by S. S. Engle
“But it would be nice, just once in a while.”
“If there was ever a person that needed to leave this godforsaken city, it’s you.”
“Godforsaken. That’s colorful. Tell me something Kassidy, if everything is so terrible then why are you still here? Not so cut and dry, is it? How about this, I’ll leave when you leave.”
“I’m not negotiating something like that with you.”
“Join the club. Nobody negotiates with me about anything.”
“Only because you’re such an intolerable person to be around. You don’t do yourself any favors. Nobody can trust a person who sleeps with five different men on any given night.”
“All the men in the city, and yet we’ve settled our sights on the same select few.”
“We have not.”
“Asa, Lucky, Blue. All powerful in their own spheres of influence. All alike, in how simple minded they can be when it comes to a well-placed skirt. Am I right?”
“I’m not getting into this with you.”
“You already have. If it’s any consolation Kassidy, you should know Blue only cheated on you with me three times. And every time he told me how bad he felt because he loved you so much.”
“Three times?!”
“The truth had to come out sometime. You have to know, he’s always loved you. Probably still does. I saw you two at that recruitment dinner. It was like old times you and him. Couldn’t keep your hands off of each other. Asa’s never shown me that kind of affection. You should hear what he says he’ll do to you.”
“I’m fairly confident I don’t want to know.”
“He promised to tear this city apart to get to you. From the ground up, he’d lose the city to gain you. He didn’t know how, but a little birdie told him.”
“A little birdie named Natasha?”
“I thought if I showed him blueprints of the utilities he’d reward me for giving him what he wanted most. I showed him how to tear the pipes out of the ground and make the city fall under its own natural power. Mt. Engia would consume the entire city. We’d be reduced to nothing but ash and lava. A lost city on an old map. But he’d have you.”
“What you told him is impossible. The utility grid is locked. I’ve seen the blueprints and the schematics for the city with my own eyes.”
“Asa has the key to the lock already. A gear actually. He’s had it in his possession for years. Thanks to me.”
“I can’t believe it. After all this time, Asa’s been taking credit for your mastermind. Everyone was so busy watching my every move over the years that nobody ever saw that it was actually you tearing things apart.”
“Not bad for a harlot huh?”
“It’s ingenious.”
“You see, we really are more alike than we are different. I know better than to think Lucky could have accomplished all of this on his own. Ever since you’ve been back you’ve been hunting clue after clue to find what your father left behind for you. You made more progress in two weeks than the entire Dreadcrank gang made in nine years. But you get no credit for your accomplishments.”
“Finding what’s been left to me will be credit enough.”
“And how are you to do that if the city doesn’t exist?”
“Who’s to say what I’m looking for is in the city?”
“Good point.”
“What’s to become of you when this is all over Natasha?”
“I won’t have to worry about that. And you shouldn’t either.”
“Why?”
“Because when Engia falls, it’s going to take all of us along with it. Why plan for a future when you know you’ve only got days left?”
“Are you going to finish that bottle of wine?”
“Why?”
“I think I’d like a drink before I leave.”
“Where are you going to go? The city’s wasted.”
“If I’m going to die soon, I sure as hell don’t want to do it here. I want to be with the people that I love, and that love me.”
“Must be nice. Go, get back to them.”
“You aren’t going to tell Asa about me?”
“I’ve wasted too much of my time trying to impress that man. Go. Get out of here while you still can.”
“What about all of the Ringers out there?”
“Don’t worry about them. I’ll take care of it for you.”
“Is this just another one of your schemes?”
“What’s the point Kassidy?”
“My offer still stands Natasha, you could come back with me. I could arrange mercy.”
“It’s alright. I know where I belong.”
10
Getting out of the O’Brien treasury was easier said than done. With all the Ringer activity, it was difficult to remain unseen in the halls. Natasha was drunk enough to hold onto her bargain though. She created a distraction by dangling a sack full of money over her shoulder, and carelessly began dropping coins from it down the halls opposite the direction Kassidy needed to take to get out into the back alleyway. It was hit and miss with the Ringers on whether they were going to turn Kassidy in or not. With the state of the city in complete disarray, Asa had plenty more pressing matters to keep him and his men busy with than what she was doing. Or at least she had herself convinced of that. The point Natasha had made about Kassidy becoming Asa’s latest conquest was not sitting well with her. But she had to stay focused on the big picture. She wasn’t vain, or at least she hoped she wasn’t, and was banking on the fact that she was not the cause for such destruction. At the root of it all however, she was made painstakingly aware, that it was her at the center of it all.
