“Me too.” Silas finished his tea. “Do you want to fetch him down here? He might like it. There’s plenty of room for him to fly, and it’s always like night.”
“That’s a fair point.” Sev thought about it. Henry would really like it down here, and he’d have plenty of friends to keep him company with all the children running about. Why hadn’t he thought to bring him down before? “I think that’s a good idea.”
“Good. We’ll go above ground first thing in the morning.” He stood and took his teacup to the kitchen. “I’m exhausted. I think I’ll turn in early. What about you?”
Sev considered. “Aye. Think I could do with a proper night’s sleep.” He drained the last of his tea and took the cup to the washbasin. When he turned back, Silas still waited in the doorway. “G’night, then.” Sev said.
“Sev?” Color rose to Silas’s cheeks. “I know that cot isn’t the most comfortable to sleep on. Would you fancy a rest on a proper mattress?”
“No.” Sev shook his head, and Silas visibly deflated.
“Oh,” Silas responded.
“I couldn’t ask ye t’give up yer bed. The cot’s fine.”
“Oh. Oh no. That’s not what I meant. There’s plenty of room on my bed. Neither of us would need to sleep on the cot. It’s entirely up to you, of course.”
“Oh,” Sev said quietly. “Oh!” he exclaimed, finally understanding Silas’s offer. His body thrilled a bit at the prospect. “I, um. Yeah. That would be brilliant. Thanks.”
“Really? Yes. Excellent. I’ll go and turn down the sheets. Put out the lamps?”
“All right,” Sev answered as Silas skipped into the bedroom. Sev blew out the first lamp, his heart racing a bit. He’d been exhausted a few moments ago, and now he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to sleep at all. After putting out the last lamp, Sev was bathed in darkness. He waited for his eyes to adjust and made his way to the bedroom.
Silas had stripped to his pants, his skin a stark contrast to his dark hair in the low light. Sev’s breath caught in his throat as his friend climbed into the big four-poster.
“Come on,” Silas urged him. Sev’s hands trembled a bit as he unbuttoned his shirt and peeled it off before slipping out of the rest of his clothes. He climbed into the cool sheets next to Silas’s warm body. Sev could feel Silas’s heart pounding against his back. Silas draped his arm over Sev and nestled his face into the base of Sev’s hair. Sev took a deep breath and turned to face him in the dark.
SEV awoke refreshed. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept so well and so soundly. He stretched and yawned, looking for Silas, who popped his head in the room. “Finally awake?” he asked, already clean and dressed. “You know where the basin is. Have a washup and come have a spot of breakfast.” Sev smiled and ruffled his sleep-tangled hair before leaping out of the comfortable bed.
Cleaned and dressed, he joined Silas at the little dining table for a delightful breakfast. Then Silas gathered his disguise. “Leave that off today,” Sev suggested. “We don’t have t’hide from the Footmen. Leave Kettlebent down here fer today and be Silas.”
Silas smiled, leaned over and kissed the top of Sev’s head. “And so I shall,” he agreed, replacing his outer-skeleton, overcoat, beard, and goggles on their hooks by the door.
They went to Sev’s flat first, looking for Henry. Not finding him, they traveled to the Black Chapel and called on Midnight. Hank swooped down, hooting happily to land on Sev’s arm. Xiang bustled out equally happy to see his former student, and Sev had an idea. They were just in time to catch Midnight at breakfast, and Sev asked if the resistance might borrow Xiang for a few days.
“You’ve already got a cook,” Midnight said dismissively, unfolding a newspaper.
“Not fer cookin’, fer fightin’,” Sev explained. “We could really use Xiang t’get the children ready fer the battle we’re facin’.”
“Mm. That’s probably a wise idea,” Midnight agreed.
“An excellent suggestion. That will be a great help,” Silas stated happily.
“I said it was wise. I didn’t say I’d agree to it. What’s in it for me?”
“What’s—?” Silas blurted in surprise. “What’s in it for you? Are you serious?”
“Quite.” Midnight folded up the paper and placed it on the table near his plate.
