by Tim Susman
“We’d need ten more barges,” Alice said. “More defensive sorcerers. It would take an entire military. Do you think Master Colonel Jackson would allow it?”
“I rather think I won’t ask him,” Kip said in a low voice.
Alice’s ears went back. “That’s dangerous.”
“Yes. And quite probably the least dangerous part of this whole idea.” He rubbed his whiskers. “I’ll need to tell Captain Lowell, though. I’ll need him to get into Gibraltar.”
“He’ll never go along with it if you don’t tell Colonel Jackson.” Alice tilted her head. “You could tell him that Colonel Jackson ordered it.”
“I could,” Kip said, “But I won’t lie to him. If he’s going to help me, he should know that he’s not following any orders but mine.”
“I’ll help.” Alice reached out to take his paw. “Whatever your plan, I’ll go along with it.”
Kip squeezed her paw back. “Can you help me convince about six more people?”
“I can help with Captain Lowell, anyway.” Alice smiled.
“I understand all of it except why you can’t tell Master Colonel Jackson, or even anyone else.” Captain Lowell sat on the only chair in their room; Kip and Alice stood in front of him, and Malcolm leaned against the wall.
“Because the last time I told him a plan, he changed it and nearly got me and all the people I was trying to save killed. He doesn’t care about Calatians as people. He cares about them as leverage in war.”
Lowell did get stiff at that. “He cares about all the soldiers under his command, and all the people he is trying to protect.”
“He cares about winning this war,” Kip said. “More than the livelihood of any one person or even group of people. Listen.” He put up his paws placatingly. “I’m not saying that he’s a bad person. That’s how a commander in war has to act. I’m sure that in peacetime, he would be working hard to find new homes for the thousand refugees he just created, as well as the thousand other ones created by the British Army.” Kip was not at all sure about this. “But he can’t do that now. And he can’t afford to move quickly without consulting everyone else. Look at how long it took to approve the Isle of Dogs rescue, and that had to happen quickly because we had to act on the Gibraltar information.”
“Yes, I see what you mean,” Lowell said.
Kip went on before he could continue. “This needs to happen even more quickly. The British are reeling from the attacks on these two locations, but they won’t expect us to strike again so quickly. But more importantly, because I want to be totally honest with you…” He drew in a breath. This got Lowell’s attention; he inclined his head forward. “I think that if Master Colonel Jackson takes over, he’ll put the Calatians at risk. Because…if I look at it from his perspective, this is what makes the most sense: get the Calatians away from the British at any cost, and if a tenth of them die, then that’s fewer we have to house and feed when they arrive here.” His tail lashed. “I can—I think—get them out without losing anyone. But if the plan changes and I’m made to do it without the people I want to get…”
“What if this plan works counter to some other plan Master Colonel Jackson has? That’s the danger, that in doing this thing you think is the best idea, you don’t see the larger picture.”
“This will take one night,” Kip said. “And when it’s over, so will the war be. No other plans will matter.”
Lowell nodded. That he didn’t see a flaw in Kip’s reasoning heartened the fox. But he still didn’t look completely convinced. “Answer me honestly, then.”
Kip braced himself. He’d promised to tell Lowell the truth, and he wouldn’t put it past Lowell to have guessed the parts of his plan he hadn’t revealed. The soldier met his eyes. “Are you doing this to capture the glory that was denied you from the last mission?”
That was an easy question. Malcolm got to it first. “Denied glory? He’s being hailed as the Calatian sorcerer who destroyed the Road. What more glory could he wish for?”
Kip exhaled and addressed Lowell. “If you want to claim credit for it after it succeeds, I would allow it as long as all the Calatians are safe and the war ends.”
Alice piped up. “The Calatians are critical to the outcome of the war and yet they have no voice in their own fate. Someone needs to look out for them.”
Lowell’s eyes narrowed very slightly, watching Kip as Alice spoke. He lifted a hand to his chin and rubbed it. “Well,” he said, “if it will end the war…”
Kip exhaled, and Alice ran forward to hug the captain. He startled and then relaxed, hugging back and looking at Alice with a faint smile. “If I had not seen you fight in battle, I would be very concerned about Penfold bringing you on this adventure.”
“I’ve been to the Isle,” Alice said.
“I know, I know. You’re the equal of any in this unit.” His eyes met Kip’s. “Might I have a word with Penfold in private?”
Alice stepped back. “Is it about me? Because it’s not polite to make me leave a room so you can talk about me.”
“No,” Lowell said. “Nor is it about O’Brien. I want to talk to Penfold about a personal matter that I hope will not affect this mission, but it will be his decision.”
Malcolm stepped forward from the wall as Alice came toward him. “Let’s go see if we can get to the roof,” he said. “I would like to feel the sea breeze.”
“I can call an elemental to bring it to you.” Alice’s tail flicked back and forth.
When they’d left, Captain Lowell gestured for Kip to sit on the desk near him and the fox did so, resting his tail across the wood surface. The window was closed and they were far from the closed door, but Lowell spoke in a low voice. “Do you intend to commit treason?”
“No.” The tip of Kip’s tail twitched, but Lowell did not look angry or accusatory, merely solemn.
