When he returned, he had a round metal tank with a valve on top. “What’s that?” Sev wondered, examining the contraption.
“It’s a concentrated version of lamp oil,” Kettlebent replied. “It should provide the fuel we need to inflate the hot-air bladder above the vessel.”
“That might work,” Sev agreed thoughtfully. “What if we change the shape o’the balloon?”
“How so?” Kettlebent asked.
“This design has a traditional balloon. What if we elongated it?” He drew right on the blueprints to illustrate his suggestion. What he drew looked more like a cigar than a traditional sphere. “It’d distribute the weight more evenly, makin’ it more efficient and easier t’maneuver.”
“Sev,” Kettlebent exclaimed. “That’s brilliant!” He planted a kiss on Sev’s forehead. “We need to fabricate the new balloon, though.”
“My dad taught me a bit about sewing,” Sev offered. “We should go talk to Annie and some o’the other women, see who can help us.”
“Good thinking. I’ll see if I can get the canvas we need.”
“Is there a lighter fabric we might use? Silk, maybe?”
“I don’t know. Silk is very expensive. We might be able to find some cotton,” Kettlebent said.
“The lighter the fabric the better. See what ye can find.”
“You won’t come with me?” Kettlebent asked.
“I will if ye want.”
“I do.”
“I guess we should be on our way, then,” Sev stated. Kettlebent agreed, and they entered the lift, descending into the underground city. On the trip down, Sev suggested they see Midnight. The villain had the uncanny ability to get his hands on the most decadent of items. He might be able to provide them with the silk they needed.
JACK MIDNIGHT listened as they explained what they needed, tapping a finger to his lips as he considered their predicament. “I know someone you can talk to.” Midnight jotted a name and address on a slip of paper. “Tell him I sent you. He’ll get you whatever you need.”
“Thanks, Jack.” Sev accepted the paper.
“Have you seen Rat?” the villain asked, uncharacteristically concerned. “He hasn’t been ’round for a few days.”
“He’s helpin’ the resistance,” Sev explained.
“So now I’m lending all my people to the cause, am I?”
“We can send him back if you need him,” Kettlebent, dressed in full costume, offered.
“No. It’s fine. As long as we get rid of Fairgate.” That said, Midnight flopped into his chair and picked up the paper. Sev and Kettlebent took the hint and slipped away.
The man at the address was indeed able to help them with the silk, although most of it was remnants and scraps left over from larger sales. It was still more than enough for what they needed. They paid the man and headed to the underground with their prize.
As soon as they returned, they prepared the cloth, soaking it in resin to make it airtight. When it had fully dried, they summoned a large group of seamstresses and tailor’s apprentices to sew the scraps together. Sev and Muriel joined them and oversaw the construction of the balloon.
It took them a full day to complete the balloon, and they laid it out next to the cabin. Sev wanted to test it, so they inflated the silk bladder. The elongated balloon rose to bump the black rock of the ceiling. Satisfied, Sev released the air. “And everything’s totally collapsible?”
“Totally, the cabin, everything,” Kettlebent confirmed.
“We need t’get it up top and go,” Sev stated.
“We need a safe place to launch from,” Kettlebent suggested.
“A rooftop would be best,” Muriel offered.
“That’s a good idea,” Sev agreed. “But we also have t’make sure no Steamcoats see us.”
“Leave that t’us,” Annie interjected. “We’ll create a diversion so you fellas can get into the air.”
“Good. We have our plan.” Sev hugged his friend. “Put together a crew,” he told her. “We’ll meet at the lift and head fer the surface.” Annie nodded and headed off into the underground. Sev and Kettlebent packed up their new airship before gathering a few provisions as well.
ON THE surface, Sev and Kettlebent bid farewell to Annie and her rabble-rousers. He and Kettlebent made directly for the tallest building in the area, climbing the stairs to the roof. Once there, Sev began inflating the balloon as Kettlebent assembled the carriage, attaching it to the balloon once it had risen.
