“Of course!” She turned and smiled at me, utterly disregarding the blade at her neck. I almost opened her jugular on accident. “I’ve been trying to do that since you first arrived!”
“Great. Now, tell the Toads and the fish guys to stop…eating Sumire, or whatever they are trying to do.”
“No, thank you.” Madness in a doll’s eyes. She took a step forward, and it was all I could do to avoid impaling her. “Do you want to make another offer, or shall I go?”
I glanced over at Yael, whose struggles had become markedly more desperate. Dunwich was lost in a crowd of fish-people. I couldn’t even see Sumire beneath the frog pile.
“I will kill you, Maddy. Swear to god.”
“You cannot. Why so angry, Preston, dear? My sister described you so differently.”
“You took April. That’s beyond the pale. And…the cat.” She appeared confused. “Lovecraft. The black cat who lived at our building.” Madeleine shrugged. “The Toads killed him, Maddy! When you had April kidnapped. They killed a poor old cat.”
“That’s sad, true, but surely you can’t hold me responsible…?”
“For Lovecraft dying during the commission of a kidnapping you planned? You’re damn right I can.”
Madeleine sighed and put her hand to her forehead.
“If you are determined to be difficult…”
“Let the girls and the cat go, Maddy, and maybe I’ll remember how to be easy.”
She laughed, and took another step. I retreated to avoid killing her, and found myself perched at the very end of the dais.
“I have no such intentions. My turn?”
I looked around helplessly. Yael suffocated. Sumire probably also suffocated.
“Yeah. Okay.”
“Drop the scalpel,” Madeleine suggested. “Amuse yourself with my unconscious sister’s company. I will be done with Yael Kaufman, and the creature you call April Ersten, shortly. After, we could perhaps have tea and chat?”
Madeleine waited hopefully while I stalled for inspiration.
I let the scalpel fall from my fingers, and heard it clatter against the stone of the stairs. At the same time, I shook something else out of my sleeve, and into the palm of my hand.
“I won’t let you hurt April,” I said, grinding my teeth as I stood over her protectively. Yael had started to make strange noises; I did my best not to look. “You know that.”
“There will be no pain,” Madeleine assured me, touching my face with Sumire’s fingers. “I will replace her arm with something nice. Take comfort in the idea that you could have done no better.”
“Maybe.” I stepped forward assertively, seized her wrists. “Maybe not.”
She smiled as the fish-people grabbed hold of me. I struggled just long enough to clasp the crude bracelets around her wrists. Madeleine dropped to her knees, and sighed like the wind through the cavities of a gutted building. The fish-people and the Toads wavered in their assault, unable to make headway against the force of nature that was Sumire.
“Not again,” Madeleine moaned. “How is this possible?”
“Your manacles,” Yael explained, kicking her way free of a fish-person. “The restraints from Constance Diem’s observatory. Sumire gathered them for me, earlier. I melted the ankle ones down into something pointy. Figured they might be potent.”
I crouched down beside April, worked the cloth gag out of her bloodied mouth. She was unconscious, but breathing, and no more injured than the last time I had seen her.
“You were right,” Madeleine said ruefully. “They are cold iron, after all. The same as the handcuffs I used on Holly. Witches cannot abide the stuff.”
“Oh.” Yael peeled off her mask; she was pale and embarrassed beneath. “Would any iron have worked?”
“Oh, don’t feel bad,” Madeleine assured her. “This is much better. These have sentimental value.”
“Ah…it’s just…we went to a lot of trouble, when we could have just gone to the hardware store. I didn’t even know witches had a problem with iron!”
“Don’t feel bad,” Madeleine insisted. “I can tell you really tried.”
Yael bent to check on Holly, while I carefully arranged April in a sitting position against the throne.
“This resolution is unfair,” Madeleine moaned, holding up her bound hands. “Haven’t I spent enough time caged?”
“Not necessarily.” Holly’s bonds rattled as she rose, setting Yael firmly aside. “It has been some time, dear sister. Can there be no accommodation between us?”
