City of Steam (Blackburn Chronicles)

by Dominic K Alexander

  Tears ran like rivers as she screamed out silent words towards the home. The pain she had endured since coming here and trying to save her father had been blown apart in the matter of a second. The family she had finally pieced together was now torn from her more quickly than it had taken to come together. The minutes passed and the streets filled with onlookers. William watched her giving the space he knew she needed. A few concerned citizens ran with buckets full of water throwing it into the building. Steam rushed out of the doors and windows.

  Steam. Mac thought. This all began with steam. She sank deeper into herself pity and depression playing the scene over and over in her head. Then realization hit her and she jumped to her feet running to Ed and her broken sister. She grabbed Kris from Ed and flew her to the nearest building, burst through the door, and laid her on the table. Blood was pouring from splintered holes in her skin and she wasn't breathing. When Ed burst through the door behind her he stood wide eyed at her injuries, shaking. He looked from his wife to Mac and back waiting for Mac to tell him it would be all right, but she wasn't sure if it would be. She lay her hands-on Kris and asked for help.

  "Please, save her." She said out loud over and over sobbing. Her tears fell on her sister’s body. You took my uncle, my father, and my mother. Please don't take my sister. She knew she didn't have the energy to save her, but she begged. “Give me my sister back! I’ve asked for nothing from you now fix her." Mac demanded help from the elements growing more and more angry.

  William ran through the door, pushed Ed out of the way, and stopped Mac from using her magic and potentially killing herself. He lay his hands-on Kris and a soft green glow flowed over her body. Kris' fingers began twitching and after several seconds she sucked in a deep agonizing breath. The wounds began to close, popping small pieces of wood and stone out of each, leaving dark red scars in their place. Sweat poured down Williams head and he released Kris, the green light fading out.

  Ed grabbed William as he fell back from exhaustion. He was breathing, but had used more of his energy than he should have to save her and needed rest to recuperate.

  "Thank you." Ed whispered to him pulling William's limp body into a hug. Being able to do nothing more, William reached a hand up and pat Ed on the back. Ed lifted William and brought him to a chair and set him down then knelt beside Kris running his huge fingers through her hair and watching, waiting for her to wake.

  Needing air, Mac made her way outside pushing through the people who crowded the front door. The moment she passed the last onlooker she buckled over and threw up. The thought of today’s losses was more than she could bear and she knelt, praying to whatever power was controlling things, and asked for her sister to be all right, but she knew even with healing, things could go terribly wrong, and Kris could die. She threw up again.

  A hand holding a handkerchief reached down displaying itself in front of her. She looked up to see Walter looking down on her with his normal eyes showing no signs of emotion.

  "Thank you for caring for Maggie." He said as she took the handkerchief and wiped the edges of her mouth. "I asked her to stay away from those kids and told her they were nothing more than assassins wanting to kill her, but she was too kind hearted to listen to the likes of a bitter ol' man." Mac stared wide eyed and began panicking. The last time Mac had seen Maggie; she was freaking out in the street after the explosion. Before she could respond Walter continued. "I would be appreciative if you would help her back down off the roof though." He pointed to one of the rooftops where Maggie sat watching the scene below.

  "But...I..." Mac couldn't remember doing anything to Maggie, but regardless she waved a hand and the little girl was picked up by a gust of wind and carried gently to the ground. She immediately ran to Mac and wrapped her arms tightly around her neck refusing to let go until Walter took her by the hand and pulled her to his side. She smiled through moist eyes.

  "Mac, I am truly sorry about Issac." Walter said quietly. "He was a good friend and will be missed." Mac's hands balled into fists and her jaw was suddenly clinched. Each breath she took held tight in her chest and tears filled her eyes. She looked around at the chaos within the city walls. She thought about all the death surrounding her and she wanted it to stop. She wanted every single person responsible for hurting her people to pay with their lives. Something broke inside of her and she finally came to the realization that her father had been right. Walter placed his hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

  "You still have us." Maggie said with a small innocent smile. The tension lessened slightly, but she thought about those words. How long would she have them? How much longer could they survive the bombardments? Something had to be done or they would all certainly burn. The duke had already proven he was more than willing to sacrifice every single life under his command to exact revenge on us all.

  "Walter, how long do you think we can hold out here?" Mac asked standing.

  "I don't think we will be able to hold this city for much longer." Walter said. "We know he has hired the airship captains to help with the fight, but they haven't hit us yet which makes me think they are gearing up for a full-blown bombardment. If that happens, there is nothing we will be able to do about it. Even if we stop most of them, the couple that get through will be able to cause massive damage. Even worse, if they drop crates of grim beetles it will be total annihilation. As of now, I don't see any possible way to keep within these walls and win the war."

  "Can any of these people fight?" Mac asked waving her hand at the people in the streets.

  "Many of the elders were trained in close combat and they have shown some of the children, but they are not skilled enough or number enough to take on the force we will be battling." Walter replied. Mac stood thinking for a minute before finally coming up with a solution. If it was a war the duke wanted, then it is a war he would get.

  "If we don't have enough soldiers to fight, then I must get us some more." Mac smiled and bent over kissing Maggie on the forehead, then took two steps and lifted off.

