by Marty Chan
Dawn brought a new day and hope. As Ehrich rubbed his tired eyes, he glanced at the sky and noticed a low-hanging cloud, which lazily drifted over the Hudson River. A boat emerged from the cloud and was lowered to the water. He shook Amina awake. “They’re back.”
They headed to the nearest pier to meet the approaching boat. As they neared the pier, a hunter patrol emerged from one of the side streets. Amina grabbed Ehrich’s arm and pulled him against the wall so they wouldn’t be noticed. Wilhelm and his remaining hunters turned away from them and headed toward the pier. Albert adjusted his spectacles as he lagged behind the others, looking out of place among the seasoned hunters.
Wilhelm barked, “Albert, keep up!”
“Sorry, sir! Yes, sir.”
“Save the apologies for your mother if you ever find her. I want to check the pier.”
Gino whined. “Our shift’s done, Wilhelm. We should head back to Devil’s Island.”
Margaret agreed. “If I knew you were going to push us like this, I would have broken my own leg so I could join James in the infirmary.”
“Can’t we call it a night?” Gino asked.
Wilhelm shook his head. “We’re done when I say we’re done.”
Ehrich chewed his bottom lip. Wilhelm had changed so much since the first time Ehrich had worked with him. So much anger had replaced the once innocent eyes of his former squad mate.
“Do it again,” the fresh-faced Wilhelm begged.
Ehrich held the ace of spades in his right hand and a deck of cards in his left.
“Show me how you changed the card,” Wilhelm said. “It’s witchcraft, isn’t it?”
Behind the pair, their squad leader Charlie snickered. “Yes, Ehrich Weisz comes to Demon Gate by the way of Salem. If we toss him in the East River, he’ll float because he’s made of wood.”
Wilhelm scowled at the lanky teen with the disarming smile. “I’m sure there is some kind of sorcery at work. You can’t just instantly change a card.”
“You should ask Ehrich to show you his broom and black cat.”
Ehrich shook his head at his friend. “Leave Wilhelm be. I like having an audience and you’re going to scare him off.”
“Will you perform the trick once again for me, Ehrich? Please.”
“Sorry. The cardinal rule of magic is to never repeat a trick in front of the same spectator.”
“Why not?”
“Seeing a trick once is magic. Twice is boring,” Ehrich said. “Don’t worry, I’ll work on a few new ones for you.”
“I will learn how you do these tricks one day,” Wilhelm said. “Then we can go on the road as a magic act together. Wilhelm the Wonder of the World and his faithful assistant, Ehrich Weisz.”
Charlie and Ehrich laughed.
“Why are you laughing? I’m serious.” Wilhelm tried to hold a straight face, but a smirk crept across his face.
Ehrich dribbled the rest of the cards in his hands while Wilhelm watched with his eagle eyes. Charlie straightened up.
“Hey, what about me? You two would go on the road without me?””
Ehrich cocked his head to the side. “We could always use a porter to carry our trunks of money.”
Wilhelm burst out laughing. “And someone to ward off our many fans.”
Charlie twisted his lips into a cruel smile. “You know, as squad leader, I can make you do a few things to regret what you just said.”
“Quick, Ehrich. Do you have a trick to make Charlie’s ego disappear?”
More laughter.
The hunters searched the boats on the pier, flipping up tarps looking for any stowaways on the boats. Ehrich needed to distract them from the approaching crimson men. He pressed his fake moustache against his lip and pulled his bowler hat lower on his head, hoping this was enough to fool his former squad mates.
Ehrich motioned Amina back. “Stay here. If something goes wrong, we’ll meet up in Gansevoort market.”
She nodded and pulled a veil over her face.
He approached the group. “Fancy a game of Three-Card Monte?” He reached into his vest pocket and drew out a deck of cards.
Wilhelm couldn’t be bothered with Ehrich and waved him off dismissively. “Find some other suckers. We’re on official Demon Watch business.”