Madeleine’s face became something I had never seen before, something very ugly.
“No.” She whispered it like a curse. Her mechanical arm rattled, her teeth chattered. “Not ever.”
“A pity,” Holly said, sounding very sad. “For my part, I still love you very much, sister.” Holly leaned close, and kissed her sister’s pale forehead. “I find it sad – so, so sad – that we cannot get along. Can you imagine how lonely I have been? How many secrets I have to keep, now that I cannot whisper them to you?”
Madeleine lunged at her sister, teeth bared. The manacle around her mechanical arm shattered, but the other held firm, leaving her grasping at the air. I grabbed Madeleine by her shoulders and held her back.
“I’m glad you came to rescue me, Preston,” Holly said softly. “I won’t forget it.”
Those eyes, that smile. It would never be the same.
“Not happy with you, Holly. Not one bit.”
“I’ll make it up to you,” Holly promised, her eyes making even more promises. “Don’t be angry.”
“She’s as guilty as I am!” Madeleine wailed, her cheeks wet. “This is Holly’s game as much as it is mine!”
“Be quiet, Maddy,” Holly said coolly. “You’ve caused me enough problems already.”
“Don’t you act all smug and superior! I was sitting on you just five minutes ago!”
“I remember,” Holly said ruefully, rubbing her back. “Have you gained weight, Maddy?”
“Why are you always so mean to me?”
“Why can’t you control yourself? First the thing with Constance…”
“That’s was so long ago!”
“…and now this. Why can’t you play nicely?”
“What kind of sisters are you? You need to learn to work out your problems in an adult manner.” Yael glanced down the stairwell, and then dropped one of her desiccant canisters. “Without cutting off arms or manipulating people.”
Yael waited until a puff of white powder emerged from the top of the stairwell, then she took out what looked very much like a small bomb, and lit what looked even more like a short fuse atop it. She tossed it down the hole and then threw herself to the ground. Most of us followed suit in time to avoid being bowled over by the explosion.
“Do you realize how many people got hurt, because of the two of you, and your stupid games?” Yael demanded, blinking back tears while the debris settled. “Lovecraft is dead, Holly. And Elijah – well, I’m not sure there is any of Elijah left to be upset over.”
Holly’s smile disappeared. The hurt on her face was the most genuine expression I had seen there.
“Lovecraft? And Elijah? What happened?”
“You and Madeleine couldn’t get along, so you ruined everything, both of you.”
“Actually, I think Kim’s moving out, right this minute,” I blurted out, suddenly furious. “That’s on you, too, Holly.”
“Kim is leaving? But, why?”
“Because you are terrible, and Lovecraft is dead!” Yael sniffled, looking miserable and very much her age. “Why would you do this?”
“This wasn’t the way I meant for things to happen,” Holly said, looking dazed and a bit frantic. “You have to believe me!”
“I believe that much, Holly,” Yael said, shaking her head. “That’s the problem.”
“Please, all of you, I’m sorry,” Holly said tearfully. “I never meant for this…”
“You didn’t try v
ery hard to stop it,” Sumire said, folding her arms. “I thought better of you, Holly.”
“Sumire, I never wanted you to get hurt. That wasn’t the idea at all. I’m so sorry.”
“We are your tenants,” Yael scolded. “You have a responsibility.”
“I’m pissed, too,” I added. “Did I mention that?”
“I am very sorry,” Holly insisted. “This wasn’t intentional.”
“Maybe not,” Yael said, pinning the trap door at the top of the hole closed with one of her metal spikes, and then hastily marking it with a paint pen with an image I recognized as the Yellow Sign. “The two of you aren’t fit for regular society, though. Not until you can learn to get along with each other.”
Yael nodded wearily at us and then headed for the entrance to the Tidal Chamber. Sumire gave Holly a sympathetic glance, damn her generous heart. I picked up April with difficulty and followed them.
Both witches initially watched us go without comment. We were partway across the Tidal Chamber before Holly called out to us.
