The Witch Watch

by Shamus Young

  At first Simon suspected that Alice was feigning interest in order to flatter Mr. Armstrong, but it soon became clear that her amazement was genuine. She was truly delighted to be so close to the heart of the ship. She was grinning like a child.

  The talk of machinery was baffling to Simon, and he heard many new and mysterious words as Alice and Mr. Armstrong discussed boiler design, coal delivery, the benefits of steel over iron, and the dangers of breaking shafts - whatever that meant. When the tour was over it was clear that they had a new friend, and he insisted that Alice come for another tour if she found herself aboard Callisto again. She agreed, and asked for leave to explore the rest of the lower decks. This was granted, and Mr. Armstrong passed the word along to his men.

  That night, Simon and Gilbert were standing outside, enduring the cruel rain. Gilbert had grown restless in their room and wanted to move around. Simon had gone with him to perpetuate the notion that Gilbert was a sickly old man in need of help.

  “I don’t know how much longer I can stay out here,” Simon said through chattering teeth. “Aren’t you cold?”

  “I never feel cold. Or warm,” Gilbert said sadly. “I can tell the weather is cold, but it doesn’t bother me.”

  “You’re lucky,” Simon said.

  “No, I’m dead.”

  “You keep talking about it as if it was a bad thing, but I don’t understand you. You don’t fear pain. You’re strong. You have your senses. You’re ageless.”

  The two of them looked over the railing together and watched the white frothy waves rise and tumble below. Finally Gilbert spoke, “After I was captured by the Witch Watch, they took me back to Grayhouse, their headquarters. I lived there for a few days. Alice lives in one half of the house, and the other half is for general use. The men don’t go into her half of the house. I didn’t understand this division. Nobody had bothered to explain it to me. They just assumed I would sit in the library all the time. Eventually I got bored and went into her part of the house to ask her if she had a deck of cards. I found her getting ready for a bath.”

  Simon went wide-eyed and swallowed, “Was she...?”

  “She was wearing a very small amount of clothing,” Gilbert said. “But the remarkable thing wasn’t what I saw, but what I felt.”

  “I imagine it must have been sad to realize you would never...”

  “Nothing. I felt nothing. Just describing the scene has put red in your cheeks and gotten your heart beating. I was there to see it with my own eyes, and it didn’t affect me any more than a painting of a sunset. I can tell she is pretty, but I am no longer struck to the heart by the sight of a woman.”

  Simon drew a deep breath and wiped the raindrops from his spectacles, so that new ones would have room to land.

  “I’m dead,” Gilbert said sadly. “I’m dead. I’ll never enjoy food. Or the company of a woman. Or a cold drink on a hot day. Or a soft bed after a day of toil.”

  “It seems you’re immune to both the joys and sorrows of living,” Simon stood shivering for a few moments before continuing. “Now that I think of it, I suppose the two go together. You can’t enjoy food until you’ve felt hunger. You can’t appreciate a warm fire unless you’re cold. The enjoyment of a bed is expensive indeed if the price is a day of toil. I suppose you can’t have joy without suffering. That’s a sad thought.”

  “It’s foolish of me to complain to you. Life without joy is a burden, but it’s nothing compared to your life of steady misery.”

  Simon nodded and stomped his feet as he struggled to keep warm, “You can’t have joy without suffering, but you can have suffering without joy. You can’t enjoy a meal forever, but you can feel hungry all the time.”

  “That’s a terrible thought,” Gilbert said.

  They walked a bit further, moving away from the superstructure, which tilted and rocked overhead like a building that had gone for a walk. A very small number of crewmen remained on deck, watching the ship and the sea from whatever places they could find that might shield them from the gusting wind.

  The wind faded for a few moments and Simon spoke again. “If it’s as unsatisfying as you say it is, then I wonder why wizards choose undeath.”

  “I suppose it’s an attractive possibility for old men who are facing their end. Most of their physical pleasures are lost or faded.”