When the balloon was nearly inflated, Sev took a lantern to the edge of the roof to signal the distraction. He lit the lantern, then dropped the shade in the agreed upon pattern. Raised voices drew his attention. Instead of being on the street where they’d expected them, the noises came from an adjacent roof. “Sev, there’s someone over there!” Kettlebent pointed across the street. Men scrambled along the roof. Bullets whined through the air.
“Shit,” Sev spat, running to the edge of the roof and ducking down.
An explosion rocked the city at Sev’s back, and he knew Annie had begun her distraction. Sev sighted along his clockwork pistol, utilizing his magnifying eyepiece. Firing, he eliminated the opposition from the rooftop across the way while their attention was on Annie’s distraction.
“It’s ready, Sev!” Kettlebent called. “We’re ready to go.” Sev nodded to Kettlebent and dashed across the roof to the canvas carriage. Inside, Sev manipulated the valves, increasing the heat to the balloon, lifting the contraption into the sky. Kettlebent turned the wheels that powered the propellers, moving them forward. Sev heard a few gunshots and prayed they were out of range. A few of the shots whined dangerously near.
Annie’s distraction soon drew the attackers away, and Sev and Kettlebent were well on their way to Austria.
“HOW long d’ye think this’ll take?” Sev asked, peering into the ocular port. The port was like a pair of binoculars that poked through the canvas of the cabin. He watched as the city passed beneath them, waiting for the land to give way to water.
“By Heph’s calculations, it should take about five days. We already talked about this. We follow a southeastern route,” Kettlebent answered.
“And all we have is that compass?”
“That’s all we need.”
“At least the heat from the balloon is keepin’ us warm.” Sev abandoned the view to sit in the corner of the cabin, just away from the canvas. The cold seeped through from outside. Kettlebent spun the wheels alternately, correcting their flight path. Sev scooted across the cabin floor so he could be close to Kettlebent as he leaned on his hand while he studied the compass. Sev reached out and laid his hand over Kettlebent’s. The older boy smiled, leaning in for a kiss. Sev was happy to oblige. Both travelers flushed with delight when they finally broke apart. “I feel like I’ve known ye forever, and yet I don’t know anything about ye.”
Silas retrieved his hand, clasped it with his other in his lap, and studied his knees as he knelt on the floor of the cabin. “It’s hard for me to share things with people. I’ve become the man known as Kettlebent.”
“But I want t’know Silas,” Sev replied.
“I don’t really let anyone know the real me,” Kettlebent stated. “Heph maybe,” he said, more to himself than to Sev.
“Can I ask ye somethin’?” Sev traced a finger in circles on the wooden floor of the cabin. His stare fixed on his finger, only darting up to look at Silas sporadically.
Silas shrugged. “Go ahead.”
“Why are ye doing all this?” Sev studied his friend. “There has t’be some reason ye’re goin’ through all this.” Kettlebent nodded but said nothing. Sev sat quietly as they floated toward Austria, waiting for Kettlebent’s words. Silas sat silently for a few moments before he shifted, checked the oculars and the dirigible’s course. He turned the port side wheels to correct their flight, and then he crossed his legs and rubbed his face. “Ye don’t have to tell me,” Sev offered. “It’s fine. I understand. I hate t’talk about
myself.”
“No.” Silas shook his head. “I heard your story, it’s only fair. And we’ve a long trip ahead of us.” Silas tried to get comfortable, leaning on his bedroll. “Do you remember Captain Dizziwig’s Captivating Clockwork Circus?”
Sev shook his head. “I’ve heard the name. Never saw it, though. Fervis wouldn’t allow it. I heard it was a brilliant display o’clockwork engineerin’.”
“Yes, that’s what everyone said. The papers raved. The Captain took his circus to all the most important parties. It played in all the biggest theater houses. It was quite the phenomenon.”
“I sense a very large ‘but’ comin’,” Sev said. He pulled out his own bedroll, trying to relax.
“It was all a huge lie.” Silas wasn’t surprised by Sev’s puzzled frown. “Dizziwig claimed to have created an ‘amazingly advanced arrangement of artful automatons’.” Silas grinned at the disgusted expression on Sev’s face. “The old bastard loved his alliteration.”