In the alley, she had forgotten how smoky the air had become as it settled on the fog rolling out of the city. The air in the mansion was so closed off from the outside she’d almost forgotten. It was pitch black outside now, well into the night. It was hard to imagine how much could fall in a single twenty-four hour period. She’d lost so much since the morning. The faces of the women floating up on the blood-soaked sand after having drowned or been shot, they burned into her eyes. The women that caught fire in the ruins of the Seaside Hotel, their screams rang in her ears. It was dead silent outside, even the breeze was mourning the loss of Engia it seemed. Without streetlights or moonlight Kassidy’s eyes needed a few minutes to adjust to the darkness. But she was fairly confident she was alone out there. No footsteps were splashing down in the water that trickled through the craggly cobblestone roads. No laughs could be heard, but also no cries. She was pleased that the people were not dwelling in what had been done. Maybe, she could hope, they would understand such a statement as this had to be done. But she couldn’t fully make such an assumption without first seeing the city, or what was left of it, in the daylight. She was very much looking forward to being back in the palace amongst friends.
Kassidy made it all the way to the train depot without being noticed. But as she was staring out at the harbor down below she heard someone else closing in on her. She tucked herself inside one of the overturned cars and reached for her knife. Whoever it was at the depot with her was being equally as cautious. She could hear the calculated footsteps on the gravel, crunching very slowly and methodically. Then they stopped. She was measuring her breathing to try and keep as quiet as she could. But her nerves were getting the best of her. As she wanted to get a better point of view she stepped out of the shadows in the corner of the car and made a move towards the opening in the roof. However, as she did this she made a misstep, creaking down on a weak piece of paneling with most of her body weight. The sound alerted the person outside the car to run to the only opening and block any of the dim light outside with their body. Kassidy was plunged into darkness, trapped. Knowing she’d have to fight her way out she ran for the other person now and was ready to plunge her knife into the back of their neck, but he was quicker than her. He turned around at just the very second she was about to make lethal contact, gripped her wrist with a mechanically tense hand and pushed her
back into the car.
“Luca?!”
“Sh! I’m here sweetheart.”
“I’ve never been so happy to see you! I almost killed you! Why didn’t you tell me who you were?”
“Same reason you didn’t say anything. I had to know for sure. Are you alright?”
“I’m a little shaken, but all things considered I’m fine. How about you? Are you alright?”
“My blood’s still inside, so yes, I’m alright. I was worried when O’Brien didn’t come back with you.”
“I told him to. I hope you didn’t yell at him too much. It wasn’t his choice. He fought me on it.”
“He told me all of that. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t get mad. You had no intention of coming back with him when I sent him with you, did you?”
“It wasn’t the safe thing to do. The Ringers can’t get a hold of us together. They’ll just use us as bait until they get us all. He won’t stop Luca. He’s bound and determined.”
“So am I. Only difference is I’m used to things not going my way. This is all new for Asa. There’s an art to losing. I’ve long since mastered it. It’s my turn to win. It’s our turn.”
“How are things back at the palace?”
“Organized chaos.”
“Is that why you left?”
“I was more worried about getting back to you.”
“You should be more worried about the Dreadcranks and our supporters. They outnumber me hundreds to one.”
“Don’t lecture me on my priorities. They’re right where they need to be. Why do you get so uncomfortable when I try to protect you?”
“I’m not uncomfortable. I just don’t understand.”
“What’s there to understand?”
“Why do you risk so much for me? You’re smart Luca, incredibly smart. You didn’t get to be where you are now by putting yourself into unnecessary danger. You know better than to risk so much for just one person.”
“Well maybe you’re not just another person to me.”
“Then what am I to you?”
“The reason I keep fighting. The reason I get up in the morning, or stay up so late in the night. The reason I came back to this damned city. The reason I burned myself to the point of permanent scarring. The reason I only have one real arm. You’re more than just another person to me sweetheart, you’re everything.”
“Luca I…”
“No. Just let it stay at that. You were right, we shouldn’t be putting ourselves into unnecessary danger. We’re both too smart for that. We have people waiting for us.”
Luca put his hand out in the darkness for Kassidy to grab onto. She stared at it for a long time. The white glove glowing in the middle of the overturned train car. She took it, and crawled out of the only opening in the roof. Outside it was growing bitterly cold as the sun was beginning to rise. The sky was just barely giving way to shades of dark pink and orange. To get a better view of their surroundings, but also for her own curiosity, Kassidy climbed up to the top of the train car and stood up. The city before her looked like a war zone. She couldn’t take her eyes off of it. The cobblestone roads filled with building facades and debris. Stone structures crumbled like pastry, metal frames jutting up irregularly into the skyline. There were still a few fires smoldering. No people were in sight though, not anywhere. Unaware she’d been staring for so long Luca came up to the top of the car now to get her. He wrapped his mechanical arm around her waist and gave her a gentle tug but she still couldn’t tear her eyes from the carnage. Behind her it was so serene. The submersibles nicely docked in a row. It didn’t add up. Her eyes were tearing up, and Luca took his gloved hand to wipe them away.