  “Or maybe there’s something they value more than physical pleasures,” Simon suggested.

  “I wonder what it is that Lord Mordaunt is after. Does he have some goal beyond attaining lich... ness?”

  Simon didn’t answer. His back was to Gilbert. He was looking up at the higher decks of the ship, where the crew lived. Or perhaps at the bridge.

  “What’s wrong?” Gilbert asked.

  “I don’t want to live like that again. As a slave, I mean. At the time, I was always afraid of being killed. Now I’m always afraid of somehow being dragged back to that old life. I fear that more than I fear death.”

  Gilbert clapped him on the shoulder. “You say this like it’s a thing of shame. If you fear slavery more than death, then good! That means you’re discovering courage. The time may come when you will need to fight to keep your freedom, or other things you hold dear.”

  Simon nodded, although he seemed shaken by the prospect of fighting.

  Seeing Simon’s unease, Gilbert said, “Resolve yourself to it now, so that when the moment comes you won’t falter.”

  “Thank you,” Simon said. “I will.”

  Simon and Alice spent the next several days exploring the lower decks and searching for signs of sorcery. During the day they moved around the ship, watching Alice’s ethergram for activity. At night Gilbert watched the device while they slept. For days the gauge refused to move, but at last one night it trembled very slightly. Gilbert roused Alice and Simon, but the ethergram fell silent again before they could discover the origin of the magic. The following night they stayed awake, and waited below.

  Just after midnight the ethergram showed a frenzy of activity. Simon had dozed off at the bottom of a ladder, and Alice had been pacing to stay awake. Once Alice woke Simon, they ran off into the depths of the ship in search of the origin. They tried to both run and move silently at the same time, which didn’t really work. They wanted to find the source quickly, but they didn’t want to reveal themselves to the headmaster and his men.

  They closed in, but then the ethergram seemed to be leading them in circles. Too late Alice realized the sorcery must be going on above or below them. The sorcery ended before they could discover the proper deck. Eventually they found a storage room that had been recently mopped, but it contained no other clues.

  The next day they were gathered in their room. Alice was studying the book she’d brought with her. Gilbert was pacing. Simon was eating. Alice had been ordering extra food for her ‘grandfather’, and bringing it back to the room so that Simon could enjoy a second meal.

  “It seems like our task is hopeless,” Simon said between mouthfuls. “Even if we find where they are doing their work, I don’t see how we can arrange to have them caught. We can never tell where or when their meetings will take place.”

  “I would still like to find them if we can,” said Alice. “I’m very curious what is so important that they’re willing to risk discovery. What is it that they have to tell their master that can’t wait until they return to Ravenstead?”

  “Perhaps they aren’t giving him news, but receiving it,” Simon suggested.

  Gilbert began imitating the aristocratic accent of the viscount, “Gentlemen! So good of you to summon me. I just wanted to inform you that I am still dead.”

  Simon laughed and almost choked on his meal.

  “I’m glad you find it amusing, but our position would be improved if we knew what they were doing,” Alice said.

  “I don’t know that we’ll get another chance,” Simon said. “We’ve been at sea for over a week. I thought we would have arrived by now.”

  “It’s been nine days,�
�� Alice said. “The weather has delayed us. I’ve heard that we should expect to arrive in New York sometime near dawn tomorrow.”

  “New York!” said Simon. “I’d never traveled outside of Ravenstead before. Now I’ve seen London, Liverpool, and I’m going to see New York.”

  “Do you have a plan for when we land?” Alice asked.

  Gilbert stopped pacing, “We could head directly to where Mother is living, and keep watch over the house. We should be let off the boat long before the headmaster. Furthermore, I know the way we are going, while they might need to ask for directions. We should arrive long ahead of them.”

  “But, your mother just recently moved to America. How is it that you know the way?” Alice asked.

  “My mother is living with my sister Ruby and her husband. I grew up in that house. I don’t know what our foes will do if they arrive and find the place watched. I’d rather they not besiege the house. It would be better if we could engage them on the road between the city and the house.”

