Steam & Sorcery

by Cindy Spencer Pape

  “Very well. Piers, take this. I assume you know how to use it.” She handed him Wink’s sword and pulled out the police revolver. Biting her lip, she looked from one boy to the other. “And please, be careful. I love you both. And the others. Tell them that, if something should happen to me.”

  “We love you too, mum.” Piers gave her a quick hug about the waist with the arm that wasn’t holding a sword, while Tommy just smiled and nodded.

  Then his smile vanished. Screams, snarls and barking erupted from the basement, along with breaking glass. Liam had begun the battle. Tommy tipped his head. “Let’s go.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Merrick had to wrestle to retain the contents of his stomach as the police wagon raced through the London streets. Not only had the bastards taken Wink—his little girl, damn it, but his fiancée and other children had gone racing to her rescue. He couldn’t lose them—none of them. He realized now that he was in love with Caro, deeply and forever, but he’d also come to love each and every one of the children. They were his family now, and it was up to him to protect them.

  The wagon reached Gideon’s townhouse just in time for Merrick to see Jamie peek in the front door. The boy turned to watch Merrick and Johnson leap from the wagon and run toward the stoop, followed by Inspector Dugan and a half-dozen uniformed officers.

  Jamie bit his lip. “Something’s going on. I just heard the fight begin. In the basement.”

  Merrick didn’t take time to ask any questions, just ran toward the back of the house, where he could hear the sounds of commotion—including the sharp report of gunshots. The door to the cellar stairs stood open, and Merrick dashed down them three at a time, sword cane in one hand, pistol in the other. Johnson and Dugan clattered right behind him.

  Utter chaos met his eyes, though he could tell the battle had barely begun. Wink was chained to a working Babbage engine, which was connected to a mixing crucible that steadily dripped a green fluid into a glass beaker. In front of her, a large wolf fought off two vampyres, while another lay savaged at its feet. Tommy had placed himself near the far wall, his blade swirling and Piers braced at his back. Caroline, at the base of the stairs, threw down an empty pistol and brandished a sharpened stake as two of the undead closed in on her. Several bleeding human thugs lay on the ground around the room, attesting to her accuracy with the pistol.

  Merrick stepped up to her and shot the nearest vampyre in the head, while she let the other use its own momentum to impale itself on her stake. While she didn’t pierce the heart, she did slow it down enough to allow Merrick to finish off the one he’d shot and stab the other with his ebony swordstick. Two more taken care of.

  Johnson was holding his own with a revolver, having made his way to the boys. Johnson shot the vampyres, and Piers or Jamie removed their heads. Good system.

  Of course some of the hired killers had guns too. Merrick dodged a bullet and pushed Caro out of the way of another. His eyes were on Gideon MacKay, who stood behind his machine, directing operations. The bastard had a gun pointed at Wink and was forcing her to continue tinkering with the machine. “It needs to go faster. Make it work.”

  The police arrived, turning the fracas into a more equal match. This was Dugan’s hand-picked team, all familiar with fighting vampyres. While the officers and Liam began to systematically lay waste to the horde of undead, Merrick inched toward Wink and the machine, tugging on Caro’s sleeve to make sure she understood and moved with him. As they fought their way closer, Merrick heard the crack of another shot, just before Caro stumbled and fell.

  “No!” His roar shook the rafters. Around him, the battle continued as one of Dugan’s men fell, blood fountaining from where the vampyre had torn out his throat. Merrick shot that vampyre with the bulk of his attention fixed on Caro.

  “Keep going. I’m fine.” She used one foot to push Merrick toward Wink and crawled behind a stack of crates in the corner. “It’s just my arm.”

  Sure enough, the bloodstain on her dress was high on her left arm, not quite to the shoulder. Choosing between Wink and Caro was liable to break his heart, but then a pair of officers took up a position in front of Caro, so Merrick nodded and continued toward his ward—oh, hell, if they were about to die, he could be honest with himself—toward his daughter.

  “Hurry,” a voice called from behind the Babbage engine. “The formula is almost finished.”

  More voices joined the fray. Edwin Berry. Mountjoy? Debbins? Had all Merrick’s staff come to help? He vowed to give each of them a healthy raise in salary for their loyalty.