Ehrich set up on a crate nearby and shouted, “Won’t take more than a minute. Who wants to find the lady? Come one, come all. All you have to do is follow the cards and you could make some easy money.” He spread the deck across the crate, drawing the squad’s attention to the cards rather than his face.
Albert moved closer.
“Keep searching,” Wilhelm ordered.
Margaret crossed her arms. “Our shift’s done, Wilhelm.”
Gino added. “Come on, we need a break.”
Wilhelm stayed back while the others crowded around Ehrich. The squad leader was about to protest, but his gaze lingered on the deck of cards in Ehrich’s hands. Though he was hardened, the German teen still held some fascination for magic tricks. He turned to gaze at the approaching boat when he noticed Ehrich eyeing him.
Ehrich turned his attention to the remaining hunters. “Ah, you three seem brighter than your friend.”
Wilhelm stomped across the wooden planks of the pier. “What did you say?”
“Just commenting on people who walk away from easy money.”
Wilhelm didn’t take the bait. He gritted his teeth and stepped back.
Ehrich played to Gino. “You think your friend is bright enough to outwit me, or do you think he’s as dense as a piece of wood?”
This jab seemed to rile Wilhelm but amuse his companions. If Ehrich had learned anything about his time with the German teen, it was that he loved to figure out how things worked.
“Won’t take but a moment,” Ehrich said. “All you need to do is find the queen. Not too hard.”
He flashed the cards—two jokers and the queen of spades—then flipped them over and spread them across the crate. Out of the corner of his eye, Ehrich spotted the crimson men’s ship draw closer.
“All you have to do is bet on the right card, and you win.”
Gino reached into his pocket and pulled out some coins. He bellied up to the crate and tried first. Ehrich let him win, drawing in the other two hunters. Wilhelm stared at the crimson men pulling into the dock.
“We have another winner, but let’s see how keen you are this time. Follow the queen.”
Margaret slapped down some money, and Ehrich scooped it up after her inevitable loss. “Guess you aren’t that sharp eyed after all. What about your friend? Is he going to play, or is he going to sulk?”
The hunters laughed. Ehrich glanced over his shoulder at Amina who kept watch from the street. She shrugged. There was nothing she could do to stop the inevitable meeting. The ship docked, and the two men climbed out.
“Who else wants to play?” Ehrich asked, but the hunters now focussed their attention on the new arrivals.
“Bit early in the morning for a river outing,” Wilhelm said.
“Fishing,” one of the red-skinned men said, holding up a rod.
“Any luck?” Margaret asked.
“Nope,” the other man answered.
“They look as if they could win a game of Three-Card Monte,” Ehrich said, but no one was listening to him now.
The two red-skinned soldiers climbed onto the wooden pier and towered over Gino, the tallest of the hunters.
“Is it a crime to be on the river?” asked the crimson man with a broken tusk on the side of his nose.
“No, but it is odd,” Wilhelm said. “Won’t be so odd when you show us your documents.”
“I left them back on shore with my family,” replied the other crimson man.
“Then you won’t mind if we escort you to your family,” Wilhelm said.
The crimson men exchanged glances and reached into their robes. The hunters were faster, drawing their teslatron rifles and dynatron pistols. Ehrich glanced at Amina and sign
alled her to stay back.
“Hands where we can see them,” Margaret ordered. “Nice and slow.”
The two men didn’t comply. The hunters advanced.
Ehrich had to act now. He ripped off his moustache and proclaimed, “Wilhelm, you really aren’t all that bright, are you? Searching for me all this time, and I was right under your nose.”
The German teenager spun around, his nostrils flaring almost as wide as his eyes. He sputtered, “G-g-get him!”
Ehrich jumped to his feet and spurted the deck into a blizzard of cards. The air sizzled with energy as the hunters discharged their weapons into the flurry. When the cards fell to the pier, Ehrich was gone.
Amina rushed to the scene. “Ehrich!”
“Gino, search the pier,” Wilhelm ordered. “Margaret, Albert—capture his accomplice.”