“So his inventions weren’t as amazin’ as he claimed?”
“They weren’t inventions at all. They were children dressed as clockworks.”
“What?” Sev’s shock was evident.
“Dizziwig purchased orphans and forced them to learn tricks and skills; then he would beat us until we performed them perfectly. He drew lines on us to make us look like puppets. Some of the children he even attached gears, bolts, or springs to.”
“How?”
“Rubber cement,” Silas answered. “Some of his methods were even more drastic. He was relentless and cruel. He would beat us, burn us, starve us, and lock us up away from all the other children. He wouldn’t inflict injury where the audience could detect it, though he never allowed the audience to get close enough to find him out.” Sev said nothing, only held his hand over his mouth. “I don’t remember anything before that caravan of terror. He must have bought me very young. I realized early on that the life expectancy of Dizziwig’s ‘automatons’ wasn’t promising. The audiences loved the cute, little clockworks. When children got too old, they disappeared.”
“He killed them?” Sev asked.
“I never actually saw it, but I’m not stupid, and I wasn’t back then either. I knew my time there was limited. I tried extremely hard to learn the things he wanted me to do in the show, and I think the way I excelled bought me a few extra years. I was his prize invention.” Tears rose to Silas’s eyes, as he thought of all the children who had displeased Dizziwig or grew too old. “Being the headliner of the show afforded me a few freedoms. I had my own room and a tiny allowance. I used my downtime to learn steamcraft and clockwork. I saved the tiny stipend Dizziwig gave me to purchase raw materials. The rest I traded or bartered for. I managed to build a true automaton.” Silas leaned over to check the oculars. He studied the compass, satisfied they were on the right course. “I thought if I made the man true wonders of clockwork, he’d free his juvenile slaves.”
“And?” Sev wanted to know the rest of his friend’s story.
“My clockwork performed admirably. I was so proud. Dizziwig’s smile was encouraging. I could taste our freedom. I asked him what he thought of my creation. ‘Exceptional’, he told me, and I beamed. I was so happy. He asked me what my goal was in creating the clockwork boy. I told him if he had true clockworks for his circus, he could release all his children and avoid the cost it would take to feed and clothe them.” Silas squeezed his eyes shut. “He laughed at me. He mocked me. He told me I was delusional, and he picked up a metal bar, and he smashed the clockwork boy I’d spent so many months researching, creating, and perfecting.” Tears leaked from Silas’s eyes. “I was frustrated. I had no idea what to do next. I’d been telling all the other children how I’d save them, how we’d be free once Dizziwig had seen my clockwork.”
“What did ye do when he rejected it?” Sev asked.
Silas shook his head. “I wept at first, because I’d failed. Then some more because once Dizziwig had finished with my creation, he turned his attention on me. He beat me viciously, not caring whether his abuse was detectable. He only stopped when someone rang at the door. I was barely conscious when he threw me in the cell with the other children. I think he would have killed me if he hadn’t been interrupted.” Silas paused, taking a deep, shaking breath. “The other children comforted me, cleaned my wounds as best they could. Looking around at their pale, dirty, worried faces, I knew what I had to do.”
“Stop him. Stop Dizziwig,” Sev guessed.
“I wanted to free the other children, but I knew if I left him alive, he’d just buy more children. The abuse, the lies would continue.
“I couldn’t perform, but he was having technical problems with some of the simple machines he’d bought to play the music and what-not, so he made me work on them. It was the window I needed. After the big shows, Dizziwig always drank himself senseless. It was simple for me to squirrel away a small tool to pick the lock. I could get out and put an end to Dizziwig, then get the keys and let the other children out as well.”
“Didn’t Dizziwig have guards? Fervis always had a few men on hand t’keep us in line.”
“No.” Silas shook his head. “Dizziwig thought we were stupid. He considered us tools for him to use and put away. The thought of us thinking for ourselves, of fighting back, never crossed his mind.” Silas pinched the bridge of his nose. “And he was right, wasn’t he? It had never occurred to any of us to free ourselves. It never occurred to me to try to help any of the other children who left with Dizziwig and never returned. I let all those kids die.”