  Mac noticed how differently the bog looked with sparkles coming from the broken metal bodies sprawled across its surface. It looked as if a constant battle was taking place for the bog and the machines were losing. A bog beast battled a sentry bot tearing its limbs off and beating the remaining copper body to the ground without issues. Several more fights were taking place and ending much the same way. Before long, Mac saw Selek talking to a stranger and landed close by.

  She slowly approached the men talking amongst themselves. Selek looked up to see her approaching and Coilin turned to get an eye on their new guest. Mac was surprised and paused seeing the man for the first time outside of a dream. He eyed her up and down through squinted eyes and she could tell immediately he was not happy to see her there. The flight had taken a lot out of her and she swayed slightly before catching her bearings and righting herself.

  "Ah, so this is the girl who caused this whole mess." Coilin said. Selek stood silently making no comment. "Our people are fighting and dying for the mistakes you continually make."

  "I am not so sure that they are my mistakes." Mac said unfazed at his attack. "You were at war a lot longer than I have been alive."

  "But we survived." Coilin said quickly. "We held out ground and avoided the assassins for years before you came. It was a mistake to not go back home and now our people are paying for that lack of judgement."

  "You're right." Mac said looking away. "I should have gone home. Maybe if I had my father would still be alive."

  "What do you mean?" Coilin asked. "I talked to your grandmother not half a day ago and she told me his recovery was coming faster than any she had seen." He shifted uncomfortably.

  "A new group of injured assassin children came in and one of them likely snuck an explosive device or a grim beetle in with them." Mac said. "They blew up the medical house dad was in killing him in seconds." She choked out the words her stomach churning again. Coilin pulled a flask from his hip, took a long swig,
then handed it to her. She took an equally long drink from the flask, throat burning from the potent whisky, and handed it back to him while coughing.

  "Your father was a good man." Coilin said. "Reckless at times, but a good man. He will be missed. Since you are here and your father is no longer with us, I will assume you are looking for help with this war you brought upon us."

  "The war was coming to you whether I was here or not." Mac replied. "I was simply the catalyst used."

  "I will not allow you to take my son to his death, Mackenzie Blackburn." Coilin said through gritted teeth. "The war is here now and there is nothing I can do about that, but we will now break free of these lands and survive like we should have done so many years ago. I will not allow you to take that from us."

  "You're right, I suppose we could just leave him to sit and rot in this murky prison." Anger had gotten the best of Mac and she regretted saying the words before she even finished. Coilin threw his hand out and a gust of wind hit Mac hard throwing her through the air like a defenseless doll, but before she hit the ground the wind righted itself and she landed gently on her own two feet. She stared daggers into Coilin and flicked her wrist sending a mound of dirt through the air and hitting him in the face.

  "Is that all you can do?" Coilin said wiping the mud from his mouth. Mac twirled her fingers and the remaining mud slinked up his nose and into his mouth like slithering leeches. His eyes went wide for a second before coughing up and spitting the mud back to the ground.

  Coilin's eyes shifted from the normal blue color to a complete shade of black making him look like some kind of a demon. His hands filled with small spheres of fire and he stepped towards her. She couldn't believe he was going to try to kill her.

  "Leave, now!" Coilin said. "We are family, and I would hate to kill you, but I will if that's what it comes down to. I am older and stronger, and your pale face shows you have already spent much of your energy, so if you force me to, I will bring an end to your life."

  Anger welled up in Mac and she stared at Coilin assessing whether he was being truthful or just making the threat to get her to leave. There was no lie in his actions and if she didn't leave he would be sure to kill her, but it didn't matter. Without their help, they were all dead anyway, so she called to the water and took control of the water in his arm. The fist full of fire twisted on himself and he threw it right directly into the center of his own chest setting his robes on fire. Selek moved to help him out, but Mac had beat him to it throwing a spray of water at him and extinguishing the flames. Coilin fell back to the ground staring at her and not believing what had just happened.

  "When the aeroships arrive in a few days Crystal Well, this bog, and all of our people will be put to death." Mac said. "We can either fight, or we can die, but running is no longer an option. The duke will put a bounty on our heads so large there will be no place on this planet that we can hide. If you turn your back on us now you know you condemn every single one of us to death."

  "I will not watch my son die." Coilin said before standing and flying off. Mac dropped her head in defeat. When she looked up again Selek stood before her. He stared for several long seconds saying nothing, then he turned and walked away. Now, there was truly no hope. She looked around and waited for him to come back, but he never came. She turned and started walking towards Crystal Well trying to think of a new plan, then the light reflected off the brass and copper bodies of the sentries that had been destroyed and hit Mac in the eyes. She stared at the remains and a long smiled curled up on her face before she shot into the air and towards Crystal Well.

  27.

  It took a full day to get the broken sentries back to Crystal Well and another day to abduct Jonas. Time was running short, but Mac was confident in her plan. Heck, what worked in her world was sure to work in this one.

  "What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" Jonas spat at them as they pulled the sack from over his head.

  "We come baring gifts." Mac said with a smile amused at how much anger one old man could possess. His face was almost the color of a ripe tomato.