Amina spun on her heels and ran away from the pier, Margaret and Albert hot on her trail. As she headed further down the street, Amina slowed near the warehouse. She needed to draw the hunters away from the pier. She glanced back at her pursuers, but only Margaret was behind her. Albert must have fallen behind. Amina picked up the pace.
Margaret raised her dynatron pistol and fired. The energy dart narrowly missed Amina, and forced her to veer off down a street back to the river. As soon as she stepped into the street running parallel to the Hudson, Amina realized the hunters’ scheme. Albert charged along the street. He hadn’t fallen behind. He ran an intercept course, and Margaret had driven her right into his path.
She jumped back as he fired a shot. Energy crackled on the brick building beside her. She doubled back, but Margaret rounded the other corner. No escape.
v
The crimson men in silk jackets tried to leave the pier during the confusion, but Wilhelm raised his rifle and signalled them to sit. One of them unbuttoned the knot buttons on his jacket, flapped open the jacket to reveal his washboard abs, then sat down on a post. The other one remained standing.
“You wait until we sort this out,” Wilhelm said. “Damn Ehrich. He couldn’t have just disappeared.”
“Guess he’s still practising magic,” Gino said.
“I’ll bet he’s hiding right under our noses. Search the boats.”
Wilhelm wasn’t too far off in his guess. Using the cards as distraction, Ehrich had slipped off the pier and now clung to one of the wooden support posts. As long as he heard movement above, he had to stay put. His arms ached, but he hung on to the damp post, trying to outwait Wilhelm and trying to keep from sliding into the cold water.
“If you can hear me, Ehrich, give yourself up so you can join your friend, Dr. Tesla, in prison.”
Ehrich flinched. Part of him wanted to know what had happened to his friend and mentor since the battle on Devil’s Island. Nikola Tesla had sacrificed his own freedom so Ehrich and the others could escape the prison. Ehrich had hoped the inventor had found another way out, but Wilhelm’s barb suggested otherwise. He wondered if Tesla had been subjected to Edison’s interrogation techniques. He bit his lip and stayed above the water, fighting to keep the dark thoughts out of his head.
“You think he jumped in the river?” Gino asked.
“Maybe. Gino, you ever hear the story of the workers on Devil’s Island?”
“No.”
“They had to blast through the rock to create the underground prison. The men weren’t paid a lot to handle the dynamite. Often, they starved for days until the next pay period, but one man had enough. He grabbed some explosives and tossed them into the East River. The charge detonated, and dead fish floated up so he could scoop them up. The men ate for a week. I think we ought to try some fishing of our own.”
“Wilhelm, we don’t have any explosives.”
“No, but this will do.”
“Don’t we want Ehrich alive?”
“More or less.”
Ehrich could hear the hum of the teslatron rifle charging up. He inched himself up the post, pulling his feet up. A blue bolt of energy hit the water and electricity branched out across the rippling surface. He held his breath. Another shot hit the river. Then another. Ehrich’s arms began to slip on the post. If he touched the surface, he was done for. Another shot. Ehrich’s feet were inches from the water. He squeezed the post and willed himself to stay up.
A couple of fish floated to the surface of the water. They rolled over belly up and lifeless.
“He’s not down there,” Wilhelm said. “His body would have floated up by now. Let’s catch up with the others.”
“What about them?” Gino asked.
“Count yourself lucky,” Wilhelm said. Footsteps left the pier.
Ehrich inched up the wooden post, reaching up for the deck. A red hand reached over the side and lifted him in the air. One of the flame-red men had a firm grip on his collar.
“Thanks,” Ehrich said. “How did you know?”
“We watched you go over the pier.”
“Why didn’t you tell the hunters?” Ehrich asked.
“Why did you try to help us?”
“I needed to pass on a message from the House of Qi.”
The soldiers stared at him, tensing.
“I have Ning Shu.”
One of the soldiers reached under his leather bracelet and retrieved a razor-sharp tael. Ehrich instantly regretted his poor choice of phrasing.
v
Amina hurled herself through a door, smashing it open. The pungent odour of cured fish hit her nose as she slipped between the wooden crates and searched for another exit.
