Black Iron

by Franklin Veaux

  “Begging your pardon, sir, lots of different apprentices wear that sort of cap,” Tumbanker said.

  “Indeed, they do, Mister Tumbanker. But since I seem in a wagering mood, I’ll wager I know where this cap came from. I would very much like to speak to Thaddeus Mudstone again. And to the Lady Alÿs as well. And I will further wager I have a good idea where I might find them. I suspect they can tell us quite a lot about what happened here, and I further suspect that what they can tell us about what happened will differ quite remarkably from what our Platoon Commander thinks happened.”

  “And you got all that from a candlestick?” Tumbanker looked doubtful.

  “Don’t be silly, Mister Tumbanker. I got all that from a candlestick and a bit of animate ichor. And now I want to pay a second visit to the blacksmith’s shop. Perhaps we should hear what Sergeant Tobler has to say, and then we should—”

  The main doors crashed open. Max and Julianus came in, panting. Their cloaks were wet and muddy, and they were both thoroughly rain-soaked. Max leaned against the wall to catch his breath. His face was a study in rage.

  “And here I thought this day couldn’t get any worse,” Mayferry said.

  “Don’t say that,” Bristol said. “Never say that. What’s wrong with you?”

  “Judging from the expression on yonder Guardsmen’s faces, I think this day might be about to get much worse,” Skarbunket said. “Chin up, lads. I’m sure the joy we feel upon sight of them will be matched only by the joy they feel when they see us. Let’s go have a talk, shall we? Mister Tumbanker, it’s time you got a lesson in interorganizational politics. Try not to be clever. After that, we’ll speak to Sergeant Tobler.”

  ✦

  Thaddeus ran until he couldn’t run any more, then kept running some more anyway. He kept his hold on Alÿs’s hand, forcing her to keep up with him. They darted through alleys and down narrow gaps between buildings, always turning and twisting, never keeping to a straight line for more than ten or twenty yards. Thaddeus gave silent thanks that King John’s ambitious reconstruction project had not extended past the place where the Thames bent to the east; if they had been in the new parts of New Old London, the bits with the straight roads at perfect right angles to each other, their odds of escape would have been very small.

  Leave it to King John. Civil engineering really did have an impact on crime.

  The two Guardsmen pursued them with a tenacity that Thaddeus would have found admirable were it not for the fact that should they succeed in catching him, he might have a short drop and a sharp jerk to look forward to.

  If he was lucky. Offenses against the Crown often ended beneath the headsman’s axe.

  Not that it really mattered that much, he thought. Axe or noose, dead is dead, when it comes down to brass tacks. Still, he preferred to the extent humanly possible to keep his head about him, so to speak.

  Down an alley, across a road, between those buildings, down this other alley, then double back, push through this yard, duck behind the refuse-dump, then around again.

  “He’s dead, isn’t he?” Alÿs said.

  “Don’t know. Got to run,” Thaddeus said.

  “The Cardinal, I mean. That thing, it…it killed him.”

  “Looks that way. Talk later. Run now.” Thaddeus pulled her into a narrow space between two tall buildings, one brick, one wood. “Up the fire escape. Up! Go! Go!”

  He pushed her toward the narrow iron steps. She climbed, unresisting. They ran out across the roof. Below them, Max and Julianus pounded past.

  “This way,” Thaddeus said. “Down here. Come on! Bit of a jump, not too far, you can make it. Okay, ladder here. Now run! Run!”

  “Stop,” Alÿs said. She bent over nearly double. “Stop.”

  “We can stop when we’re dead. Which might be sooner than we like if we stop now.”

  “I…” She panted, gasping for breath, then vomited profusely in the alley.

  Thaddeus looked around, frantic. “Okay. Back here. Try to stay hidden.”

  They crouched in the back of the stinking alley, cold rain falling on their faces. Someone opened a window three stories above them and emptied a chamber pot, pouring a foul-smelling deluge over both of them. Alÿs cried out.

  “Still want to be a commoner?” Thaddeus said, wringing out his shirt.

  Alÿs shook her head. She seemed numb, her eyes only barely registering what was happening around her.

  “I think we shook them,” Thaddeus said. “We need to get back to Claire and Donnie’s place. They’ll know what to do. They always know what to do.”

