had come from the new world and were of African descent hadn’t been touched the people’s weird views on ownership. Most had left the empire when they found the rules the dragons insisted on too stifling. There were no dragons in the colonies and this allowed people to feel free to live as they wished. Which included enslaving others.
“Dragon? No, a man.” Her words flat with a reluctance to discuss the topic.
Katherine didn’t recognise the tone in Medea’s voice and asked with the tactless curiosity of an avid learner. “Are there no dragons in America?”
“Yes, though they live in the middle of the continent and away from the colonies. They don’t like the colonists.” Medea was clearly more amiable to discuss dragons than her own captivity.
“That’s because the colonists left to be able to live as they pleased. Meaning away from the dragons here in the Wyvern Empire,” Katherine announced.
Everett said, “You would have been better off owned by a dragon. They wouldn’t have let Cayman cut off your foot.”
Medea wasn’t as convinced as she said, “Are you so sure?” but Everett knew dragons and knew their idea of ownership was more about stewardship rather than possessing. There was also nothing in their ideology that made them think themselves superior to the people they owned. From what he had seen of Rayne and Victor was that Victor felt he was just as owned by Rayne as he owned Rayne.
They reached the carriage and Katherine got in first, her skirts crowding the entrance of the carriage.
Once settled it was clear Katherine wasn’t ready to let the conversation change tack as she said with conviction, “Dragons don’t own people they look after their people.”
Everett said, “I doubt Medea would see that as an improvement. I’m sure Cayman believes he is justified.”
Medea agreed, “He believes I am an object he can use. That I belong to him and that he has the right to do what he wishes with me.”
Katherine asked, “You are being stalked like a deer? I’ve heard of this. People can be awfully weird about things they think belong to them. He can be very dangerous.” Her tone turned reverent to the seriousness of the situation.
Everett rubbed at the spot where Cayman had hit him with the stick and said, “I know.”
Katherine said, “We know a dragon who can get you out of the city and very far away. That way this Cayman guy can never find you. He’d lose your scent so to speak.”
Everett liked this idea as Victor could also take him to visit her.
The carriage stopped outside his store and Everett helped both his sister and Medea from the carriage. He unlocked the door and said over his shoulder as he entered the shadows of the store, “I finished your foot last week but because I didn’t know where to find you I just put it in the vault at the back of the store.”
They all turned to one of the shadows when Cayman said, “I was wondering when you would bring her.”
Everett saw the hurt look in Medea’s eyes. “He lies,” Everett insisted.
Cayman stepped out of the shadows flicking a few chicken feathers strapped to a stick. “He is under my control. He brought you here so I can gain my full potential.”
Everett growled. “No.” He rushed Cayman. The old man ducked aside bringing his stick up. Everett moved in closer. Grabbing the stick as Cayman tried again to hit him. Everett yanked the stick out of Cayman’s hand and threw it across the store. It clattered as it bounced off the counter and landed on the wooden floor.
Cayman wasn’t so easily defeated though. He dropped his chicken feathers on a stick and fumbled at his waist for a new weapon. Everett grabbed Cayman’s arm but not before Cayman found what he was looking for. He drew a knife made from stone from the folds of his clothes. Everett snatched for it but the blade sliced his hand. Flinching away he skittered backward. Cayman slashed at him again. This time slicing his stomach. Blood splattered Everett’s shirt and fire slashed across his abdomen.
Everett needed to finish this soon before the blood loss ruled in Cayman’s favour. Cayman stabbed forward with the blade. It would have cut Everett again except a crutch slammed down on Cayman’s arm. The knife skittered across the floor and tucked itself under a cabinet.
Katherine rescued the walking stick and followed Medea’s blow with one of her own. Together the two whacked at Cayman until he was reduced to huddling on the ground, his arms thrown over his head in defence. Everett scrambled around his counter. He yanked open a drawer and felt under the lip for the hidden compartment. Extracting the gun his policeman sister had given him after Cayman had attacked the first time.
He pointed it at Cayman. “Stay where you are.”
The women looked at him, weapons raised above their heads. Katherine lowered hers first. “I’ll go for the constables.” Medea lowered her crutch in front of her and leaned on it heavily. Everett wished he could help support her but he kept the weapon on Cayman.
Medea looked down at the man who continued to huddle in the middle of the store. “Is it over?”
