“I have that taken care of,” Brinley said. “As I’m sure you know. But wait!” She felt suddenly nervous. “What time is it? What day is it? How long was I in the void?”
Cyus smiled. “You lost much time in the void before I found you. Several days. But it does not matter. What time would you like it to be?”
“Oh,” Brinley said. “Right. Well, I would like to go to exactly noon, on the third day after I came in.”
Cyus raised his hand and the world spun beneath him. “The bridge, I presume?” Cyus asked, and Brinley nodded. At once the Bridge to Nowhere came into view beneath them. They stood on the underside of the very top of the bridge, and Brinley could see Animus standing directly beneath her feet. She called out to him with her mind, surprised at the ease with which she felt the connection to him, but he did not respond.
“He cannot hear you from this world,” Cyus said. “Though he may be able to feel you, as you can feel him.”
She saw Animus eyeing the sun’s position in the sky. It was nearly midday.
Brinley turned to Cyus. “Thank you for your help,” she said. “I hope that our plan will give you the confidence to live with your family again.” She hesitated. “You should know, I’ll be sending people in right away.”
Cyus nodded. “I will be waiting.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Brinley saw Animus raise the summoning bell.
“Take my hands!” she said, grabbing hold of her fathers. She glanced at them, Archibald on her left hand, her dad on her right, and she smiled. “I came in here looking for one father and found two.”
If they said anything in response, she did not hear it. The next second a giant gong rang out over their heads, and the world spun away.
Chapter Seventeen
In which Hugo screams like a girl
Hugo and Cannon followed behind the apple cart and helped push as Lashé pulled it up the long, gently sloping road that led to the city gate.
“It’s about that time, boys,” Lashé said, and Cannon plucked two apples from the bottom of the stack and handed one to Hugo.
Hugo eyed the thin, semi-transparent skin cautiously, still uneasy at the prospect of eating a piece of fruit that Lashé grew, especially when it looked funny to begin with.
“You’re sure this isn’t one of the exploding kind, right?” Hugo whispered to Cannon.
“Of course I am,” Cannon said. “I spent all day staring at apples yesterday, and I stacked half this cart by myself. I could probably tell them apart in the dark.”
“Well, they all look the same to me,” Hugo said.
“That’s why you are in charge of throwing them, and I am in charge of selecting which ones to throw.”
“Hurry up back there!” Lashé hissed from the front of the cart. “If you question all of my instructions, we’ll be dead in five minutes.”
“Come on, Hugo,” Cannon said through a mouthful of apple (he’d eaten half of his already). We’ll be in sight of the gate guards soon. Time to disappear.”
“Right,” Hugo muttered, and took a bite. Unlike a normal apple, it dissolved in his mouth almost at once. The resulting juice fizzed and tasted bitter. “Am I invisible yet?”
Cannon shook his head.
“What about now?”
“Yes, it’s working now.”
Hugo glanced down at himself. Sure enough, his body was gone. He held his hand in front of his face and saw only the back of the apple cart. “This feels weird,”
“I quite agree,” Cannon said.
Hugo glanced up at him, but his friend was gone. “Oh, now yours is working.”
“I can see that,” Cannon said.
“Would you two stop chatting?” Lashé snapped. “It ruins the effect of being invisible when you blabber on like that.”
“Sorry!” Hugo elbowed Cannon, who elbowed him back and whispered, “I’ll push for a second. How close are we?”
Hugo tried to see over the top of the apple cart by standing on his tiptoes, but it was stacked too high, so he leaned around the side of it instead.
“A hundred yards or more,” he whispered back.
“Do you remember the plan?”
“Of course I remember the plan!” Hugo hissed.
First they had to get through the gate. That’s where Lashé’s prize apples came in. They were making a delivery, and the guards wouldn’t want to risk depriving Shael of a whole shipment of his favorite, most prized apples.
“Wait,” Hugo whispered. “How long does the invisibility last again?”