  "You, again." He sneered.

  "You know you're happy to see me." Mac said still smiling. Jonas leapt forward on the attack, but Walter was faster and grabbed him, throwing him back into the chair.

  "Walter, if you do not remove your hands from me, I will remove them from you." Walter's mouth rose slightly and he pulled away from Jonas.

  "Jonas, you informed me during our last meeting that you cared about your city more than anything else, correct?" Mac said stepping between the two men.

  "I do, and I don’t expect a finger waiving transgressor like yourself to understand that." Jonas shot at her. Mac laughed.

  "You follow a madman in hopes to maintain a city full of merciless killings against the very people you claim to protect and you call me a transgressor?" Mac continued to laugh. "What a joke."

  "The last time my people fought against the duke, they died." Jonas said. "Not only did they die, but their sons and daughters were also killed for their sins."

  "And your people are safe and free now?" Mac asked. "The children aren't being strapped with weapons and sent to their deaths? The duke hasn't been using your people to do his dirty work so he doesn't have to sacrifice his more trusted assassins or even his more expendable sentries? He considers your people lower than the mechanical contraptions that are only possible because of your hard work."

  "WHICH IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Jonas yelled.

  “Actually, it’s your fault.” Mac said smiling at him. He frowned and waited for Mac’s explanation. “You should have brought me to the duke when you had the chance, but you didn’t. Instead you helped me escape.”

  Mac stared hard. Jonas’ body shook and his breathing sped up turning an even brighter shade of red. Mac could see he was about to attack, but before he could she held up her hands in defeat.

  “Fine.” She said. “If you insist on making me your martyr, then so be it. You are more than welcome to take me to the duke. He will finally torture me and maybe someday give me death, but you, well, you will be a great hero to your people.” Jonas froze staring at her through squinted eyes. He cocked his head to the side examining her and waiting for the punch line, but it didn’t come.

  “You will…let me just take you…without a fight?” Jonas said slowly watching Mac with every word.

  “Yes.” Mac said simply.

  “Now?” Jonas said with a cautious laugh.

  “If that is what you want, then yes.” Mac said straight faced.

  “I may be old, but I am no fool, Miss Blackburn.” Jonas said finally sitting back in his chair. “You will never allow me to so freely take you from this place and give you willingly to the duke. I’m not sure what kind of game you are playing at, but I am not falling for it.”

  “Jonas, I'm tired.” Mac said. “I have been beaten over and over since being dragged to this forsaken place and I'm just tired of it. I’m broken, Jonas, broken. Do you understand? I just want this all to be over with, so I will go with you and let your people die a horrible death and let you to watch your city burn to the ground finally ending this mess.” Jonas shook his head in confusion opening and closing his mouth several times before finally finding his words.

  “How the bloody hell could me bringing you to the duke cause the death of any of my people?” Jonas said arms outstretched.

  “Jonas, I have no doubt that you would be one heck of a leader if given a chance.” Mac said. “You seem like a fair and moral man who is smart enough to run the city as it should be run, therefore; I understand why you may not see the reality that now looms over your city.”

  “If you are so much more enlightened in what my city is, then by all means, tell me.” Jonas said.

  “All right.” Mac started. “When the roof of the mansion was dropped on the duke’s sister, who did he blame? He blamed my father and he blamed your people. Even though he had a leech not two feet from his side and he knew your people had no
hand in the assassination attempt he put blame on them and from that point on they suffered.” Jonas shook his head still not comprehending, so Mac continued.

  “Now the duke’s sister died at the hands of a man who was helping my people and who is suffering for it?” Mac asked, but didn’t wait for the answer. “That’s right, the children from your city are paying the ultimate price for a crime we committed. So, now that my father is dead and I will be killed, it is obvious he will come after the rest of my people and kill them all, but then whose left to blame?” Jonas stared at Mac with wide eyes. “Ahh, Jonas, now you see. No matter what happens to me and my people, your people are still to blame in the mad king’s eyes. So, take me and be done with it all, at least this war will finally come to an end.”

  Jonas continued to stare again opening his mouth then closing it, then opening it again before finally speaking. “What would you have me do, Mrs. Blackburn? There are no other options here.”

  “There is one option.” Mac said with a smile. “Let me take him on my own terms. If it’s me that’s supposed to bring his fate, then let me do all I can to bring his end, for good.”

  “He will kill you before you even get close.” Jonas said laughing. “How could you possibly walk in and take him out?”

  “I’d use these.” Mac pulled a large tarp off a pile of scrap metal. Within the mix was several bulbous bodies of the Sentry bots used to attack the bog. Many of the pieces and parts were bent and broken, but she hoped there would be enough to make at least one or two working Trojan horses.

  “Where did you get all of this?” Jonas said at a loss for words. Mac wished she had a camera to take a picture of his face. The only other time she had seen a smile so large was when she was a child at Christmas.

  “It would seem the duke has sent assassins here while the Sentries are scouring the woods killing everyone they come across.” Mac said. “They aren’t smart enough to avoid the bog.” Jonas leaned back in his chair looking at Mac frowning. The smile vanished and he looked like he was deep in thought.