  “Yes, my lord.” Gideon turned to Wink. “Faster, girl, if you want to live.”

  Wink picked up the nearest tool, a wrench, and hurled it with lethal accuracy at Gideon. Only the swift reflexes of a near-Knight enabled him to dodge the missile.

  “Just a little more,” the voice urged. Merrick recognized it and his stomach turned. Now though, there was something wrong with Blackthorne’s voice. Merrick slipped around the machine and took a good look at the man he’d known for the whole of his life.

  Vampyre. Son of a bitch. Blackthorne had been turned. No wonder there’d been a leak in the organization. Francis Gavin stood by his father, grinning, a pistol clenched in his chubby hand.

  Gideon gave Merrick a calculating smile. “That’s right, Hadrian. In the new regime, we’ll have the power, and people like you and my brother will be little more than lackeys. As soon as the formula is finished, I’ll join my lord in eternal life.”

  “You’re mad, MacKay. You think you’ll ever be anything but another slave in Blackthorne’s army?” Merrick shot a vampyre who’d come up behind him, then whirled as Gideon lunged, slicing open several inches of Merrick’s thigh.

  Wink took advantage of Gideon’s distraction by smashing the Babbage engine with a hammer, but though she damaged the engine, the codes had apparently already been transmitted to the mixing apparatus. The liquid continued to drip at a steady pace.

  His leg burned, but Merrick whirled and cracked Gideon across the head with the butt of his pistol. He wanted to keep the man alive to stand trial, if at all possible. Gideon staggered back and Francis shot wide, just before Lord Blackthorne himself lunged at Merrick.

  Blackthorne was the most powerful undead Merrick had ever fought. No longer ravaged by injury or age, he combined the power of a Knight with that of the vampyre. Merrick’s counterattack was confined by the narrow space behind the machine and hampered by blood loss and pain. He struggled to fend off the turned Knight. Gavin reloaded, then fell to a shot from one of the officers. Thank God one enemy was down, but so was Merrick.

  When he fell to one knee, he knew he’d lost. Then a shot rang out and Blackthorne’s head exploded against the wall. Merrick stabbed him as he fell, piercing the heart. The earl crumbled into a moldering heap, letting Merrick know he’d been turned for quite some time.

  The sounds of battle echoed in his ears and the world swam in and out of blackness until Gideon’s laugh focused Merrick’s attention. Gideon stood next to the beaker, a maniacal look on his face. He held the bloody stump of a vampyre’s arm in his hand and had clearly sucked the blood from it—rivulets of reddish-black fluid ran down his face. The liquid was falling faster into the beaker now, and Merrick knew they had to destroy the machine itself.

  Gideon picked up the beaker to drink, but Wink threw another tool, knocking it to the floor where it shattered. Gideon was already beginning to turn—his face contorted and his teeth elongated as he rushed at Wink.

  Liam was there first, taking out Gideon in a flying leap. The werewolf savagely dug his teeth into the neck of the budding vampyre and spat out the flesh.

  Another vampyre took his place, a second beaker at the ready. “Wink, the machine,” Merrick called, struggling to stay conscious.

  “I’ve got it.” Caroline’s beloved voice came from behind Merrick as she moved around him. “Don’t you dare die on me, my love.” She approached the crucible, stripped off her glove w
ith her teeth, and laid her hand on the center of the apparatus.

  Gears ground to a halt and glass tubing shattered, spraying noxious chemicals in all directions. There was a small explosion, and then a fire began, rapidly consuming parts of the now broken machine. “Everybody out,” Merrick called. He doubted he could make it himself, trapped behind the wreckage as he was.

  “That includes you.” Caroline was there, along with a naked but seemingly whole Liam. The werewolf’s superior strength enabled him to get Merrick to the stairs as the fire continued to grow. Tommy and Piers ran ahead up into the sunlit kitchen, while Johnson carried Wink, a chain still dragging from her ankle. One of the human thugs ran for it too, but Merrick didn’t care. These were mere hirelings. The heart of the plot had been destroyed with Blackthorne and Gideon. He let Liam half carry him up into the kitchen, then out to the garden.