“It occurs to me,” he continued, “that someone who could move two thousand Calatians in one night could as easily move a few thousand more.”
He waited, but Kip only returned his gaze evenly, and after a moment Lowell went on. “To take people from the American army and offer their services to the highest bidder might be considered treason by some.”
Kip inclined his head. “Are we not all committing treason, if you take the view of the English crown?”
“We are fighting to assert our right to self-governance against an authority that has in the past treated us…badly…” The last word trailed off, and Lowell’s eyes moved to the glass of the window and the city beyond. After a moment, they came back to Kip. “I very much doubt whether General Hamilton and Master Colonel Jackson will be in the mood to discuss semantics. We will be committing treason against our superior officers.”
“It is my intention first and foremost to rescue the New Cambridge and Peachtree Calatians,” Kip said. “Secondly, to evacuate the Isle of Dogs. And thirdly, if all goes well and God favors our enterprise, we may find ourselves in a position to grant the American forces a decisive victory, and it will be up to the American leaders to decide whether that speedy victory is worth certain concessions to the Calatian people.”
Lowell nodded and tapped the desk thoughtfully. “And if they decide that it is not? Will you approach the British with the same offer?”
“I have high hopes that everyone will be reasonable,” Kip said. “And that it may be not only the Calatians who benefit from it.”
When Lowell did not respond, Kip leaned forward. “You are a good man, of exceeding intelligence. Were this a just system, you should be a Lieutenant Colonel by now. Even my limited experience in the military tells me that much, and I barely understand what all these different ranks mean. But you are not, and we both know why. We are fighting this war against a crown who treated us like children, like resources to be plundered, and yet the people here in the American army are no different. If your conscience troubles you, you have only to get me into Gibraltar. Say I told you nothing of the rest of it.”
“No,�
�� Lowell said. “That would be the easy way out, the coward’s way. If I join this enterprise, I do it in full knowledge.” He paused and looked again directly at Kip. “Would you have told me everything, had I not asked?”
Kip started to answer and then stopped, wanting to be completely honest. “I haven’t told anyone else about the full extent of my idea yet. I believe that I would have told you at the same time as I told everyone else.”
Lowell considered this and then nodded. “A good general tells his troops exactly what they need to know, and no more.”
“But I hope,” Kip said, “now that you have guessed, you will help me with the plan.”
“If I choose to join…” Lowell broke off and stared out the window again. “I have served the British empire for my entire life up to a few months ago. When I was asked to serve Master Colonel Jackson, I took the decision seriously. There were officers in the Royal Army who knew me; I could have served Britain as well. But I thought about something my mother told me often, back when we were slaves. She said that our state was not right, but that it was no use to rage against it. We had seen others do that and they were punished, mutilated, or…they disappeared. She told me that I should do what my master ordered and be patient. There would be moments in my life when the Lord would put an opportunity before me to make things right, or if not all the way right, at least righter than they were. She found that moment for herself when she convinced our master to free us upon his death. I thought that this moment of revolution was my chance to do some right, and to show my loyalty to the men I’d served with.”
Kip kept his ears perked but stayed silent. Lowell rubbed his hands together, looking down at the buildings and street outside. “I thought of my mother, but also of myself. By showing my loyalty, I hoped I would earn some currency in our new country. I thought, perhaps I can show my worth, and when we create something new, I’ll be included in that. But I have been wondering over the last few days if I am not simply still following my master’s orders.”
“I know the feeling,” Kip said.
Lowell looked up, still thoughtful, and his face settled into a smile. “You saved me from capture at the expense of yourself. I suppose the least I owe you in return is a second in command. I never thought the Almighty would put a second opportunity before me, but He does work in mysterious ways, we’re told.”
He extended a hand, and Kip took it with a wash of relief that made him glad he was sitting down. “Tell me,” he said, smiling, “do generals tell their troops when they’re terrified?”
“Almost never.” Lowell matched his smile. “But sometimes they tell a trusted captain. At least, that’s what I hear.”
As they talked through the details of the plan, Kip was pleased that Lowell found many of his ideas sound. He proposed improvements in many places, demanded they review every step even when Kip thought they were settled, and thereby found more flaws to fix. When finally he declared himself satisfied, Kip could hardly believe he’d been considering going ahead with his original plan. Lowell accepted his thanks with modest demurral.
The only part of the plan the captain didn’t want to know was where Kip intended to send the Calatians. “The fewer people who know, the better,” he said. “As long as the location is secure.”
“As secure as I can imagine,” Kip said.
After nearly an hour, Malcolm and Alice came back in, announcing themselves with a cheery, “Hallo, we’re back,” from Alice. She closed the door behind them and eyed Kip and Lowell, still sitting on the desk by the window. “It’s nearly time for dinner. Have you worked out whatever it is you’re working out?”
“Very nearly,” Kip said. “It’s complicated. Captain Lowell has been very helpful. I think we have to start with Emily tomorrow, and then Captain Lowell can go with her while I go to New Cambridge.”
“Go where with her?” Alice asked. “And where are Malcolm and I going?”
