City of Steam (Blackburn Chronicles)

by Dominic K Alexander

  The sun beat through the window and Mac woke to a soft blanket and plump comfy pillow. Her stomach protested at the lack of food within it. Something small and warm pressed against her legs and as she looked down at the object she noticed it was Walter's daughter curled up into a ball like a cat and sleeping on the edge of the bed. She brought her arm around the small girl and pulled her closer. There was something comforting in having someone so small care so much about her.

  People milled around the room, but Mac's vision was still too blurred to tell who they were or what they were doing. At this point she only cared about being alive. It was becoming too much of a habit seeing the darkness and thinking her end had finally come. At this point, there had to be a guardian angel flying overhead and keeping her heart beating because the beatings she had sustained in this world were more than any normal person could handle, but that was the issue. She was far from being any sort of normal person. All the same, this last use of energy had almost killed her and she'd finally found her limit.

  "Mac,” A young man whispered stepping close to her, still a blur. “would you care for me to whip you up a couple eggs and bread?" She shook her head yes and held up two fingers before pointing to Walter's daughter. It had been her experience whenever a hungry adult was finally served a warm plate of food a child was sure to appear and help them finish it. This preemptive strike would certainly keep Walter's daughter from eating all her food. "Breakfast for two, coming right up." The man said and walked away.

  It took several minutes for her vision to clear, but when it finally did she saw William standing at the stove cooking up something for her to eat. The last time she had seen him, he was covered in burns and she was unsure if he was even going to live, but now he looked completely healed with no visible scars from the burns and Mac blinked twice noticing how handsome he was.

  "Willi..." Mac started to say before her words failed to escape her dry throat. William hurried to her side and poured what looked like a tea from the jar on the bed side table. It smelled of sweet honey and when he handed it to Mac and she took a long drink of it the rich sweet flavor warmed her insides and moistened her throat enough to start talking again.

  "I would probably try to not talk much." William said. "You've been out for quite a while now." Mac frowned slightly and took another sip of her drink.

  "How long have I been out?" She asked finally and Walter's daughter began to stir slightly. William avoided her gaze for a second before answering.

  "Bit over a month." He said finally then looked at the ground and let her process the information. Mac said nothing trying to comprehend how she had been out for all that time. She tried to sit up but was too weak to move. William laid a hand on her shoulder shaking his head and stopped her from moving too much.

  "You need to rest and eat." He said. "There is a lot happening as of late and you will need all your strength and energy to help out. I will finish making you something to eat and then we can chat about what is happening, but for now rest and let Maggie keep you company. She hasn't left your side since we brought you in here." He gave the girl now hugging Mac's leg a long smile then stood and went back to cooking.

  Mac lay back to the headboard looking down at Maggie. She couldn't believe how much time she had lost, but it was better than the alternative...death. She wanted to jump up and see how her father, Walter, Kris, and Ed were all doing, but she ached too much and the smell of food made her stomach growl like a rabid lion.

  William filled a plate with scrambled eggs and a hunk of grainy bread and set it in front of Mac. The moment she took the plate in hand, Maggie woke up and saw Mac awake and smiling at her. She leapt up and wrapped her tiny arms around Mac's neck. Even with the aches and pains, Mac hugged the girl back. She wasn't sure why there was such a connection, but she wasn't protesting either. Maggie released Mac and without saying anything reached out and snagged a bit of egg off Mac's plate. William let out a giggle and made a plate of food for Maggie.

  Mac devoured two plates of food without saying a word as William cleaned up and Maggie picked at her own food. The evening light came through the window giving a soft glow to the room. Mac could hear people laughing outside and decided she had rested for long enough. The aches and pains which had dulled and her vision was finally back to normal. Maggie went out to play and make new friends while William watched over Mac getting her more food and drink until she felt strong enough to get out of bed. She had to admit, being waited on hand and foot felt good, but enough was enough and William danced around all of Mac's questions so it was about time to go see what was happening on her own.

  She slowly slid her legs off the edge of the bed and grabbed the post getting ready to take her first step in a month. She pushed forward and stood up wavering a little.

  "Well, that's not so bad." She said before the pins and needles set in and she fell back to the bed rolling around and flapping her legs like a fish on shore. William came to her rescue and started running his hands up and down her legs helping the blood circulate. It took ten more minutes before she could get up and walk around. She walked the room a few times before her legs moved the way they were supposed to and she wasn't about to fall with every step. William held her arm when she needed him too, but for the most part she could hold herself up on her own and made her way outside.

  There were dozens of people wandering the streets of Crystal Well. It was an odd sight to see since, the last time Mac had been here, the city was devoid of any natural life. People laughed, talked, and looked as if they didn't have a care in the world. A group of children ran by while kicking a ball as they went.

  "Your grandmother's home is only a few houses down if you would like to head there." William said pointing the way. Mac smiled and headed for the cottage while taking in the much more pleasant scenery which she had last seen. A few people stopped what they were doing and watched Mac pass while whispering among themselves. Maggie ran up taking Mac's hand into her own. Mac smiled and didn't protest.