  Their last day on the ship passed slowly and uneventfully. Simon spent the day on the bow, looking longingly towards the horizon. Alice explained that they would not see land until morning, but Simon could not pull his eyes away. Gilbert spent the day brooding in their room.

  They went to bed early and fell asleep late, anxious for what the morning would bring.

  Alice sat up in bed. “What is it?” she muttered. Her eyes were reluctant to open and even less inclined to focus on things. “What time is it?” The lantern had been lit, and gave off a dim glow in the darkened room. The low, soothing rumble of the engines and the gentle rocking of the ship threatened to lull her back to sleep.

  “I apologize for waking you, but this might be important,” said Gilbert. “The watchmen just changed, so it must be about four, first watch.” He handed her the ethergram.

  “Oh my,” she said once her eyes had settled. “This is very strong. How long has it been like this?”

  “I don’t know. I admit I haven’t been watching it closely. The last time I looked at it was around midnight.”

  Alice stood and turned the ethergram in her hand. Then she moved around the room, watching the needle carefully. “The sorcery is either very close, or very, very strong.”

  “Do you want to investigate? We land in a few hours. It might not be worth the trouble.”

  “I think we should,” she yawned. “I don’t want to let this run unchecked. At the very least, we should make sure the sorcery isn’t being done nearby, with the aim of harming us.”

  “Perhaps I should come with you,” Gilbert suggested.

  “No, I’ll take Simon. You should continue playing the old man. No sense in endangering our disguise now.”

  She woke Simon and they hurried aft, following the ethergram. Once they reached mid-ship, the ethergram lost its way again.

  “Perhaps we are too late, as before,” Simon suggested.

  “I think not,” said Alice as she turned in place and watched the gauge. “The needle is still moving on its own. It’s just indecisive. Let’s go below and see if we can make sense of this.”

  They plunged deep into the ship, and eventually found themselves in the dimly lit and little-traveled passages. They were low enough that the smell of bilge water reached them whenever they were near a ladder.

  “Did you hear that?” Alice asked suddenly, bringing their search to a halt.

  Simon stood listening for a moment before shaking his head. “What did you hear?”

  “Footsteps,” she whispered back. She turned her head one way, then another, listening intently. “I no longer hear them, and I can’t decide which direction they were coming from.”

  They listened for a few more moments before moving on. They passed through several passages, heading starboard. Alice watched her ethergram as she walked, and Simon watched the floor.

  Eventually they spotted a dark pool, sloshing from one side of the passageway to the other. At first he assumed it was oil, but Alice’s light revealed it to be blood.

  They were in a short passage that ran fore to aft, with a hatch at either end. There was no light here, save for that of Alice’s lantern. The dark metal bulkheads were reluctant to accept illumination. Huge rivets lined the walls, which vibrated with the life of distant machinery.

  Simon was alarmed for a few moments, but he mastered himself when he saw how steadfast Alice was. He did his best to show a brave face.

  They followed the trail of blood and it led them to a man laying face-down in the corridor.

  “Unconscious?” Simon whispered hopefully.

  Alice shook her head as she knelt over the body. “Dead. Trauma to the back of the head. Bruising around the throat. Looks like he was strangled.”

  “I can’t imagine the headmaster throttling a man like this. Even if he took him by surprise.”

  “It might have been one of his friends. Perhaps this crewman discovered them in the midst of some evil business.”

  Simon looked around, “I don’t see any sorcery on the floor. No markings. No sign of cleanup or erasing, either.”

  “Neither do I.”

  Simon was shaken. This was not the first time he found himself in the presence of a dead body. He tried to put the fear out of his mind by focusing on their work. “This should be the outer hull, correct?” he said, pointing towards the starboard bulkhead.

  “I believe so,” Alice said. Their exploration over the last few days had given them a passing familiarity with the lower decks of Callisto, and the ability to move around without becoming lost.