  “But...I can’t…”

  Thaddeus risked a peek out of the mouth of the alley. “Come on. You can. It’s time to go.”

  They arrived at Bodger & Bodger about an hour later. The vast work space was still, the apprentices having gone off, Thaddeus supposed, to wherever it is apprentices go when they aren’t apprenticing. Alÿs had passed through mere misery and horror and come out the other side somewhere else, in a place where misery and horror took on a transcendent quality. Claire took one look at her and hustled her into the bath.

  “Muddy, my boy, you look like death an’ smell worse,” Donnie said. “Phew! What happened?”

  “You aren’t going to believe it,” Thaddeus said.

  “Try me.”

  Thaddeus spoke without interruption for so long that by the time he was finished, Claire and Alÿs had returned, the latter significantly cleaner but no less morose.

  “Alÿs has been telling me a remarkable tale,” Claire said. “About a talking animate that’s as smart as a person.”

  “Muddy ’ere ’as told a similar tale,” Donnie said.

  “Yes,” Thaddeus said, “that sounds about right. Did she get to the bit where it tried to kill us? And then it killed the Cardinal and a priest?”

  “Father Angier,” Alÿs said softly. “I knew him.”

  “She did mention that bit,” Claire said.

  “A most perplexin’ conundrum,” Donnie said. “Talkin’ animates w’ a taste for murder. Alÿs, is this creature the same one that killed Chiyo Kanda?”

  “I don’t know,” Alÿs said. “I think so.”

  “Be sure,” Donnie said. His voice was low and dangerous. “Think. Be sure. Was it the same creature?”

  Alÿs closed her eyes. “Yes. Yes, it was. I’m sure. Why?”

  “Someone made it. Someone set it after Chiyo. A smart animate, someone knows o’ such things. We will find ’im.” His normal placid smile was gone. He spoke without anger, and somehow, that was even more frightening.

  “Why kill Kanda?” Thaddeus said.

  “Don’t know,” Donnie said.

  “Why kill the Cardinal?”

  “Don’t know. Somethin’ big is ’appenin’. Attackin’ the Cardinal at the cathedral, that is very risky. Dangerous. Someone wanted ’im dead pretty badly.”

  Alÿs shrank a little, drawing herself into the oversized shirt and trousers Claire had found for her. “I can’t believe he’s dead,” she said. Her voice was small.

  “Believe it. They will be lookin’ for you.”

  “Who?”

  “Everyone. Yer like Muddy ’ere. A loose end. Muddy says the Queen’s Guard was there. Did they see you?”

  “Yes,” Alÿs said.

  “Did they recognize you?”

  “I—I don’t—”

  “Did they recognize you?” Donnie said again. His voice was soft, but beneath it there was an edge of steel.

  “Yes. Maybe. Yes, I think they did.”

  “Problems. You got big problems,” Donnie said.

  “What are you going to do?” Alÿs looked around in alarm. “Are you going to turn me in?”

  Claire put her hand on Alÿs’s shoulder. “No,” she said softly. “We are not going to turn you in. You are a
friend to us. We take care of our own.”

  “An’ if we can’t do that, we avenge them,” Donnie said.

  “If it’s all the same to you,” Thaddeus said, “I prefer the saving to the avenging.”

  A quick, light rapping sounded at the door. Claire and Donnie exchanged glances, then Claire unhooked her crossbow from its customary hanging place on the wall. She moved toward the door cautiously. Donnie picked up a heavy iron hammer and followed after her.

  “What do we do?” Alÿs said.

  “Get ready to run if we need to,” Thaddeus said. “You’ll get used to it. Part of your glorious new life as a commoner. Out the back, around the side, through the alley that comes out on Hammersmith Street. There aren’t a lot of gas lights, so you can stay out of sight. Head toward the river, take a left on Pinback Road; there’s even fewer gas lights and lots of places to hide.”

  “Is this really how you live?” Alÿs said.

  Claire and Donnie came back in toward them. Thaddeus tensed. Between them was a young boy, perhaps nine or ten, wearing the striped working clothes that identified him as an apprentice to a blacksmith or ironworker.

  “Who’s he?” Thaddeus said.

