City of Steam (Blackburn Chronicles)

by Dominic K Alexander

  “If he’s sent Sentries this far out, then he truly has lost any sanity that remained.” He said to himself. Mac just let him process everything before continuing. He shook his head then looked back to the broken bots, then took a deep breath and let it out slowly turning back to Mac. “all right, I’m in.”

  “So, can you fix them?” Mac said smiling. Walter removed his hand from the butt of his pistol and nodded to Mac, then left.

  “You are an insulting little twit, aren’t you?” Jonas said smiling again. “I am the master tinker and likely the best in the world. I invented these bots, so of course I can fix them.”

  “By tomorrow?” Mac asked.

  “Grease and steam runs through my bones, Mrs. Blackburn.” Jonas replied. “I can have them done tonight assuming there are enough parts here that are undamaged to complete them.” He started scrounging parts from the pile.

  “Then I will let you get to work.” Mac said heading for the door. “We grabbed one of your tool chests. I had them put it in the corner.” Jonas looked around like a mouse looking for cheese then saw the tool chest and ran to it, flipped the top open, and started grabbing a wide variety of items ignoring everyone else in the room.

  She stopped to watch him before finally leaving him alone to do his work. She was in awe of the speed and precision he worked. She understood why the duke trusted him to make his army, and more important his sister. The old man dove into the pile throwing broken parts across the room and grabbing others with the occasional ‘ah hah’ then diving back in. Any doubt she had been holding inside slowly faded away.

  Mac left the cluttered building and went to find Walter. She moved through the streets like a woman on a mission. Everything done now was being done to block out the death of her people and her family. She saw red everywhere she went and wanted revenge because of it. Checking on Kris was a priority on her list of things to do, but it wasn’t her top priority and she passed by her sister’s home and continued her search.

  It didn’t take her long before she found a crowd of people standing around at the far side of the street. They took a step away from her as she made her way through and she could almost feel the fear radiating off them. The memory of Abel being stoned and the look of the villagers coming after him came back to her, but she held her head high and finally found Walter leaning up against one of the buildings chewing on a long piece of hay. He reminded Mac of the cowboys in the movies which she knew he loved so much. Now all he needed was a big white cowboy hat in place of his black gamblers hat and she would start calling him John Wayne. She couldn’t help choking back a chuckle as she approached.

  Walter had a somewhat somber expression as he watched the crowd around him. Mac finally stopped and turned to look them over. They were deathly quiet and all eyes watched her. It was slightly unsettling since she was so used to them laughing and being almost overly friendly.

  “They will do just fine.” Mac said quietly through the side of her mouth.

  “They will be dead before you are even able to get close.” Said a familiar voice behind her. She spun ready to throw a burst of wind and Coilin stood with a smile waiting for the attack. She didn’t lower her hands.

  “Trust me, Mac, I don’t want to be here anymore than you want me to be here.” He said.

  “Then why are you here?” She asked with vigor. “I am pretty sure everything that needed to be said between us has already been said.”

  “A mutual friend informed me it may be beneficial to support your little plan here.” Coilin said looking past her to Walter. Mac turned to Walter and he tipped his hat at her slightly then went back to looking at the crowd who were more of a shade of white than prior due to Coilin’s show of support in them. Mac turned back to Coilin.

  “What support could you possibly offer us?” Mac asked. “Let’s face it, you are a man of peace and this is something far beyond that way of thinking. As a matter of fact, how could we possibly trust you to not betray us?” His face darkened and he stepped forward towards Mac.

  “You have been a part of this fight for five minutes.” He said with venom. “I have been fighting it for a thousand years. Don’t tell me how little you need me when it is I who has proven my capability to keep my people alive without you, but by all means, show us how you are going to train ‘your’ people.” He grabbed a boy in the front of the group who was no older than fifteen and stood him in front of Mac. “Since you are the most skilled of us, General Blackburn, show this boy how to attack someone.”