“Yes, my sister is a constable. She’ll make sure he gets justice.” If not, Victor would make sure this man who perverted his position, was taken somewhere he wouldn’t hurt anyone anymore.
“I don’t have to run.” Her voice breathless.
Everett�
�s legs grew weak and he collapsed to one knee.
Medea scrambled to his side and pressed a hand to the wound on his stomach. “It’s still bleeding.”
She frantically searched for a cloth and then in desperation tugged off her petticoat to press it to his wound. Everett kept the gun trained on Cayman who finally emerged from his defensive position. Everett’s arm trembled with the effort.
___
The ambulance rattled up to the hospital. Medea caught up to Katherine who had walked with the cart. Katherine snapped at the man hauling Everett.
“Keep that pressure.” The men glared at Katherine.
Medea said, “They know what they are doing Katherine.” Her answer to that was a snort but at least Katherine refrained from making any comments about their abilities as they transferred Everett to a stretcher. Katherine dogged their steps. Medea stayed further back as the young woman berated the doctors for not cleaning their hands.
The doctors grumbled at that until Katherine said, “The dragons insist and if Victor found out you had killed his brother-in-law because you didn’t follow dragon rules when it comes to one of their collections.”
Medea hadn’t been aware there were rules when it came to dragons or their collections. She hadn’t been aware that Everett was even in his collection. Did that make him a slave to a dragon?
Katherine was physically removed from the room when she kept making comments about their skills. Angry Katherine paced up and down the corridor.
Medea watched her and asked, “Will he be alright?”
“Yes, if those butchers don’t mess it up. I’ll have Victor have a look later to see if they got everything out.” She wasn’t sure what Katherine meant by that but she also didn’t think Katherine was in a state to explain it. The doctors eventually left and nurses took Everett to a room.
Katherine checked him over and grunted with acceptance when she saw the neat stitches and muttered, “At least they got something right.”
Katherine spun on her heels and said, “Stay here, please. I have to tell mom and dad.”
The room dropped into silence when Katherine left. Her presence had filled in more space than her small frame physically took up. Medea glanced around to see if there was a nurse around but they had left and occasionally walked past the door. Worried that he would somehow pass away without even someone by his side she moved a chair closer.
She propped her crutch up and reached out to hold his hand. He was cool and she worried about the amount of blood he had lost. His cheeks didn’t hold the same amount of colour as he usually did. She chuffed his hand a little to help him warm up. When it didn’t help, she looked around and found a spare blanket in a wardrobe. She placed it over him and tucked it in around his sides.
She settled in the chair and rested her head on the bed. It must have been at least an hour later when Everett started to stir. Startled she shook her head. The room was dark though there was some light coming from the corridor where gas lamps were turned down low.
She rubbed her face and glanced around trying to gauge the time. Since she was hungry, she assumed it was much later. Everett groaned and she reached out for his hand. His head turned to her as his eyes fluttered open. He smiled at her and she returned it shyly.
She whispered as the quiet of the hospital urged her to maintain the solemn nature, “How are you feeling?”
“Sore but at least I’m alive.” His hand slipped out of hers and she flushed embarrassed she had been holding his hand. He touched his side and tried to sit up. She awkwardly helped him to sit. Everett was panting with pain by the time she propped him up with the pillows. She poured him some water and brought the cup to his lips. She sat back and watched him. He was sweating from the effort to move and his eyes were closed.
She wasn’t sure where the nurses were but surely they would make their rounds with something to help him with his pain. She watched him as he breathed through his pain. He reached out and caught her hand. He squeezed a little. When he opened his eyes, she offered him a smile.
She said, “Thank you for taking a bullet for me.” Though in this case not a literal bullet.
He shook his head slightly. “You deserve a hero.”
She blushed. No one spoke about her like that.
Katherine from the doorway said, “Sorry I’m interrupting something.”
Embarrassed Medea pulled her hand away from Everett’s grasp. Katherine said, “I came to take you home. I also have Everett’s valet who will stay with him tonight. I don’t trust these doctors to watch him.” Katherine came in and placed a bottle on the table next to the bed. “Stay away from the opium.” Waving a hand at her head she said, “It messes up your head and can make it difficult to get off it.”
She motioned to the bottle. “My own concoction. It might not get rid of the pain as much as the opium but at least it won’t make you fuzzy and it isn’t addictive.”