“You to New Cambridge,” Captain Lowell said. “I’ll need O’Brien with me.”
Malcolm turned his head from one side to the other. “Why, it seems I’ve been enlisted into the army all over again.”
“We need you to keep Lowell and Emily safe in Gibraltar,” Kip said. “I don’t trust anyone else to do it. And I need Alice to come with me to talk to the Calatians in New Cambridge.”
“When do we go to the Isle of Dogs?” Alice asked.
“Last of all.” Kip and Lowell had gone back and forth on this. Lowell thought that as this was the least certain part of the plan, it should go first so that if it failed, the rest could be aborted. Kip understood that logic, but argued that they would move fast enough that even if they were discovered in the midst of the evacuation, they could probably hold off the British long enough to complete it. In that case, it would be best if the rest of the Calatians had already been moved so that even if he and Emily were captured, Malcolm and Alice and Lowell could move ahead with negotiations.
Malcolm addressed Lowell. “How certain are you of this plan?”
Lowell gave Kip a slight smile. “More certain than I am that the war will end in a year otherwise. More certain than I am that the war will end in our favor otherwise. I have no confidence that any of the other great powers of Europe will risk anything to throw in with a ragged band of insurgents, not unless we demonstrate more mettle than we have thus far.”
“The friendliest reception we’ve received to date is an offer to loan us money to buy mercenaries and perhaps some ships,” Kip said. “And the help of some sorcerers, which we should not discount, but the British sorcerers are very good. Better than we are, all told.”
“Because there’s more of them,” Malcolm said. “If fewer translocators, now.”
“Yes.” Captain Lowell nodded. “They will likely be more cautious with their offensives, but all that will do is drag out the war for months and years. They sit safely in London and until we capture the entire British fleet or army, it costs them little to continue to harass us.”
“But the war is on our soil, destroying our towns.” Alice’s ears came up, her muzzle set in determination. “It was so strange seeing New Cambridge half-empty, all the people’s houses gone because they can’t live there, and then we were sailing up the Thames and there were people playing in the river, taking their produce to market on the road, as if they didn’t even know there was a war. Maybe they didn’t.” She gestured out to the street. “What will be left after months or years?”
“Exactly,” Lowell said.
Dinner was difficult to get through. The other sorcerers wanted to talk about when they would be going to New York, while Kip could barely eat because his stomach kept turning over when he thought of all the risks they were going to take the next day. He’d gotten the Calatians all the way up the Thames, he reminded himself, and that was in a way more complicated than what he intended now. It certainly had taken longer. But tomorrow’s enterprise had far higher stakes, and if just one part of it failed…all the British would need was a handful of Calatians.
No; he’d talked through that part with Lowell. There were undoubtedly Calatians scattered across England, and perhaps the College could even find them quickly enough to be of use. But if the Americans had an effectively inexhaustible resource plus the rescued sorcerers from Prince George’s College, the scales of sorcery would tip decisively toward the New World.
And yet Kip kept seeing Master Albright calmly kidnapping Calatians off the streets of Edinburgh or Birmingham, taking them to be prisoners in the College, unwilling participants in the ritual for as long as it took to defeat Kip and the Americans. And then? Kill them outright, or merely wipe their memories? More innocent lives laid at his feet.
Lowell had talked through this possibility with him, reasoning that many other innocent lives would be saved (how many Calatians from the Isle had already died in the course of this war?). He felt that the overwhelming odds would induce London to a peace rather than scrape out an extra two weeks of fighting, and that in e
ither case, the Americans with the allies they hoped to gain in the course of this operation could begin taking the war to England.
All of it sounded logical and perfectly sound when talking it out, but whenever Kip was alone, fears and doubts crept in again. Lowell had never seen Albright’s cruelty in action; the man had orchestrated the destruction of two colleges full of sorcerers to ensure London’s continued primacy in the world.
17
An End to the War
Emily arrived the next morning as expected. “Well?” she asked Kip. “Have you permission to come?”
He clasped his paws together and looked her in the eye. “You, ah, you said you wished you could have come with us on our Thames adventure,” he said. “Did you mean it?”
Malcolm, Alice, and Lowell all watched Emily, who registered their attention and then raised her eyebrows to Kip. “What are you planning?”
“An end to the war,” he said.
She studied him for a moment and then looked around the room again. “If all of you are part of it, then I won’t be left out. What do I need to do?”
They explained her part briefly, and she followed along with quick nods of her head. “How are we going to pay the Dutch sorcerers? I don’t think they’ll be willing to do this just for a chance to talk to you.”
Kip tapped his own chest, making Ash, who had been dozing on his shoulder, jump. “We’re offering them us. Well, not us specifically, but Calatians. Calyxes.”
“Ohhhhh.” Emily raised her eyebrows. “That would work. Yes, it would indeed.” She turned to Lowell. “You approve of this plan?”
“I admit to being a touch uneasy about giving the Dutch such a powerful weapon,” he said, “but Penfold has argued persuasively that the Calatians should be allowed to control their own fates, and also that ‘treason’ is a term reserved for people on the losing side of a war. I have judged this cause and this risk worthwhile.”