“Half an hour, genius. Pay attention.”
“Right, sorry.” Hugo glanced around the cart again and saw Lashé staring murder in their direction. They reached the gate. Lashé handed one of the gate guards a sheet of paperwork that he and Cannon had forged the night before, and the guard frowned at it.
“Apples? Don’t have any apples on the list today.”
“Ye’re joking!” Lashé said, slapping the cart. “This shipment’s been the talk of the town. Haven’t ye heard? These here be genuine Lashé apples.”
The guard raised an eyebrow. “Lashé don’t sell to the master.”
“That’s why it’s been the talk of the town, ain’t it?” He swept his black cape aside theatrically and plucked a gleaming red apple from the top of the pile. “See for yerself, if you. Can’t fake a Lashé apple. If it ain’t the best thing you ever tasted, I’ll turn me cart around and put me back to this place…’Course, ye’ll have to deal with the wrath of yer master for turnin’ away a delivery o’ his favorite food…”
The guard shifted uneasily but accepted the apple. He took a bite and immediately Lashé said, “It’s the most wonderful thing ye’ve ever tasted, ain’t it?”
The guard’s face brightened. “It’s the most wonderful thing I’ve ever tasted!” he exclaimed.
“I guess ye’ll be lettin’ us through then,” Lashé said.
The guard took another bite and nodded amiably. “I guess I’ll be letting you through then.” He motioned for them to pass.
Lashé began to pull the cart again, and it inched forward for a moment before Cannon and Hugo remembered to push.
“Trust apple,” Cannon whispered. “Makes anyone believe what you say. According to his notes, he only had two of those that didn’t go rotten. Scariest apple he grows, if you ask me.”
Hugo shivered. It reminded him of truemeat.
They passed the guardhouse, and Cannon took another apple from the cart and cut it in half. He handed both halves to Hugo and pointed to the well outside the guardhouse.
Hugo tossed them in and heard the distant plops of water.
“What does that one do?” Hugo asked.
“Knocks you out,” Cannon said.
The road opened up into a large square surrounded by shops and stores and three-story thatch-roofed houses, and Lashé coughed loudly.
“Fire apples,” Cannon said. Hugo took an apple from him and tossed it onto the roof of the closest building. He threw another, and another. By the time he threw the fifth apple, the roof of the first building had erupted into green flames and was filling the air with smoke. That smoke, Hugo knew, was more dangerous than the fire itself. If you breathed it, you would fall asleep instantly and it would be some time before you could be roused. By the time he threw the tenth apple, the square was in chaos. People were pouring out of the flaming structures and soldiers were rushing down the adjoining streets carrying buckets. Though the buildings burned, the fire did not consume. The people did not seem to notice this though. It was hot and loud, and several had already passed out from the smoke. Hugo stared in awe at what they had done, feeling slightly sick. This was a city of enemies, a city of monsters, villains. They were all friends and servants of Shael, but he couldn’t help hoping that they hadn’t hurt anyone.
Meanwhile, the little apple cart pressed on. They took a small side street which led to a larger road, which led to the entrance of the fortress itself. The gate was heavily gu
arded, but as they approached, several of the soldiers began to whisper and point at something behind them. Hugo turned and saw a cloud of gray smoke rising above the rooftops.
An alarm rang out loudly from the direction of the burning square, and several of the soldiers left their posts, running toward it.
“What’s happening?” one of the guards shouted to Lashé as he ran by, but Lashé just shrugged.
The two remaining guards were now eyeing the cart. “Say, you don’t mean to bring that load through, do you?” one of them said. “This is a foot gate. Receiving is on the east side.”
Lashé coughed again, and Cannon handed Hugo an apple, which he lobbed in a high arc.
“Flash apple,” Cannon said, loud enough for Lashé to hear, and Hugo saw him cover his eyes with his hands just in time to follow suit. There was a deafening bang, and a flash of light that nearly blinded Hugo even with his eyes covered. When he glanced up again, the guards were both lying on the ground, dazed.