  Mac looked from Coilin to the boy and back then walked off and grabbed a hay bale that Walter had prepared for their training session. She then stood behind the boy and put her hands on his shoulders.

  “This is an assassin who is about to shoot you.” She said to the boy. “I want you to get him first.” Mac looked at Walter who had stopped chewing the piece of hay and stared at her with upturned eyebrows. She shrugged her shoulders and paid attention to the boy again who was looking at her with fear in his eyes. She pointed at the hay and he focused his attention on it and slowly lifted his hands.

  With a deep breath, the boy squinted his face and threw his hands forward releasing a minuscule amount of fire at the bale. It fizzled out before even reaching the intended target. Coilin let out a roar of a laugh making the boy cringe.

  “I would like to see you do any better.” Mac yelled. “He is only a boy and you expect him to be a master of the elements.”

  “No, Mac, you do.” Coilin said with a satisfied look on his face. “You are the one sending these people to attack a well-armed city, not me.” Darkness fell over him again and he moved slowly between Mac and the boy. “You have started a war that will burn everyone here. This boy will burn faster than all the others because he’s small, but you can be sure, without honing his skills, he will burn.”

  Coilin knelt before the boy and looked him deep in the eyes, then spoke in a low steady voice. “It’s all right, boy. Close your eyes.” The boy looked horrified, his whole body shaking from Coilin’s words, but he closed his eyes. “I want you to feel the warm sun on your face. Feel the wind flowing around you.” His shaking lessened. “The elements love and accept a bond with us. They are not something to control or fear because they want to be a part of us. They hug you while you run and play in the streets, and they comfort us while we sleep. They are a part of our lives every day which is why we live. Feel the energy flowing through your body and embrace its warmth. Talk to it, embrace it, feel its beauty.”

  “Now, open your eyes and look at your enemy. He will come for you, and worse, he will come for your mother, father, and sister. If you do not kill him here and now your whole family will die at his hand. He will tear at your mother and sister destroying their soul before finally setting them ablaze. You are the only one standing between him and the torture he will inflict on everyone you know and love.” Coilin barely spit out the final words and the boy screamed in defiance throwing his hands forward and launching a fireball the size of a melon which hit the hay and exploded. The boy fell to his knees tears streaking down his face. Coilin placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder to calm him.

  “What the hell are you thinking!” Mac screamed as she came at Coilin. He turned to look at her with a tear running down his cheek. Mac froze. The memory of his daughter and Abel came back to her and all the words about to come out disappeared. The red she was seeing since her father’s death faded for a second and the sick feeling in her stomach came back. She swallowed it back down and her fury came back harder and stronger. “How dare you project your pain onto the boy, you sick bastard.”

  “There are many things that are far worse than death, Mac.” Coilin said calmly without meeting her eyes. “If you want to be nice about it then these people will not live long enough to see the pain you and I have suffered through and live with. It gives us the drive to push forward and fight. The need to see who we are to know what they are fighting for.”

  “You think they will want to fight har
der knowing life will eat them up and spit them out no matter what?” Mac said.

  “No, Mac.” Coilin replied. “I want them to fight hard enough so that everyone will be too scared to come at them again.” Mac shook her head and started to walk away.

  “Fine, Coilin, you win.” Mac said. “They are your responsibility.” She left the crowd to Coilin’s training techniques.

  “They will be ready by morning.” Coilin yelled to her. “The rest of my people will be here by nightfall.” Coilin pulled the crowd of people in closer and started talking to them. Mac couldn’t believe his own clan was going to fight with them. They were some of the oldest Thaumaturgists in the area. Even though she gave Coilin hell, she was sure he was perfectly capable of raining fire down on his enemies.

  “You know we can’t win.” Walter said catching up to her.

  “The only thing I know is what will happen to all these people if we don’t win.” Mac said not looking at him. “I also know if we do lose the history books will say we went out with a fight and I can’t ask anything more than that, but I do want you to take Maggie out of here. There is no need for you two to lose your lives also. After all, it isn’t your fight.”