“She’s in here!” Margaret’s voice shouted. “Albert, cover the door.”
Footsteps echoed in the warehouse. Amina had to move quickly. She aimed for the far wall. The high windows offered no escape. She needed a door. She climbed up the crates and took stock of her bearings. The tops of the boxes lined up like a maze throughout the building. She laid flat and waited for Margaret to run past her position. Her footsteps echoed as Margaret ran deeper into the warehouse.
Amina slowly worked her way back to the door she had kicked down, retracing her steps to the entrance, where Albert nervously swung his teslatron rifle to and fro, looking left and right for any intruder. Amina took advantage of his blind spot and leapt from the crate onto the ground behind the unsuspecting hunter. She wrapped her arm around the boy’s throat and squeezed. He struggled to pull away but she slowly squeezed the air out until he slumped unconscious in her arms. She pulled his limp body behind a few crates. She’d be long gone by the time Albert woke up and Margaret found him.
v
“What have you done with General Ning Shu?” the red man with the broken tusk asked.
“She’s safe. I’m working with her.”
The crimson man with the broken tusk cocked his head to the side. “Who are you?”
“I’m a traveller, like you.”
“You look nothing like me,” he said. “What does your kind care about us?”
“I might look like the New Yorkers here, but I swear to you that I’m not. I’m trapped in this limbo where this place looks like my home, but it couldn’t be farther from it. Believe me, I know what you’re feeling. All I want to do is find a way back to my sector. Ning Shu said she would help me if I helped her.”
“And what is the help that you have promised?”
“I told her I would find a soldier who served the House of Qi so he may send a message to the generals.”
“How did you know to find us here?”
“I witnessed two of your soldiers go up into the cloud,” Ehrich said. “We’ve been waiting for someone to come down ever since.”
The men eyed each other.
“Ning Shu can confirm everything I say. I can take you to her now. Would you ignore a summons from the House of Qi?”
The two soldiers weren’t willing to budge.
“How do we know you haven’t set a trap for us?” the one with the broken tusk asked.
“Why would I go to the trouble of saving you only to
have you captured later?” Ehrich asked.
The soldiers exchanged nods and holstered their weapons. “Show us to General Ning Shu.”
House of Qi
Ehrich witnessed the transformation of the two hardened soldiers as soon as they caught sight of Ning Shu, who wore the jade tael over her emerald robe for all to see. Both men cast their eyes downward at the ground as they approached Ning Shu and Mr. Serenity.
Ehrich waved at Ning Shu, who beamed at the sight of the soldiers travelling with him.
“You found them, Ehrich! Wonderful.”
“General Ning Shu, we are honoured by your presence,” one of the soldiers said reverently, refusing to lift his gaze from the cobblestone street.
“At ease,” she said, tucking the jade tael back inside her robe. “There is no cause for ceremony here. You are among friends, my comrades in arms.”
Eventually, the soldiers peered up.
“What are your names?” she asked.
“Zhengfu Zhe,” barked the one with the broken tusk as he snapped to attention.
“Wu Bei,” answered the other.
“Under whom do you serve?” she asked.
“General Ling Po.”
Ning Shu beamed. “A friend to the House of Qi. You serve the best general, which must mean you are held in the highest regard among the troops.”
The men grinned but did not confirm or deny.
“I would like to see my old dear friend again, and I am counting on the two of you to transport us there safely.”
“General Xian has strict orders to keep the location of our whereabouts secret from any and all outsiders,” Wu Bei said, eyeing Ehrich and Mr. Serenity.
“They are friends,” Ning Shu explained. “Allies in the cause.”
“Her orders were clear. I’m sorry.”
Ehrich stepped in. “Then you will have to tell her that you failed. We know your airship is hovering over the Hudson River. If we can track it, so can others. Do you want to report that your position was compromised, and you did nothing to contain the problem?”
Zhengfu Zhe’s eyes narrowed. If glares were daggers, Ehrich would have been cut to pieces.