“Wait! Please, wait!” Holly waived her chained hands at us frantically from the top of the dais. “What are you doing?”
“Giving the two of you some time,” Yael explained, while Sumire held the door for me. “Somewhere you can’t involve other people. Professor Dawes assures me that you cannot starve or drown, so the setting shouldn’t be an issue. Madeleine’s bonds will prevent her from harming you, or vice versa, and the doors are wedged shut and warded.”
Madeleine laughed and gnashed her teeth like a madwoman, the sound echoing through the Tidal Chamber.
“You can’t mean…stop for a moment!” Holly pleaded tearfully, bosom strategically heaving. “Let’s discuss this.”
“Moral ambiguity has its perils. Consider that, and who your friends are, Holly. Work out your issues with your sister.” Yael cocked her head thoughtfully, toying with her final metal spike while I prepared the door. “We will return, probably.”
We walked out, while Holly stared, appalled. The door was heavy and sand was wedged beneath, making moving it a production. That part took longer than anyone was comfortable with, listening to Madeleine’s hysterics bounce off the coral.
“Preston!” Holly screamed from the other side. “You can’t let her do this!”
I could, though, as it turns out, and I did.
Epilogue
We waited three days, incidentally. Sumire proposed mercy on the way home, and April became moody the morning of the second day, while Yael and Professor Dawes started to advocate for leniency around lunch, but I held the line for a full seventy-two hours.
Various absences haunted us during that interval.
I escorted Yael back to Innsmouth on the following day to collect her metal pegs, but we found evidence of neither Elijah Pickman nor the Pallid Mask. April warned me that was my last chance to make things right, before we left, and then watched in wonder and quiet fury when Yael returned from Innsmouth in good health and spirits.
I avoided being alone with April as much as I could, after that. I’m a big believer in postponing the inevitable.
Kim Ai left before we returned to the Estates, sending movers to collect her possessions a few days later. She left handwritten letters for each resident of the Estates, excepting only myself. I made gentle inquiries after April finished reading her letter, but she got upset and locked herself in the bedroom. Yael spent the days out on the streets, returning after dark, exhausted and grim, refusing to explain herself. I knew she was hunting for Jenny Frost among the squats and homeless camps of the Nameless City, blazing with righteous anger over Lovecraft. As far as I could tell, Yael had no luck – if locating Jenny could ever be called lucky.
When we opened the Tidal Chamber, Holly Diem offered smiles, charm, and contrition, and in turn, her tenants were all hugs and tears. There was no sign of her sister Madeleine, aside from a pair of iron manacles, mangled and discarded, not far from where the furthest waves reached during a high tide in the Chamber.
The mood on the train ride home was stormy. The ghost of poor Lovecraft loomed large. The Professor gave a homily on the virtues of honesty and fidelity. Sumire chimed in occasionally and laughed inappropriately. Yael added a few well-chosen, cutting words. April hid beneath Sumire’s flesh and blood arm and brooded. I looked out the window at the angry water of the harbor and the rotting piers and refuse-filled canals of Innsmouth.
Holly appeared humbled and bedraggled, and I am sure we appeared to be rather smugly satisfied in her persecution. I am sure our fellow passengers thought that we were witnessing a forcible cult induction, or perhaps a baroque instance of domestic violence.
The walk home was quieter, moods softened by the sunlight and the slow warmth of the afternoon. Halfway back to the Estates, on the quiet expanse of Leng Street, Holly attempted to take my hand in her own. Mindful of April and nursing my anger, I eluded her grasp.
A series of stern lectures, followed by an afternoon of recriminations. Strong words were exchanged and tears shed, turning gradually to heartfelt apologies from most involved as the evening gathered – and then the tenants of the Kadath Estates seemed to move on by general agreement. No uncomfortable questions were asked – hell, Josh didn’t bother to show, and Professor Dawes left early to attend a symposium. When Holly hugged me, she smelled of lilacs and whispered indecent promises and profane apologies that left my heart racing.