  The boy took off his cap and clenched it in front of his chest. “My name is Will. William Hughes, sir. I’m, I work over in, I’m apprentice for…I’m an apprentice smith on Pentuttle Street, sir. I work for Mister Blakesley, sir. He’s a smith.” He turned to Donnie. “You came and talked to him, sir.”

  “I did,” Donnie rumbled. He folded his arms. “An’ what do you want to tell us, Will Hughes?”

  “Well, sir…” The boy twisted his cap in his hands, looking down at the floor. “I remembered what you said, Mister Bodger, sir. About the man who murdered the woman in Highpole, sir. This evening, I went to Mass. Mister Blakesley, he thinks we should go, sir. He says it is important to be close to God.”

  Donnie nodded. “’E’s a good man.” The big orange cat, Disorder, wandered through the workshop and stopped in front of Will. He made a quizzical brrp? sound and rubbed up against the boy’s legs.

  Will fidgeted, eyes still downcast. “After Mass was over, I stayed outside the cathedral, sir. I was talking with some of my mates. Mister Blakesley doesn’t like when we do that, sir. He says idle hands are the Devil’s work. I just…it’s the only, I don’t get a lot, I don’t get to talk to my friends very much, sir.” He twisted his cap like he was wringing out a dishrag, his face contorted with misery.

  “It’s okay,” Claire said reassuringly. “We aren’t going to tell anyone you were talking to your friends. Here, sit down.”

  The boy sat, hugging his arms tightly to his chest. The cat hopped up in his lap. “Thank you, ma’am,” he said.

  “What ’appened next?” Donnie prompted.

  “Well, sir, I heard a lot of shouting and noise. My friends, they ran away, sir. And then this man came out of the door. I remembered what you said, sir. White skin, strange looking. He had the cloak and the hood and everything, sir. I thought, this must be him. And people were shouting, sir, and there was so much fuss.”

  “Did you see where he went?” Claire’s voice was low and urgent.

  “Yes, ma’am. He got into a big black carriage. It was behind the church, ma’am. I think it was waiting for him. It was one of those rich people’s carriages. All big and posh. He got in and closed the door, ma’am. And I remembered what Mister Donnie said, we all need to be the eyes and ears, and…and…”

  “Yes?” Claire prompted.

  “I…well, you see, ma’am, when he got in the coach, I wanted to see where he was going to. So I…it might have been wrong, but I jumped on the back of the coach. It had one of them things on the back, like a big trunk, see, and it wasn’t latched or anything, so I put myself in it.”

  “You ’id in the coach?” Donnie said.

  “Yes, sir. I know it was bad. I shouldn’t have done it…”

  “You did a brave thing,” Donnie said.

  “Really?” Will looked up, hopeful.

  “What happened next?” Claire said.

  “We traveled for a while, ma’am. I don’t know which way we went. It was a pretty nice road. Not a lot of bumps. Then we stopped and I heard men talking—”

  “Talkin’?” Donnie said. “’Bout what?”

  “I don’t know, sir. I was too scared to open the trunk and look, sir.”

  “Okay, go on.”

  “We started moving again, sir. But only for a little while. Then we stopped. I heard the man get out of the carriage and the driver get off, sir. People came and unhooked the horses. Then I didn’t hear anything for a long time. So I opened the trunk just a little bit, sir. I didn’t see anyone. So I crept out, sir.” He stopped and stared at his hat.

  “Where were you?” Claire asked.

  “In a stable, ma’am. The carriage was in a stable. A big one, with buggies and carriages and a lot of stalls. And there were a lot of creatures, ma’am.”

  “Creatures?” Claire asked.

  “Creatures. Big ones, like those things that sometimes bring iron to the smith. They were horrible! They were all in a line in the back of the stables, ma’am. They were just standing there, not doing anything. Like they wasn’t even alive. Just standing there.”

  “So what happened next?”

  “I crept out of the stable, ma’am. I think I was in one of those big country estates the rich people have, with the big house and walls around it and stuff. It was dark. There was no lights in the stable. There was a big stone tower by the stable. Lots of lights in it. And there was a big house, with all those new electric lights around it and everything. And a big yard out front. And…” He stopped.

  “Yes?” Donnie prompted.