“Silas,” Sev said, reaching out to squeeze his friend’s shoulder. “Ye were in an impossible situation.”
“So were you, and you fought back at every opportunity,” Silas argued.
“And look where that got me,” Sev responded sourly.
It was Silas’s turn to comfort Sev. “At any rate, I managed to get out and into Dizziwig’s study. He was already passed out, and I crept over planning to put a pillow over his face. He wasn’t as unconscious as I’d thought, and he rose up and grabbed me by the throat. He threw me back, and I landed on his desk. It was lucky for me. I managed to grab a letter opener, and when he lunged at me, I plunged it into his neck. The look on his face was terror, and he grabbed at the wound. Blood gushed from between his fingers, and he made the most awful gurgling noises in his throat.” Silas hung his head as if just telling the tale had exhausted him. “I watched as he bled to death. He reached out for me, tried to beg me to help him, but I did nothing. Just like when he killed those children.
“I got the rest of the boys and girls out of the cells. We took anything we could find that was worth something, and then we ran. We were on the street about a week before Murry found us. That’s when I met Heph. I saw in his vision to liberate the children of Blackside a way to make up for all the time I stood by and did nothing. It was my chance at redemption.” The only sound in the cabin was that of the wind whipping past outside. “You should get some sleep,” Silas finally said. “One of us is going to have to keep an eye on our course. We’ll need to take it in shifts.”
“All right,” Sev agreed. He reached out and laid his hand on the back of Silas’s neck, pulling him in until their foreheads were touching. “Don’t beat yerself up,” Sev whispered. Silas relaxed, reaching out to embrace Sev. “I know how difficult it can be t’live with yer mistakes. I know.”
“Thank you, Seven,” Silas said as he kissed his friend’s temple. “Now get some sleep.” Sev nodded. He didn’t want to leave Silas alone to stew, but he knew he’d need to watch the controls on the next shift. He was convinced he’d never be able to fall asleep, having heard Silas’s story, but he slept soon after his head hit his bedroll.
SEV awoke, his muscles stiff. He stretched and opened his eyes, surprised that the cabin was aglow with morning light. His neck was stiff, and he felt a familiar pressure in his kidneys, but when he tried to stand up he realized where he was. “Silas!” Sev barked. “Where do we
go t’the toilet?” Kettlebent hadn’t been asleep, but he had been dozing, and he jerked up, startled. “Five days on this thing, and we didn’t figure out where we’d make water!”
“Hang it out the hatch,” Silas said, pointing to the rear of the cabin. “That’s what I did.”
“What’re we over?”
“Does it matter?”
“Damn it, man.”
“Water. We’re still over water.”
“Thank God,” Sev sighed, rushing to the back of the cabin and unbuttoning the hatch. He growled contentedly as he released the contents of his bladder. “How did we overlook that?” he asked as he did up his trousers and turned back. Silas was stifling a laugh. “What’s so funny?”
“The look on your face was priceless,” Silas answered.
“Ha. Ha.” Sev scratched at his hair, sitting down.
“Would you like a bite to eat before we switch off?” Silas asked. Sev nodded, and Silas handed him a strip of jerky and scooped some pickled turnips from a jar. They ate in silence.
“I hope I don’t have a movement up here,” Sev said, smirking.
Silas chuckled. “Can you imagine being hit with that from above?” That drew a hearty laugh from both young men. When Silas caught his breath, he held up the now empty jar the turnips had been in. “At least we have a toilet now.” He wiggled the jar, and they shared another round of laughter. “I’m spent,” Silas stated when their laughter had tapered off to sporadic chuckles. “You know how to pilot this thing?” Silas asked, and Sev nodded. “Good. I need sleep.” He settled in and fell instantly asleep. Sev divided his attention between maintaining the course and watching his companion sleep.
The next few days passed in a similar manner with the two young men switching off, taking their meals together, and utilizing the hatch once the other was unconscious. Sev ran into a spot of high winds and needed to wake Silas to help him correct their flight path.
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