Nothing was really the same, but I got the feeling that everyone preferred not to talk about it. We buried Lovecraft in the overgrown garden behind the Estates, while Holly and April wailed, and then went up to Holly’s rooftop garden for a chaste sort of wake. Yael and Holly chatted beside the bougainvillea with guarded good humor, while Sumire chased April around the potted roses. I shared a drink with Professor Dawes, Dunwich dozing not far from our feet. The evening was mild and the new moon was distant.
Happy ending.
***
“You’ve been having fun without me,” April scolded, pointing at me with narrowed eyes. “Out every day and all night with other girls. Don’t you have any shame, Preston?”
I didn’t, obviously, but we both knew that.
“Don’t be too angry with him…”
This was not going to be helpful.
“…he is only a man, after all. In an atmosphere of such constant temptation, what do you expect?”
April’s cheeks reddened faintly.
“And you,” she said, shifting her attention to the other side of the table, “have been playing with my toys.”
“Is that so?” Holly sipped her tea and smiled gently. “I don’t really see it that way.”
“You like to take chances.” April stirred her tea, and then surreptitiously added another sugar cube when she thought I wasn’t looking. “Not just with me. The secrets you keep, Holly, almost got all of us killed.”
“That often happens, when a secret catches up with you.” Holly frowned, glanced out the window. It had started to rain again, but it was finally starting to warm up. “As you should well understand. Both of you.”
“I don’t begrudge you your games, witch.” April’s expression was taut, her voice frigid. “I understand them very well, actually. I won’t let you play with my pieces, though. Do you understand?”
Holly set her teacup down, toying with an earring and a delighted grin.
“Not as such, no. Won’t you elaborate?”
“I allow you to spend time with Preston. I allow you to flirt and make a fool of yourself in public. As I am a guest in your home, I do not interfere.”
“How polite,” Holly murmured. “I’m touched.”
“Common sense,” April said, adding milk to her untasted tea for a second time. “I’d rather not have us fight, Holly.”
“I would imagine not.” Holly winked at me. “You seemed to have enough trouble with my little sister.”
“That said; you cannot have him.”
“What?” Holly fluttered her ha
nds as if shocked. “Why, whatever do you mean, April?”
“You know very well,” April said, taking a small sip from her cup, frowning, and then setting it down again. “I tolerate the two of you misbehaving. For Preston’s benefit. Interests outside a relationship are healthy, I think.”
“And?”
“You insist on pushing boundaries.” April and Holly were locked in a staring contest, all pretense of tea forgotten. “The game you played was costly for your tenants. You aren’t sorry at all, are you?”
“I miss Lovecraft.” Holly dabbed at her eyes with her napkin. “Elijah suffered a terrible setback in his studies and career. Also, the Tidal Chamber you locked me in was quite damp, and the salt water was terrible for my skin. I’ll be weeks, recovering, even with the assistance of a rather excellent day spa in Iram. Perhaps I should visit the mud baths near Mnar? They are rumored to have restorative qualities…”
“If you are going to play rough,” April said sternly, “then play with your own things. Is that understood?”
“Naturally,” Holly purred. “Where we differ, I think, is in our understanding of what belongs to whom.”
April deliberated over a plate of fresh cookies. The kitchen still smelled of cinnamon and ginger.
“You are being a bother, Holly.”
“Oh, April. I’m a witch!” Holly punctuated the admission with a giggle. “It’s in my nature to meddle. You shouldn’t be so possessive, in any case. Nothing is real in the Nameless City, and we are permitted anything.”
Holly smiled like that should have meant something to me.
“I have known Preston since the very beginning,” April explained confidently. “You cannot expect to lay claim.”
“Can I not?” Holly glanced at me with her head cocked. “Tell me – if I called for him, do you think he would come?”
If April had looked at me, she would have seen a look of utter fidelity. She didn’t bother, however, continuing to focus on assembling a mountain of baked goods on her plate.
The Mysteries of Holly Diem (Unknown Kadath Estates Book 2) Page 28