  “That’s a hell of a thing to say to me, Mac Blackburn.” Walter stopped and stared at her. “It isn’t every day I am willing to call someone a friend, but your father was definitely just that, and I find myself quite partial to your smart ass too, so don’t tell me this isn’t my fight. The moment he went after my daughter and my friends it became my fight. As far as your history book ideas; they won’t remember us at all. We are a small part of this world and history books only record greatness, not a squished ant.”

  “Then we must show history something great.” Mac said defiantly. “I just hope the history books are ready for someone like me.” Mac clinched her fists and stormed off.

  “Hell hath no fury.” Walter said watching her go.

  28.

  Training went on for most of the day and Coilin’s clan showed up prior to night fall as he said they would. There were at least a hundred of them which raised the spirits of the hundred or so people they already had. In celebration of the unification of a once split clan, a massive bonfire was built at the cities center and a huge feast ensued. The people laughed, danced, ate, and loved. Mac watched them with a smile on her face. She had never seen so many people with so much spirit facing their ultimate demise. Even Jonas partook in the festivities and was taken in as one of them. Having could fix three of the Sentries ahead of schedule he now drank mead in the heavy fashion he was used to.

  “If the world ends tonight we will at least go with defiance.” Mac said to herself.

  “I don’t think our grandmother will allow anything to happen to us tonight.” Kris said limping up from behind. “Even the assassins are avoiding the celebration.”

  “I haven’t seen her since the explosion.” Mac said, not looking at her.

  “The Tinkers believe in a dark afterlife for any who bring harm to others.” Kris said standing next to Mac. “I’m sure she is showing them how true that is.” Mac smiled slightly.

  “I want you to stay here tomorrow and away from the fight.” Mac said quietly.

  “Sorry, but I don’t take orders from a simpleton like yourself.” Mac looked at her ready to protest, but Kris just stood there with a smile on her face.

  “Ed won’t let you go, will he?” Mac asked.

  “There’s always that, but even if he would, I have no place next to you.” Kris said looking away.

  “What do you mean?” Kris asked. “You’re my sister and have more right than most to stand by my side.”

  “Mac, I am every bit as powerful as you are, yet I refuse to use my magic.” Kris said. “I have rejected that part of myself and will never go back to it.”

  Mac hadn’t thought about her sister not using any powers. It would make sense if they were related, they would both have the ability, but she thought back on it and Kris hadn't used any elements since they had met.

  “Why?” Mac asked. “If you have this gift handed to you, then why not use it?”

  “In the time you have been here and learned about Thaumaturgists have you ever seen anything besides death come from the use of magic?” Kris asked, but didn’t wait for an answer. “No, you haven’t. Not to kill the illusion you have built up around yourself, but I have been around magic my whole life and have never ever witnessed any good come from the manipulation of power. I have chosen a life where I can heal people with science over magic and the use of chemistry when defending myself instead of throwing balls of fire and death twisters. I may live longer than my loving husband, but at least I won’t be forced to set him ablaze in a fit of anger.”

  Mac had no words. She stared at the men, women, and children dancing around the fire, living their lives for however long they were theirs, but death was there, lurking around the corner. It had taken her father the moment she had could lay her eyes on him again. It had taken her mother, her uncle, and followed her family wherever they went. Maybe Kris was right and using our powers did only bring death, but it didn’t matter. All she wanted right now was to bring death. Something had broken inside her from the time she had gotten here, until now. A couple months ago she never would have thought about taking a person’s life, but now it was all she wanted. Kris’ words would echo through the back of her head, but she just ignored them.

  “We will be using the city tunnels to bring back the injured and care for them here in the city where it is safe.” Kris said seeing her words had no impact on Mac.

  “City tunnels?” Mac asked.