“But you’ve assisted us previously! Why won’t you help us now? It doesn’t make any sense.” Silas slammed his hands on Midnight’s table, rattling the villain’s fancy tea service.
“Mr. Kettlebent, there’s no need for that. I helped you when it suited me and when I thought it would be a laugh.”
“A laugh?”
“Yes. Your little adventures never adversely affected my daily comfort. Now you want me to give up my houseman, and I ask you, what’s in it for me?”
“I don’t believe this!” Silas threw up his hands in exasperation.
“Jack,” Sev said. “This’d really give us an advantage, and I’m sure Xiang would be happy t’do it.”
“Most definite, Mr. Sev.” Xiang nodded vigorously.
“His happiness can’t stay behind and fix my meals,” Jack answered with a smirk.
“You’re just saying all this to be disagreeable! To cause trouble!” Silas shouted accusingly.
“Are you suggesting that I’d withhold valuable assistance to the cause just to watch you become increasingly frustrated and act in an undignified, yet admittedly amusing, manner?” Jack clucked his teeth. “Mr. Kettlebent, I’m frankly offended by your low opinion of me.” Jack watched as Silas fumed. Then the villain smiled innocently, Sev was quite sure just to push Silas over the edge. Midnight succeeded.
“Bastard!” Silas shouted and lunged at Midnight. Sev and Xiang both grabbed the flailing young man while Midnight sat calmly sipping his tea with a satisfied, catlike grin.
“Calm down, Silas,” Sev pleaded. “Calm down. He’s tryin’ t’get a rise out of ye.”
“He’s succeeded!”
“Jack. Enough. Ye’ve had yer fun. If ye really need someone t’come round and fix ye somethin’ to eat, send Sutherland a note. I’m sure he’ll be happy t’send ye one o’his kitchen staff.”
Midnight had been stifling a chuckle. “Seven. That’s a marvelous idea. I think I’ll do just that.” Midnight leveled his gaze on Silas. “Mr. Kettlebent, I will be happy to lend you my man to train your little army. You’re welcome.” He waved them away. “Leave me now. You’ve work to do.” Taking his hint, Xiang fetched Henry’s cage, and they departed for the city below.
Before they returned, Sev composed a letter for Waverly’s boss at the Bacchus and Tun, explaining that Wave wouldn’t be returning, without offering a complete explanation. They also stopped by Beauchamps’s to let the madam know about Annie. The older woman wept on Sev’s shoulder for a very long time before she finally released him. He apologized numerous times, and she reassured him it wasn’t his fault. He left the brothel with a heavy heart.
“All right, Sev?” Silas asked when Sev rejoined them.
“I don’t know.” Sev shrugged. They slipped through the entrance to the underground, walking in silence until Sev spoke again. “Wave and Annie were my last connections t’me old life. It wasn’t great, but they’d become like family.”
“I understand.” Silas caught Sev’s hand as they walked.
“You make new family,” Xiang suggested. “You not stop loving them, but you get new people to love. It get better.”
“I do spend an awful lot o’time lookin’ back,” Sev admitted.
“I’m here,” Silas reminded Sev. “I’ll help in any way I can.”
“You already have, Silas.” Sev gave him a small smile.
“Still have Hank too!” Xiang held up the cage and the little owl flapped and hooted.
“Aye, that’s true. Thanks, Xiang.” Sev put an arm around the old Chinaman, and he gave Sev a one-armed hug. It made Sev feel better. He was sure he wouldn’t stop missing Waverly or Annie anyt
ime soon, but he did still have friends and a purpose to keep him going.
DOWN below, Sev finally got to see the new door and locking mechanism at work. Silas twisted three dials on the first door and pulled a lever on the wall. The door rolled back in a recessed track, revealing a second metal door. They were still relatively shiny. The next door had what looked like buttons with one letter of the alphabet inscribed on each. He typed “Carrington” and something inside clicked, deep and loud. Silas pulled the wall lever again, and the second door rolled back. The final door had a row of five rollers, and each had the numerals 1 through 9 embossed on the surface. Silas lined them up so the numbers read, 9-1-5-2-6, then pulled the lever a final time. The door rolled away with a grinding sound.