  Once outside, Merrick collapsed on the ground while Caroline slumped beside him, her bodice showing that she’d lost a good deal of blood herself. Liam quickly dressed. The children clustered around Merrick and Caroline, hugging and sniffling, even as Mountjoy and Johnson applied field bandages. None of the children were hurt beyond a bruise or scratch, thank goodness.

  Merrick wrapped one arm around Caroline and one around Wink, while Nell and Jamie fought for space on Caro’s lap. Piers leaned against Caro’s back while Tommy stood guard, one hand on Merrick’s shoulder. The servants clustered around, all still brandishing makeshift weapons.

  Dugan sent a man for the fire brigade, mostly to ensure the safety of neighboring houses. The fire would destroy the remains of the vampyres, as well as the machine and the punch cards. Merrick sent Debbins to fetch Lord Trowbridge. Once that was done, he muttered, “I love you,” to Caroline, and allowed himself to pass out.

  It was the next day before Caroline saw Merrick again. His wound had been sewn and was healing well, as was her own, or so she’d been told. Dorothy, the children and the servants ran messages back and forth between their bedrooms, but neither was allowed out of bed to visit the other, until finally, some twenty-four hours after the battle, Caroline snuck out when Mrs. Granger’s back was turned. Clad only in her nightdress, she slipped down the corridor to Merrick’s bedroom. It was past time she saw him with her own two eyes.

  To her delight, Merrick was sitting up in his bed, reading the newspaper when she entered his room. His smile when he saw her was slow and sensual. He flung the newspaper aside and patted the bed beside him. “God, it’s good to see you.”

  “I told you I’d scold you until you were well,” she said. It still hurt to move, but not as badly as people seemed to think it should. Merrick held her good arm to help her climb up into the bed.

  Then she was there, her face crushed against his warm, solid chest. He held her cautiously, careful of her sling, and she checked to see that she was up against his undamaged leg.

  “Trowbridge has been and gone,” Merrick told her. She snuggled into his side as closely as their injuries would allow. “Gideon was one of the owners of Arcanum, while Blackthorne was the majority stockholder. It was the base for their illicit activities. They’ve shut it down and arrested their other partners as well.”

  “Good. I’m glad that place is no longer open.” She leaned her head on his shoulder.

  He peppered the top of her head with kisses. “You are never to put yourself in danger like that again. Do you hear me, Caro? My heart can’t take it.”

  “Merrick, to protect you and our children, I’d walk into Hell itself. We’re both alive, and none of them are hurt. That’s all I care about.”

  “You’re right. But Caro—I love you. I had no idea how much until you were there, at risk. I can’t stand the thought of anything happening to you.” His voice cracked, while Caroline felt tears well up in her eyes.

  “I love you, Merrick. So very, very much.” She squeezed her one arm around his chest. “Now you know how I’ll feel every time you’re off on an assignment.”

  “I’m sorry, dearest.” He kissed her forehead. “I…I’d offer to retire, but…they need me. Especially now.”

  “I know.” She looked up at him, knowing her heart was in her eyes. “I’d never try to change you, my love. Being a Knight is who you are, the man I fell in love with. I’ll worry, of course, but I’ll always be here to hold you when you come home.”

  “I’ve been thinking, Caro. I’d like to adopt Wink, Piers, Nell and Jamie. Tommy, too, but he has an inheritance to consider.” Merrick’s thoughtful tone was so full of love, Caroline couldn’t help but smile.

  “I think Tommy will understand that we love him too, and don’t consider him any less our own.” She leaned up and kissed his chin. “I’d like that very much. That way, when more children come along, they won’t feel displaced, not if they know they’re permanently ours.”

  “Good. I already asked my solicitor to draw up the papers, when he delivered our marriage license, earlier this morning.”

  A little thrill went through her at the mention of the license. “Now you just have to mend in time for the wedding,” she reminded him. “I imagine the poor man was shocked to find us both confined to our beds.”

  “Dorothy and Trowbridge concocted a carriage accident.” Merrick chuckled. “I think Debbins even smashed up my coach with a sledge hammer to add verisimilitude.”

  “We’re lucky to have such loyal friends in our household.” Caro yawned and snuggled close. While her wound was healing well, she still tired easily due to loss of blood, and she imagined Merrick did as well.