“It’s just the smoke.”
“Of course it is. We should be getting back now.”
“Luca, look at this.”
“I’ve looked at it for two days straight.”
“We did this.”
“Are you having second thoughts about going through with all of this?”
“It’s going to take forever to rebuild.”
“Maybe that’s just what it needed. Sometimes I’d like to watch all of Engia burn to the ground. That’d be the only way for things to get fixed. Right all the wrongs and what not.”
“I don’t think anybody could right the wrongs done here. I think wiping it off the map, maybe might not be as bad as it sounds. Let the people find a life somewhere else. Somewhere better.”
“Anywhere else would be better than here right now. If we live through this…”
“Don’t say if.”
“Why?”
“Saying if means you have a plan for us not making it out of this.”
“It’s not so much a plan as an expected reality.”
“You don’t think we can do this?”
“I just think the odds are against the pair of us coming out of this alive.”
“You’re the second person whose told that to me today in just a handful of hours.”
“The second?”
“Natasha and I had a nice little chat in the treasury.”
“I wish I could have seen that with my own two eyes.”
“She’s drinking herself into oblivion.”
“Doesn’t sound so bad. Soften the blow of reality.”
“It works for her. She’s blissfully ignorant yet entirely aware of everything going on around her. She’s just given up. It was so…demoralizing. You have to promise me something Luca.”
“Anything.”
“I mean really promise. You have to fight this until the very end. You have to push for us to make it out of this alive. Both of us. Because one of us without the other, it’ll be too bittersweet to handle.”
“I promise, I’m going to do everything I can to get you through this.”
“I need you to promise me you’ll get yourself through this too.”
“I can’t make…”
“Luca! I can’t do this without you! I can’t get through this without you!”
“Yes, you can. You’re far stronger than you give yourself credit for.”
“No, I’m just that good of a liar.”
“That too. But I can’t promise you I’ll make it out of this. I want to. Believe me, there’s nothing I want more than to live out my days with you. But I couldn’t live with myself if I lost you. I couldn’t. I’d go crazy. No matter what, you’re going to make it. I’m just not so sure about me. But I’ll try. The last thing I’d ever want to do is disappoint you sweetheart.”
“Then don’t let go of that promise.”
“I won’t ever let it go. Now come on. O’Brien’s got to be worried sick by now. I told him I was going to bring you right back.”
“How is he?”
“Frazzled.”
“Did he bring the gear back to you?”
“I left him in the library to find the book it led to.”
“Natasha told me what that gear is.”
“How did she even know about it?”
“Asa’s had it for years. It’s the gear that controls the entire city. The gearmaster built a main key to the pipes that divert the steam away from Mt. Engia. It has the power to destroy the entire city Luca. Everything we’re looking at right now.”
“Then it’s a good thing Asa doesn’t have it anymore.”
“But now it’s our responsibility.”
“What do you mean?”
“You said watching this city burn would solve all of its problems. If Asa can’t use this key now, should we use it instead?”
“Right now? No.”
“Then where do we go from here?”
“We go back to the palace. Regroup. Come on. You’ve spent long enough out here. You need to get some sleep.”
“So do you.”
“You worry about yourself for a change.”
“I could say the same thing to you. When was the last time you worried about yourself? If you don’t, then somebody has to. I’ll sleep when you sleep.”
“You’
re threatening me with something I actually want again. You have to stop doing that.”
“Are you cracking jokes to make the night go by faster?”
“Whatever works. Look around sweetheart, the night’s already over.”
11
In the O’Brien mansion daybreak was bringing with it all sorts of new problems for the Absynthe Ring. What remained of the city thrived in anarchical chaos. Separated by the Steele River Asa had only a little reprieve from the seething hate of the survivors. He was losing morale by the second, and couldn’t do anything about it. To send his men out to try and control the looting mobs would result in an even greater disaster for his own personal well-being. Blue had managed to retake the radios in their favor, but it was a useless endeavor with the state the city was in now. Seeing his boss distraught and without direction, Blue took it upon himself to try and get to the bottom of all of this. He knew to get word to Luca would be the only way to negotiate a truce or ceasefire. But the means of getting anything from Ringer to Dreadcrank right now had to be covert. He couldn’t very well leave the mansion, or request Luca to meet him there. There was hardly a neutral building left standing. With all of the bombings and fires though, the old abandon palace on the other side of the city shown out in the sun like a bright beacon of hope. The only person crazy enough to go from one gang to the next right now would be a woman. And thankfully, Blue had one in mind.