Medea picked up her crutch from the ground where it had fallen at some stage in her nap. She glanced back at Everett but Katherine was in a hurry charging past the valet who stood at the door. Medea gave Everett a smile before she followed Katherine.
Chapter Fifteen
Katherine hopped down out of the carriage and dashed into the house as rain pelted down in large drops. She kept the door open for Medea as she sloshed through the rain. Her crutch gave her little traction in the rain so she had to be careful. She said, “You don’t have to bring me here.”
Katherine shook her head. “You’ll be safe here.” Medea wasn’t so sure. She had thought she was safe from the witch doctor when she had thought he was prison but he had managed to get out. He must have used a spell as she knew he didn’t have the influence in this city to free himself. Unless there was someone else that wanted the witch doctor free.
She came to a standstill when she entered the house. She had known by Everett’s lack of care with money that he must come from wealth but when she stepped into the foyer and was confronted by murals and gold leaf, she knew he came from wealth she couldn’t even imagine.
Katherine turned when Medea stopped. She frowned at Medea and she felt the blood rushing away from her face though Medea doubted she looked any paler. “I can’t stay here.”
“Of course you can. My parents will make sure there is extra security and you don’t have to worry about the witch doctor attacking you in the house of a duke if he gets out of prison.” That didn’t do anything to ease her concerns. Everett’s father was a duke.
Breathless, she asked, “Do you have an older brother beside Everett?”
Katherine smiled at her seemingly ordinary question. “No. Just sisters. A few of them but you’ve met some of them.” So Everett would eventually be a duke himself. She knew that nobility in England was important. Not like in the new world. There, wealth made nobles of the uncouth.
A woman who was round but had a bounce in her step that belied her age clapped her hands and said, “You have brought a girl home for Everett.” The woman’s face softened. “Oh you are adorable.”
Katherine stepped between her and the woman. “Stop right there mother. You aren’t going to start planning anything. Medea is just hiding here until we can get her somewhere safe.”
“Safe? You are in danger?” The woman peered around her daughter to address Medea directly.
Katherine took her to a room upstairs. She wondered as she navigated the stairs with painful slowness. She wondered if she could run up and down them once she had her new foot.
Katherine popped into a room and said, “Rayne’s room is free. She hasn’t been home in weeks.” Medea felt awkward using another woman’s room but once she stepped in she saw that most of the personal items were missing from the room. If Katherine hadn’t announced it was her sister’s room she wouldn’t have guessed.
“Let me get you some clothes and organise a bath. You are soaked.” Katherine disappeared, leaving Medea to stare at the room lit with gas lamps. She felt lost because this wasn’t the kind o
f life she had ever been invited in to enjoy. Her master’s house in the new world was this luxurious but she had been more of an outsider there than she was here. But at least she had a role to play. She wasn’t even sure what she was supposed to do here.
She heard Katherine before she returned. Medea remained in the middle of the room, leaving a puddle of water.
“Here are some clothes to wear. You are the same size as my maid and mother likes to dress her up as none of her daughters like dressing up in the latest fashion. These are from last year so you are more than welcome to keep them and make changes.” She dumped the pile of dresses on the bed and glanced at her.
She frowned. “You are going to be alright. Everett will get better and they will put the man who chased you into jail for the rest of his life.”
Medea shook her head. “You don’t understand. Cayman is powerful. He has chased me over continents. He has spirits who obey him.”
Katherine asked, “Whose?”
Her question confused Medea so she frowned. “What do you mean whose?”
“Whose spirit?” Medea searched the young woman’s face to see if she was making a joke but there was only serious interest in the girl’s expression.
“Supposedly my own ancestors. That was the first thing he did when he took me from the people who rescued me was to tie my ancestors to him.”
Katherine shook her head. “If your ancestors have any power whatsoever it would be to protect you. Cayman told you that because he wanted you to see everything as his doing. Instead you should have been looking for when your ancestors were trying to help you.”
Medea frowned at the young woman. “I thought you were a scientist of some sort.”
“I am but that doesn’t mean that I don’t think people should believe in things. Your belief in your ancestors could help you with dealing with the things in life that seem senseless. There is nothing wrong with that unless someone has infected your belief to believe in something that will harm you. Besides we live in a world with dragons. Anything is possible.”
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