“What do those numbers mean?” Sev asked.
“I couldn’t say,” Silas answered pulling the twin of the outside lever on the inside wall, and at once, all three doors rolled closed. “Hephaestus picked them.”
“Here. You take Hank,” Xiang ordered, shoving the cage into Sev’s hands. “Much work to do. Must get started. Where do I teach?” Sev explained that the lot near the warehouse offered the most amount of space and how Xiang could get there. “I go there. You send students.”
“I think it would be prudent if you met Hephaestus first,” Silas observed.
“No time for meeting. He want to see me, he come to lot. You tell him.” Xiang didn’t wait for Silas to answer, just stalked off through the streets with his arms folded.
“I say,” Silas commented as he watched the little man descend into the city.
“I s’pose we should let Heph know Xiang is here,” Sev said.
“Yes. Yes, I suppose we should.”
“Can we take Henry t’yer flat first?” Sev asked.
“Why don’t you just let him out here? He can stretch his wings.” Silas spread his arms making a flapping motion.
“I want him t’know where t’find his cage so he doesn’t get lost.”
“Ah, I see your point. Very well. My place first and then to see Heph.” At Silas’s words, Sev nodded his agreement, and they strolled off.
“SO THIS is Henry?” Heph asked, indicating the little owl perched on the windowsill of the tower. Henry had flapped ecstatically around the underground city after Sev had opened his cage. He’d followed Sev and Silas to their meeting in the tower. He hooted contentedly as Heph offered him a scrap of bread.
“Aye, sir. It’s not a problem, is it?” Sev leaned against a wall casually.
“Not at all. He’s delightful.” Heph petted the small creature with a metal finger and Henry nipped playfully at the digit. “So Midnight has sent his Chinaman here to give us lessons in battle?”
“It was Seven’s idea, Heph. Xiang taught him how to fight before he went into the palace,” Silas explained.
“Well, it’s a good idea. Most of these children are used to surviving in factories and defending themselves from other children, but trained soldiers and police are a different story. This will be good for them.” Heph held his arm out and Henry flapped over and landed on it, eliciting a laugh from the older man. “Hell, I may even pay him a visit myself. See what I can learn from him.”
“He’s an amazing teacher,” Sev added.
“That’s good, because we don’t have much time left,” Heph answered. “I’m sure you boys have things to attend to, as do I. Thank you, Seven. Yet another bit of invaluable assistance you’ve provided.”
“Just doin’ my part,” Sev answered humbly. The boys turned as Heph walked to the window with Henry. Sev turned back just as Kildeggan set Henry flying. “Heph.”
“Something else?” Heph walked back to his desk, going through some papers.
“There’re some rumors that ye’re workin’ on somethin’ with Tesla, somethin’ secret.”
“Are there?”
“Aye.”
“And you don’t like secrets.”
“Y’know me, Heph.”
“I’m working with Tesla on making some improvements to my artificial limbs.” Kildeggan explained.
“Oh. Well, if y’need any extra help…,” Sev offered.
“Thank you, Seven. Actually, I think the first shipment of weapons and armor should be coming from Midnight this evening. If you could have a look and help offload it, that would be a great help to me.”
“I can do that,” Sev agreed.
“How do you feel about Midnight having his own arms manufacturing plant?” Silas asked.
“It’s a benefit to our cause,” Sev responded.
“It is. But I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t make me nervous. Right now, success is our goal. If we achieve that, we can deal with the consequences of Midnight’s new factory should it become a problem. Who knows, maybe he’ll sell his products to the crown. You never can tell with him,” Heph said.
“That’s for certain,” Silas grumbled.
Sev wanted to defend Midnight. He shouldn’t—Midnight was a mad, unpredictable bastard—but for some reason he’d done right by Sev, and Sev believed that earned the man his loyalty. He also knew that Silas didn’t like or trust Midnight, likely neither did Heph, so he chose to remain silent. The discussion concluded, they left the tower and headed out to look for something to keep them busy until the shipment from Midnight arrived.