  “I saw a lot of men in the yard,” William said, so quietly the others could barely hear.

  “Men?” Donnie said.

  “Soldiers,” the boy said. He twisted his hat so tightly Thaddeus feared he might rip it to pieces. “Lots of them. There was this huge house, and grand, sir. So grand. Like a palace, sir. And a great yard in front of it, with fountains and things. It was all lit up, sir. And there were lots of soldiers. Maybe hundreds, sir. They were all lining up. They all had guns. There were people shouting things. I couldn’t hear what they was shouting. Horses too, sir. But mostly soldiers. I was scared. So…so I ran, sir. They didn’t see me. I ran away. The gate, it was closed, sir. And there were more soldiers at the gate. I climbed over the wall. I’m good at climbing, sir. And then I ran.”

  “And you came ’ere?” Donnie said.

  “Yes, sir. You said to, sir! You said if anyone finds out anything, they should come see you, sir. So I did.”

  “You did the right thing,” Donnie said. “Thank you for comin’ to me.”

  Alÿs leaned forward. “The estate, where was it?”

  “North, ma’am,” the boy said. He unfolded his hat and smoothed it out. “Along Treban Road. A long way, ma’am. It took me hours to get back.” He twisted the hat in his hands again.

  “Describe the estate,” Alÿs said.

  “Big!” The boy’s eyes grew wide. “There’s a stone wall all ’round. The house, it has all them pointy arches and funny peaks at the top. There’s a huge yard out front, ma’am, so big you would never believe. Stables on one side. There’s a big round tower at the end of the stables. And another house, ma’am, on the other side. Brick. It has gas lamps out front, and square windows with big chimneys.”

  Alÿs sat back. “Rathman. That’s Rathman’s estate.”

  “Is it now.” Donnie crossed his arms.

  “I don’t get it, though. Why would Rathman send an animate to kill the Cardinal?”

  “That’s the wrong question,” Donnie said.

  “What? Why? Seems like exactly the right question to me!” Alÿs said.

  “Th
e right question,” Claire said, “is why is Rathman marshalling an army in his courtyard in the middle of the night?”

  “Why is—”

  “Because ’e’s movin’ ahead,” Donnie rumbled. “’E ’as a goal. Whatever it is, ’e don’t want yer friend the Cardinal involved. Decapitation.”

  “Decapitation?” Alÿs said.

  “Cut the ’ead off the snake an’ it can’t bite you. Cardinal’s got an army, right?”

  “Well, yes,” Alÿs said doubtfully.

  “Can’t use an army if there ain’t no one t’ give it orders,” Donnie said. “Pity ’bout the weather, though.”

  “Why?”

  “I think we need t’ go out an’ pay this Rathman fellow a visit.”

  “Really? Wait, are you serious? You can’t!” Alÿs said.

  “Why not?” Donnie’s face bore no expression.

  “He’s—he has an army!”

  “So I’ve ’eard.”

  “He’s the Queen’s uncle!”

  Donnie nodded. “That’s what they tell me.”

  “He has a murderous animate that’s already killed three people!”

  “Ah, yes,” Donnie said. His expression darkened. “An’ that is exactly why we will see ’im. ’E killed Kanda, or knows who did. My sister said it. We take care of ours.”

  “So go to the police! Tell the Queen!”

  Donnie shook his head. “She was one of ours.”

  “What are you going to do? You can’t just ride in there!”

  “Why not?”

  “What are you going to say?”

  “Suppose that depends on what we find when we get there,” Donnie said. He rose and padded over to a large bench hidden in the dusty corner near the gigantic mechanical spider. He pulled a huge, grubby tarp off the bench.

  “What are those?” Thaddeus asked, curious in spite of himself.

  Donnie hefted a heavy-looking contraption, all round tanks and straps. “Now the problem with an animate, Muddy my boy, is it don’t feel pain, right? You can shoot ’em all you wants an’ if you don’t hit something vital they just keep comin’. This ’ere’s a new invention. Workin’ on it fer th’ regular army. Shoots a jet of fire out of the end. They ain’t been field-tested yet. Should work good though. Ain’t really made for use on animates, but they ought t’ work better’n most things we got lyin’ around here. ’Cept maybe the armored clanker an’ that ain’t finished yet.”