  “Mm-hmm.” He snored softly into her ear and she smiled, letting herself drift off, comfortable for the first time since the fight, now that she was in his arms.

  Before she had completely fallen asleep, she heard the door open.

  “Should we move her back to her bed, miss?” That was Edwin Berry’s voice. The stuffy tutor didn’t even sound disapproving.

  “No, Edwin, I think they’ll both mend better just as they are.” Dorothy’s soft chuckle accompanied the click of the closing door.

  Epilogue

  The wedding did end up being pushed into the next month—barely. June was only hours old when Merrick and Caroline said their vows. Lady Trowbridge had offered her garden for the ceremony and her ballroom for the wedding breakfast. If both bride and groom still sported small bandages under their clothing, none of the guests could tell. Caroline smiled at her groom, who ate heartily while chatting with Lady Trowbridge on his left. He’d proven over the last several nights that he was more than sufficiently healed for their honeymoon.

  Honeymoon. She couldn’t wait to see Hadrian Hall, her new home in Northumberland. Caroline and Merrick were to travel up alone, while Dorothy would follow with the children in a week. That was as long as Caroline and Merrick were willing to be without them. Edwin Berry would be with them of course, along with the governesses, a pair of middle-aged twin sisters Dorothy and Caroline had met at the library. Since the two of them could communicate without speech, they had no difficulty adapting to the various gifts among the Hadrian children. The name was official, now that the adoption had been finalized only moments after the wedding.

  “These arrived for the happy couple.” Lord Trowbridge handed Caroline three folded telegrams. Caroline passed them to Merrick, who popped the seal on the first and opened it, holding it so Caroline could read it as well.

  “Sir Andrew sends his regards,” Caroline told the onlookers. “How very thoughtful.” Tommy’s grandfather was failing, but the two had at least had a chance to know one another due to frequent visits over the last few weeks.

  Next came a message from the MacKay family. Caroline knew Merrick still felt guilty about Gideon’s death, even though Sir William had assured him the family bore no grudge. Sir William and Lady MacKay had, though, retired to their home in Scotland to mourn their youngest son.

  Merrick swallowed hard, set that one aside and opened the third.

  Caroline blinked. “Merrick, is t
hat a royal seal?”

  “It is. The Queen sends her regards.”

  Caroline’s mouth opened and closed. Heavens, this would go a long, long way to raise her standing in society, which was still a bit shaky thanks to cousin Victor’s verbal poison.

  “And we’ve been given a present—or so it seems.” He drew in a deep breath and chuckled. “You’ve not had time to get used to being Lady Hadrian. Do you think you could handle Lady Northland instead?”

  “A barony? Merrick, truly?”

  Lord Trowbridge coughed beside her. “I believe it’s to do with Merrick’s increased role in the Order,” he murmured low enough so only Caroline and Merrick could hear him. “And in thanks for that last mission of course. Welcome to the peerage, Lord and Lady Northland.”

  Caroline blinked back tears and looked down the table to the smiling faces of the children, Dorothy and Miss Julian, Liam, Inspector Dugan, and so many others she’d come to care for in the past two months. Surely, that was reward enough. A title was mere icing.

  Merrick squeezed her hand. “Hold your head high, my lady. We’ll knock society on its ear.”

  She grinned at him, this man who knew her so well. Mimicking the children’s now-lost Cockney cant, she teased, “Aye, guv, that we will.”

  About the Author

  Cindy Spencer Pape is an avid reader of romance, fantasy, mystery, and even more romance. According to The Romance Studio, her plots are “full of twists and turns that keep the reader poised at the edge of their seat.”Joyfully Reviewed said her “colorful characters and plot building surprises kept me spellbound,” and RT Book Reviews says her “characters are appealing, and passionate sex leads to a satisfying romance.”

  Cindy firmly believes in happily-ever-after. Married for more than twenty years to her own, sometimes-kilted, hero, she lives in southern Michigan with him and two teenage sons, along with an ever-changing menagerie of pets. Cindy has been, among other things, a banker, a teacher and an elected politician, but mostly an environmental educator, though now she is lucky enough to write full-time. Her degrees in zoology and animal behavior almost help her comprehend the three male humans who share her household.