“Come on!” Lashé barked. Hugo and Cannon left their posts at the rear of the cart and tilted it to one side so that the apples poured out and rolled into the street. Two canvas sacks remained, slumped in the corner of the cart, and Cannon and Lashé each took one. Hugo was supposed to keep his hands open so that he could throw.
They hurried inside the fortress and were immediately met by another guard. “Hold on there,” he said, putting a hand on the hilt of his sword.
Cannon pressed an apple into his hand and he threw it with all his might. When it left his hand, it was definitely fruit, but when it hit the soldier’s chest it sounded more like lead. The man crumpled, and Lashé stepped over him.
“To the tower,” Lashé said eagerly.
The second phase of the plan had now begun. They would make their way to the tower, within which the gate to the Mechanism could be accessed. On the way, they had to steal the tower key from Sherzerad. Their plan hinged on the assumption that he would be drawn to the action, responding to the fires they had set, or the buildings they attacked. If not, the whole plan was ruined. There was only one key to the tower, and they couldn’t search the whole fortress for its keeper.
As they wound their way deeper inside, they met little resistance.
“Hugo,” Cannon said abruptly. “I can see you again.”
“I can see you too,” Hugo replied. “Apples must have worn off already. Did we bring any more?”
“No.”
“Hold up,” Lashé said. He pulled to a stop and opened his bag. Hugo had assumed that his bag was full of apples as well, but instead he brought out six shoe-like metal ovals with spikes on one side and straps on the other. “Put these on your boots,” he said. “We will be passing by the barracks soon, and chances are good that we’ll encounter many men at once.”
“And these will help us?” Hugo said.
“Just put them on,” Lashé replied. “You’ll be glad you did.”
For the tenth time that day, Hugo wished that he knew more about the plan. They had the critical details, but the rest of it seemed to be inside Lashé’s head. If they got separated from him, they were doomed. Not that he was complaining. With practically no time to prepare, he was happy to have a plan at all. Hugo stepped into the little metal shoes and pulled the straps over his boots.
“Hurry up, then,” Lashé said, moving down the hall. His new metal shoes clicked and scraped against the floor, and Hugo cringed. A moment later, when all three of them were walking together, the noise became indecently loud.
“I thought the most important thing was to get through unnoticed!” Hugo protested.
“The most important thing is to get through alive,” Lashé said. “In any case, getting by the barracks unnoticed is very unlikely. The shoes will come in handy, believe me.”
They took turn after turn and still no soldiers came in sight. They met several servants, but the worst thing that they did was look confused and shuffle out of the way.
“The barracks are just ahead,” Lashé said. “But our distraction seems to have worked better than I anticipated.”
“Don’t say things like that!” Cannon said. “Whenever I say something like that, things always get worse right after.”
As if in response to his words, Hugo heard the distant, rhythmic sound of soldiers marching.
“They’re coming from down there,” Cannon said, pointing to the end of the corridor, which intersected a wide hallway that ran perpendicular to the one that they were in. Hugo looked around for a place to hide, but they were a good distance from any doors, and the walls were bare.
“Against the walls,” Lashé said. “Make yourself as small as possible and be ready with stink apples if we need them.”
Hugo flattened himself against the wall nearest him, and after passing him two more apples, Cannon did the same.
The marching grew louder, and a second later the first line of troops came into view.
“Don’t turn,” Lashé whispered, watching the guards. “Just keep on going straight.”
“And don’t look this way,” Hugo added.
Several rows of men passed without incident, until a man in the second to last row happened to break formation and glance over. He stopped short, colliding with the man behind him.
A second later, he gave a shout. More soldiers were looking now, and they began to pour into the hall.
“Blast,” Lashé said. “Stink apples, Hugo, now.” Hugo lobbed both apples at the same time and they broke against the stones around the soldiers’ feet. A massive amount of green gas issued out of the apples then, and several of the soldiers toppled over. Others made their way around and began to run toward them.