  When they reached her grandmother's cottage she let out a slight laugh. The cottage was every bit as beautiful and homey as it was the last time she had seen it, but now there was a small sign hanging outside which read:

  Isabel Blackburn

  City Guardian

  A commotion broke out somewhere around the corner and yelling and screaming echoed off the homes. The cottage door swung open and Mac's grandmother ran out of the house almost knocking Mac over in the process. Isabel looked a great deal younger and less frail than she once was. Instead of the torn and tattered robes she had once worn, now she was covered in bright green and silver ones that were beautifully hand crafted. She looked at Mac for only a fraction of a second before lifting off the ground and heading into the fight. The horrid screeches of what Mac recognized as the pseudoscorpion blared out the screaming and when she turned the streets were once again barren of life, the new residents having disappeared into the closest house or building.

  Mac went to run towards the fighting, but Maggie and William held her tight. Maggie shook with panic and pulled Mac towards the house. Mac looked from the fight, to the house, then down at Maggie who continued to pull insistently on Mac tears running down her face. Mac followed them into the house hoping to calm the little girl. As they burst through the front door, Kris snapped her head up looking at the newcomers.

  "Mac!" She said with a hint of excitement in her voice. "Thank God it's you. I thought there were more wounded coming in to be cared for." The kitchen table was no longer in the home and instead there were cots filled with injured people, each wrapped in bandages attempting to heal. Some watched Mac and others would glance at the door waiting for someone else they knew to come through. She was surprised that most of the people here were children, or at least young adults no more than fifteen.

  "By the sound of things, before I was dragged in here I am thinking you are probably right." Mac said. "It sounded like quite the battle was going on out there. What's going on?"

/>   "It seems the duke wasn't pleased with your attack on his city and has declared all-out war on us." Kris said while bandaging a young boy. Maggie finally released Mac's hand and started talking to the boy telling him everything was going to be all right. William had moved on to cleaning supplies for Kris and the other helpers. "He wants your head, Mac, literally. For the first time in years our woods are full of sentries and assassins. Rumor has it that he even hired dregs and aeroship captains to come after us, but I haven't seen or heard of any of them attacking our people, yet. Though there have been many attacks. At least three of our villages were burned and half of our people have either died or been injured. This infirmary isn't the only one. There are a couple much larger ones around the city."

  "The people living here now are survivors of the attacks?" Mac asked.

  "We have sent teams out to rescue as many of the villagers as possible, but our city is constantly being attacked, so the survivor rate is lower than we hope for. If we stick together in packs we have could hold our own, but if we are split up they take us out one by one. The list of casualties is building up fast."

  "Mac." A hoarse voice said from behind Kris. Mac leaned slightly to the side and saw her father sitting up in bed looking at her with as much of a smile as he could muster as his face muscles were still not fully healed. His face was pale and weathered like an old statue beaten by the elements, but his pure presence warmed her insides and made her dance like a school girl on the inside. It had been so very long since she heard her name cross those lips and she ran to him, almost knocking Kris off her feet, and embraced him in a deep and likely painful hug. A bead of sweat ran down his forehead as they held each other, but he refused to let go having already been apart for far too long. Years of emotions fell from both of their eyes and the room quieted and watched the display warm the hearts of everyone around. They simply held each other not letting go and allowing the moment to last as long as it could. The moment was finally broken when the door blew open and more moaning bodies covered in mangled flesh were being dragged into the room.

  Mechanical masks and weapons were stripped from the injured group and added to a pile in the corner. A young girl no older than fifteen lay unconscious with deep gouges in her arms and legs. It looked like the pseudoscorpion had almost torn her limb from limb. Blood ran from the wounds soaking into the wooden floor. Kris ran to her side and immediately started adding some sort of cream and bandages to her wounds, but the blood soaked through faster than Kris could keep up with. Mac looked at Maggie's horror stricken face and left her father's side to tend to the young assassin. She lay her hands on the girl and a soft green glow overcame her. The blood clotted into a solid mass stopping the bleeding. A sledgehammer hit Mac square in the head and she dropped to the floor holding her ears and wanting the ringing to stop. Maggie, Kris, and William were by her side within seconds helping her up and to a cot.

  "You're still too weak to help out here, dolt." Kris said. "Ouch!" She screamed having been kicked in the shin by Maggie. She gritted her teeth. "What I meant to say was, you still need a bit of rest and more food before you try to do any serious magic." Maggie gave Kris a satisfied look. The pain was almost unbearable. William grabbed a cup of tea and handed it to her. With every sip of the warm sweet liquid the ringing lessened until it was altogether gone. The young assassin let out a soft moan and Kris went back to her side assessing the damage. Even with the quick heal, Mac wasn't sure if the girl would be able to survive the night.