THE children of the resistance adapted easily to Xiang’s training, groups of them visiting the man throughout their days. They’d incorporated their new weapons from Midnight into the training. Sev was impressed with the quality of the products. The first shipment had contained mostly clockwork pistols that could fire ten shots before needing to be reloaded. The bullets were fed from a metal container that attached to the side of the gun. There was an entire crate of the bullets and enough of the containers that everyone could carry several extra. A crew was assigned to load these. There were a few finely crafted swords that were given to those students who showed a particular talent for fencing. The other swords in the shipment were more utilitarian than delicate with shorter blades, one side sharp, the other serrated. They looked nasty, and Sev wouldn’t have been surprised to find out Midnight had a hand in designing them. Several of the crates contained armored clothing—waistcoats, trousers, and jackets—based on Sev’s own designs and constructed not from leather but a thick canvas material.
Prometheus was up and running, and Xiang even helped the pilots train to make the giant clockwork man a skilled fighter. It was a strange thing to watch the little man tossing medicine balls and launching various projectiles at the construct, all the while instructing the pilots for smoother movement and faster reaction times. Prometheus had to periodically be returned to the warehouse for recharging. It was a weakness that Tesla and Faraday were working diligently to eliminate.
Sev was as happy as he’d been for a very long time, sharing not only Silas’s time but his apartment and, at night, his bed. They ate together as often as they could at Muriel’s and could very often be seen together training in the lot, on their own or with Xiang and the rest of the children. Heph and Muriel both began lessons with Xiang as well, and although none of them would ever be good enough to best Xiang—though it didn’t stop a few of the older boys from trying and losing—they were becoming a unified force.
Like Sev, Henry seemed to be at his happiest in the underground city. Many of the children kept small treats in their pockets to share with the owl when he chose to get close to them. Muriel had finally started to work meat and poultry back into her dishes, and Henry could often be found begging for scraps outside her home. He always returned to Silas’s quarters when Sev and Silas were done for the day, sleeping in his cage or perching on one of the bedposts.
Life in the underground city had turned almost idyllic. Sev began to wonder if this revolution was the best course of action. It seemed to him that if they continued to make their lives below the city, they could ignore the outer world and just enjoy their peaceful existence in what many of the children were now calling home.
Undertown was becoming a utopia. And he wasn’t the only one having second thoughts. Many of the children had started to discuss the revolution and whether or not it was advisable for them to just abandon the outside.
Then some bit of news would reach them of some atrocity perpetrated by a factory owner or industrialist, the crown’s indifference to it, and the continued awful conditions of what they considered their brothers and sisters aboveground. That’s when the point would be made that it fell to them to stop it all, to finish the plan, to follow through. Many times it took Sev or Silas to offer a few bolstering words, and their spirit would be renewed.
The one incident that had everyone up in arms and ready to accelerate their attack, ignoring the distraction of the wedding, came a week after Midnight’s first shipment. In those first days after Fervis’s attack, there’d been a sudden swelling of their numbers, but it had tapered off. They were still receiving new recruits from above, but they were fewer and further between. The owners and floor bosses were keeping a closer watch on their assets.
A few of the children, unbeknownst to Heph, Sev, or Silas, had organized a liberation party in an attempt to free someone or another’s little sister. They’d crept out in the middle of the night with their new armor and weapons, meaning to assault a fish canning factory. Unfortunately, there’d been a unit of Steamcoats returning from a tour in the colonies, and the children were caught attempting their attack. Needless to say, the outcome was not favorable. Only one of the six who had banded together returned, and the next day Fairgate called for all children to be identified with tattoos. They were to be marked with the initials of the company they worked for and assigned a number, making it much easier to keep track of them.
Heph had only just managed to calm the masses, convincing them not to storm the city immediately demanding justice. Sev added his voice to the call for patience, citing their mates’ capture and punishment as proof that they weren’t at all ready for that kind of an assault. Their speeches were met with reluctant acquiescence, but it bought them enough time for the protesting to ease up and die off. Like the citizens of Fairside, the children of Undertown were excited about the royal wedding, but for very different reasons indeed.
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