  “We've built a couple small tunnels which go from the city to the forest.” Kris said with a smile. Mac assumed it was Kris’ idea which was why she was so proud of them. “It's how we have been able to get our people from the villages to the city while avoiding assassins and sentries. If we moved in small groups they never noticed us.”

  “Do you think they would take notice if a couple hundred of us moved through the tunnels?” Kris never got a chance to answer. An explosion broke the celebration as food and wine flew in every direction. Then another explosion threw some of the people dancing back into the fire. Some leapt out and to the ground as fast as possible rolling to put out the flames. Others were not so lucky and ran through their friends engulfed in flame.

  The celebration made it easy for the grim beetles to make their way through the crowd unnoticed and find their targets with precise accuracy. The ground immediately glowed a bright yellow and ghostly hands reached up from below grabbing the beetles and pulling them below the earth before they could do any more harm than they had already done. People ran hiding in whatever building was the closest. The explosions didn’t cease. As several people ran into one of the buildings not far from Mac, it exploded leaving no one left inside alive. Mac fell to the ground from the force of the explosion.

  “There’s no way that came from a grim beetle.” Mac said shaking her head and looking around. Kris was on the ground several feet from her. “Kris, are you all right?” She crawled to her sister and shook her. Kris blinked several times in shock of what was happening. “Kris, find Ed and get to safety.”

  “I’m…” Kris started patting herself down cringing slightly. Everything seemed to be where it was supposed to be. “I’m fine. There.” Kris pointed up into the sky.

  Mac followed her sisters finger to find a half dozen aeroships flying above. Their grandmother was leaping from ship to ship setting them on fire, but they still dropped bombs and grim beetles as they burned. Mac called to the wind. As she started to lift off the ground someone grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

  “Mac, we need to go, now.” Walter said gripping her arm and snapping her attention back. “Kris is heading for Ed who is watching over Maggie. Coilin is rounding what fighters are left and the pseudoscorpions are clearing a path for us. There is no more time. It’s now or never.” Mac looked from Walter to the ships, then back. She knew
he was right, but watching these people die so senselessly was one of the hardest things she had ever witnessed. She dropped her head in defeat and went with Walter.

  They ran through the glowing yellow streets covered with sporadic patches of fire and the occasional explosion one of which nearly hit them. Lucky the garage was untouched and the fully rebuilt Sentries stared silently at the couple when they went inside. They shined a beautiful copper shine and Mac couldn’t help but shiver knowing the destruction they were capable of. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough undamaged ammo to walk in and hammer the mansion until it fell burying everyone inside, but there was enough to make someone have a bad day.

  “Coilin was supposed to be the third.” Mac said looking at Walter.

  “I’ll take the third.” William said from behind them. They turned and looked at him slightly surprised.

  “Sorry, William, you’re too young to go where we are going.” Mac said shaking her head.

  “You are sending several boys younger than I am to the front line, so let’s be fair about this.” William said quickly trying to make his point. “Plus, you saved my life and I would be honored to return the favor. Though none of this matters since we really don’t have time to argue about it and you need a third.”

  “He’s right.” Walter added. Mac looked between the two still shaking her head then stepped to her sentry.

  “Fine.” She said. “But, if you get yourself hurt I am going to kill you.” William and Walter looked at each other before laughing themselves silly. Even after they popped the hatch in the back of the sentry and crawled inside their giggles still echoed out of the metal beasts.

  The space inside each sentry was extremely cramped and there were several levers hanging around each with a handwritten tag dangling from it. The insides were lit with one of Kris’ special light potions illuminating everything in purple. Mac scanned over each of the tags and found some cloth with a note telling her to cover her ears since it would be loud inside. Above the cloth was a large brass key with a tag which read ‘TURN EVERY TEN MINUTES.’ Jonas was a Master Tinker. She rolled up little pieces of cloth and secured them in her ears, turned the key until it stopped, then found the lever that said ‘ON’ and she pulled it back.