  "It was another group of children." Isabel said walking into the room and holding a boy of about five. He looked as if he was more asleep than injured and she set him down on the floor and allowed him to sleep, covering him with a blanket. One of the other boys across the room took a sigh of relief seeing the young boy alive. Mac looked again around the room and noticed most of the people were children. Their injuries looked minor for the most part, but some had been badly torn up or even missing body parts. Mac thought of the pseudoscorpion and felt it had been restraining itself against these children and even the more broken ones should consider themselves lucky to be alive. She was sure there were others who were not so lucky.

  "Grandmother," Mac said slowly. "Why are these children here?" Isabel looked at her with a frown.

  "It would seem that we were more capable at taking out the duke’s assassins than he gave us credit for, so he decided to play to our weaknesses." Isabel said. "About a week ago the adult assassins stopped attacking. We thought they were finally giving up. It turns out the duke is instead offering money and food to those children's families who are willing to fight. He knew we would be conflicted on killing the young, but I am not sure he realized we would be more than willing to shelter them ourselves and keep them safe."

  "That may be so, grandmother, but if this continues we will not have the supplies to help their children or any of our own people who become injured in the process." Kris said tending to another boy's wounds. "The medicines and ointments I use to treat these kids are being used much faster than I can make them."

  "I will gather you more of the plants from the forest and Mac will be able to help you grind them into the paste you need." Isabel said. "Once I have some of the seeds we will be able to grow the plants right here as quickly as possible."

  "I am quite certain; Mac will be of no help to me." Kris said while applying more ointment to the boy. Mac and Isabel looked at her with a frown.

  "And why is that?" Mac spat being sick of the put downs by her sister.

  "It isn't because you aren't intelligent enough," Kris said looking up at Mac. "well, you aren't, but that isn't the main reason at least."

  "It's because you're the only one strong enough to kill Weir." Their father said quietly staring into her.

  Mac couldn't understand how he could ask her to go back to the duke when she had been beaten, tortured, and barely escaped multiple times as it is. Even more disturbing was the fact that her father wanted her to kill someone. How could anyone expect that from their own child? She was still torn from having to kill Devin and now her own family wanted her to go murder someone else. She wasn't an assassin or a killer. She had only killed Devin out of self-defense. There had to be another way to bring peace, killing was nothing more than a vicious cycle and helped no one and nothing. Just looking around the room at all the broken children proved that.

  "You can't expect me to go back to that city." Mac protested. Her hands shook and a knot in her stomach rose. "I barely escaped with my life the first two times. Now that his sister is dead he has nothing to lose. He will put a bullet in my head and burn me the moment I come within sight."

  "Maggie, William, would you please help me in the southern infirmary." Isabel said ushering the two from the home. It was obvious she did not want them to get wrapped up in the family fight that was bubbling to the surface.

  "I'm afraid you don't have a choice." Her father said. "There is no other way. The duke will keep coming and coming with more of these children and he won’t stop until everyone is dead. Once they are gone he will send his machines and trusted assassins. There is no end to this without you killing him. You must do it now or once we are all dead, the choice is yours."

  Mac couldn't listen to what her father was telling her. It was one thing to risk her life to save her family, but now they were all here and with her grandmother and the pseudoscorpions help they are somewhat safe. What could possibly be accomplished by risking her life?

  "I refuse to willingly take another person’s life." Mac said standing and walking to the front door. "I will not sacrifice what little heart I have left to take another person’s life." She turned and started out the door. Her father looked away.

  "Then we are all certain to die." He said letting her leave. "Kris, I know you understand, please go talk to your sister." Kris finished bandaging one of the attackers then looked at her father.

  "I am not sure I do understand." She said and walked out the door.

  The streets were st
ill empty and Mac headed off without any destination, but she needed to think. More gunshots rang out and she saw Isabel leave another infirmary and head for the fight. She knew there was death and destruction, but there had to be a better way than bringing more death to the city and more risk to her family. She turned back when Kris called out to her.

  As Kris exited the building and headed for Mac the beautiful cottage home which Mac loved so much exploded knocking Mac back and throwing Kris several feet with debris landing on top of her.

  Mac lay on the ground, world spinning, ears ringing, and trying to comprehend what happened. She looked at her sister who was covered in blood, but was in too much shock to help her. Ed came from nowhere moving to Kris' side and pulling her free from the debris. Maggie knelt in the street rocking back and forth crying uncontrollably her father running towards her from the fight. Even from far away the engulfed building burned Mac's skin and singed her hair, but she could only stare at the blazing inferno.

  William reached Mac's side and pulled her back from the fire, Isabel flew back from the fight landing in front of her obliterated home. With a wave of her hand the flames completely died out and she rushed into the building. The earth shook as she let out a great shriek having likely seen her sons burned, broken body from the assassins attack and she flew out of the home and back to the northern part of the city which was currently under attack. The skies darkened to where she had gone and lightning struck furiously over the lands. Mac knew there would be no survivors from this battle.

  Mac pulled free from William's grip and crawled towards the front of the cottage. She pushed herself up and tried to enter the front door, but the scorching black smoke pushed her back. The building was eerily quiet and she knew everyone was gone. She fought so hard to save her father and keep her family together and in a split second an assassin tore it all apart.