  “So why is the needle pointing starboard?” Simon asked as he looked over her shoulder at the ethergram. “On the other side of this wall should be ocean. We’re below the waterline. If there’s sorcery being done out there, it’s being done by fish.”

  “It’s not really pointing that way. Give it a moment and it will move again. It’s been swinging between fore and aft.”

  “Maybe there’s more than one circle,” Simon suggested.

  “That’s a strange thought. Why would they-” Alice stopped as Simon gently put his hand over her mouth. She faced him so that she might more readily glare at him.

  “I heard the footsteps,” Simon hissed. “I’m confident they’re ahead of us.”

  Alice listened for a moment, “One set, or more?”

  Simon closed his eyes, “I’m reasonably sure it was just one set of footsteps.”

  “Then it might just be a member of the crew, making his rounds.”

  Simon suddenly cried out in fear and surprise as he opened his eyes again. Alice spun around to see the headmaster standing in the open hatch at the end of the passage. He was just on the edge of the lantern light, his grinning face hovering in the darkness beyond the doorway.

  “Hello Mouse,” he said to Simon. “Having fun with your new lady-friend? You oughtn’t have gone against the master. Now you’ll get repaid for that.”

  There was a loud clang, and the hatch behind them slammed shut. The wheel turned, securing the door.

  Alice handed her lantern to Simon and stepped forward, “The rats scurry into the open at last. Is this your trap? To corner us in a passage? Has the great and mighty Mordaunt been reduced to mugging his foes?”

  “You’ll see it’s more than a mugging His Lordship has in mind for you, and you’ll lose more than your coin.”

  Alice hitched up her skirt. Simon was so preoccupied with the sight that he nearly overlooked the small silver pistol that had been holstered to her leg. She aimed it casually at the headmaster, “I think we’ll be the ones doing the mugging.”

  The headmaster reached into the room and grasped the handle on the door. Alice warned him to stop moving by pointing her pistol at him more firmly, but he gave it no heed. Alice fired a shot as he hauled the door closed. The shot went astray. The sharp crack of the gunshot was answered with a thunderous boom as the door slammed closed, leaving Alice and Simon alone in the passage.

  They ran
forward and stopped as the light fell on the closed door.

  “Madness!” Alice cried. “How did they manage this?”

  The back of the door had been covered with a broad sorcery circle, which was visible now that the door was closed. A faint mist seemed to be gathering around it. The door in front of them led forward. The door at the opposite end led aft. Both were closed. The passage was completely dark, other than the meager light supplied by their lantern.

  Simon squinted at the writing in the flickering light. “Looks like it was written in grease pencil. Some of the circle was written on the door frame, and some on the door itself. The circle wasn’t completed until the door was closed. That’s a neat trick.”

  “But why?” Alice asked. “I don’t recognize this spell. Let’s open the door and break it again before it causes any mischief.”

  “Wait!” Simon pleaded. He murmured to himself as he read for a moment. “This spell is... the outside is a containing circle. If your spell is volatile or needs time to gather energy, you put a containing spell around it, to keep it from activating while you’re still working on it. Once you’re ready to use the spell, you erase the outer circle.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “This spell isn’t doing anything yet. It won’t activate until we break the outer circle.”

  “Which will happen if we open the door.”

  “Yes.”

  “Then I guess we should understand what it will do before we unleash it. Oh!” Alice said with alarm, “We should work fast. Look at how quickly it’s gathering.” The steel had become powerfully cold, and mist was pouring from it.

  “So what does the inner circle do?” she asked. “I see ‘enérgeias’ and ‘seismós’. It’s gathering a great deal of energy, and... I don’t understand. What’s this word?”

  “Kradasmoús”, Simon said quickly. “It means something like ‘vibration’, I think.” He dashed off to the other end of the passage. He was careful to step over the body, as well as the puddle of blood that slid from one side of the passage to the other with the gentle rocking of the ship. His light fell on the far door, “This one is similarly marked. I guess that explains why your device was so confused. It was torn between these two circles.”