“These next,” Cannon said, handing Hugo two more apples. “Aim for the floor again.”
Hugo threw them sidearm, and when they hit the ground they shattered into a thousand shiny red marbles that spread across the floor like oil.
The soldiers fell over themselves, shouting in frustration. One slipped and fell backwards so hard that he did not move again, while the others made futile attempts to regain their feet.
Lashé strode over the slippery surface with ease, and suddenly Hugo realized the purpose of the metal shoes.
One of the guards flailed over to Lashé, brandishing a sword halfheartedly. Lashé reached down calmly and pushed him, and the soldier spun away in a lazy arc across the floor, cursing to himself.
“You see?” Lashé said brightly. “It’s working out quite nicely, isn’t it?”
When they reached the end of the hall they turned left—the way the soldiers had been headed—and then took their first right, passed under a low door, and descended a very short spiral staircase that opened to the outside.
The tower stood before them, but the door was guarded by ten men. Nine of them bore swords and shields, but the tenth had a tall, spiked halberd, which he lowered at them as soon as they entered.
“Oh, good,” Lashé said.
“What?” Hugo asked, wondering what could be good about ten more guards.
“Sherzerad. He’s here,” Lashé said. “Right when we need him.”
Cannon handed Hugo an apple. “The last slip apple,” he said. “Don’t miss.”
Hugo hurled it at their feet and it broke apart, but with only one apple instead of two, the effect was not quite as good. One guard did topple over, but he regained his footing.
“Hold,” Sherzerad said. “Don’t move. Let them come to us.”
Hugo tossed two more apples and a cloud of putrid gas enfolded the soldiers. There was much coughing and wheezing, and when the air cleared, half of them had fallen. Four guards still remained, however, and one of them raised a long silver horn and blew it. The sound reverberated around the chamber, and Hugo heard voices shouting from behind them.
“The last apple,” Lashé said, holding out his hand.
Cannon gave it to him and then tossed the empty bag aside. Lashé threw the apple, not at the guards, but back through the doorway that t
hey had just come through. Hugo heard a small noise like an egg cracking, and then an enormous roar rattled his bones, and someone screamed.
“Worm apple,” Cannon said, grinning. Hugo shuddered, wondering how big a worm would have to be to make that kind of noise.
Lashé pointed at Cannon. “The time for caution is past. Take these men out, Cannon, and bring me the key.”
“Gladly,” Cannon said, and raised his hands. The guard’s eyes widened as wind whipped up from the corners of the room, then turned in on itself and formed into a twenty-foot funnel, which hurtled toward them.
The first guard screamed, attempted to run, and slid away in a wild, sprawling spin. The second guard’s sword and shield were ripped out of his hands and disappeared into the whirling mass of wind, followed by one arm, and then the other. The funnel tossed him like a rag doll across the room, where he landed with a crunch and a groan.
The third guard tossed his sword away and sat down in surrender, so that only Sherzerad remained. Cannon swept his hands through the air and the funnel cloud ripped the halberd out of his hands and swept him off his feet.
Lashé was there a moment later, tugging the keys off his belt. Sherzerad struggled to regain his footing, but he had landed in the thickest patch of slide apple. Hugo pushed him, and he slid several feet.
“Inside, quickly,” Lashé said, removing the largest key from the loop and tossing the rest aside. He turned it in the door at the base of the tower and the lock clicked loudly. He tugged the door open with an effort and then closed it behind them. It was dim inside, but Hugo heard the lock click once more and a clink of metal as the key fell to the floor.
“We’re inside the Mechanism now,” Lashé said with a sigh of relief. “This tower is the very base of it.” He laughed. “There is no getting in after us. This is the only key. I can’t believe I’ve finally made it. It’s all thanks to you two. Couldn’t have done it on my own.” He clapped them on the backs and then led them forward as their eyes adjusted to the light.
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