The Scarlet Star Trilogy

by Ben Galley

  ‘It does when my peace and privacy are disturbed without an explanation,’ she said, purposefully leaving the ‘Lord Protector’ part out.

  Dizali was not in the mood to parry words. He fixed her with a cold stare.

  ‘One of my butlers has forsaken me, if you must know. Absconded with a precious item of mine. Now, if it is not too much of an inconvenience to you, I shall return to the matter at hand, so it may be resolved! Good evening.’

  Calidae knew when to bow out and did so swiftly.

  ‘Yes, my Lord. I was headed for the kitchens in any case. I’m afraid supper left me hungrier than I would have liked. Excuse me.’ Hanister moved aside to let her pass, and she worked her way down the stairs, not too swiftly, but quick enough. She wanted to sprint.

  In the kitchens, she found the maids working on tomorrow’s bread, nattering between each other like sparrows on a line.

  ‘Milady,’ one called out, upon spying her in the doorway. There was a rolling wave of curtseys from the low-ceilinged room. The mighty ovens made it swelteringly warm in there.

  ‘Please, that’s not necessary,’ she said with a smile. The maids didn’t know what to make of that. ‘I simply wanted to know what happened tonight.’

  The nearest maid cleared her throat, wiping flour across her nose.

  ‘One of His Lordship’s butlers is missing.’ She’d meant to go on, but the maids needed no encouragement to start spilling the gossip. The story’s pieces came thick and fast. Calidae’s neck ached after trying to keep up.

  ‘I’ve heard as much,’ one said.

  ‘Took a key with him.’

  ‘And guess who has the other one?’

  ‘Dizali, that’s who.’

  ‘He keeps somethin’ secret in the northeast wing, in a tower with a locked door.’

  ‘Pontis was the butler in charge of letting in the special maids.’

  ‘They never talk about their duties. Not a peep!’

  ‘Fear for their necks they do.’

  ‘Rumour has it that Dizali has locked a relative away up there.’

  ‘I heard it was a raving lunatic. A sister or somesuch.’

  ‘Better keep out of it, Milady!’

  Calidae made her excuses and left, darting back down the hallways and narrow corridors until she was deep in the dark and forgotten passageways of Clovenhall once again. It took her no time to find the cupboard, going by memory and the faint glow of a distant torch. The body had not started to reek yet, thanks to the corridor staying relatively cool, but it was on the turn.

  She reached into her dress and pulled out a key that dangled on a silver chain around her neck. Her fingers found the lock in the gloom and had the cupboard open in seconds.

  It was then that the smell hit her. Not quite a rot yet, but getting close. Calidae winced as she reached to pluck a key from around the corpse’s disturbingly soft throat. She held it up to the dim light. It was an intricate thing, expertly made. No wonder Dizali set his dogs loose tonight. It just happened to be the wrong person, an innocent maid. Something close to guilt jabbed at her, but she shrugged it off.

  She stuffed the key into her a pocket, vowing to wash it as soon as she was able, and possibly burn her dress. Once again, the cupboard was locked up tight and left to the darkness.

  Calidae made it back to the atrium without raising a single eyebrow. From what the lordsguards were muttering, Dizali was in the midst of ripping the workers’ billets apart, and would be busy for some time. She bit her lip, wondering if she should try her chances and sneak a look in the northeast wing. But it was an unpredictable night, and she didn’t fancy ruining the grand plan.

  As soon as her door was locked, she went to the bathroom to wash her hands and the key. A quick change of clothes later and she was sliding it onto the chain around her neck. It hung alongside the cupboard key, dwarfing it.

  There came a harsh caw from behind her and she practically jumped off her stool. The magpie ducked under the open window and flapped to her desk. It strutted about in a circle before depositing a letter onto her lap. ‘Clever bird indeed,’ she told it, unfolding the letter.

  C,

  10th confirmed. Deeds are under control. Keep head down and carry on your work. You need to convince W.

  Any names for me?

  M.

  P.S. Just talk to Jake. He can understand you.

  ‘And it gets madder,’ she muttered. Calidae met the bird’s one-eyed gaze; beady and black. The magpie cawed once more. ‘So, you’re Jake. Well, Jake, you can tell the good Master Hark that Dizali has Brothers working for him,’ she began, speaking slowly. ‘Like Gile and Gavisham. The Eighth.’ For that she drew the number in the air, as if it would help. ‘Tell him I’m a member of the Order now, though it cost me the Spit. That Dizali is planning to have Victorious hanged, and give him the names Longweather, Oswalk, and Darbish. And tell him to hurry up!’

  Jake cawed again, and flapped towards the window, blowing Calidae’s hair in all directions. With one more clack of his beak, he shimmied under the window and disappeared into the evening. Calidae shook her head before heading back to the bathroom to re-wash her hands. Birds carry all sorts of diseases.

  ‘Damn you, Tonmerion Hark,’ Calidae whispered to herself as she unlocked the door and tip-toed along the corridor. She knew Witchazel needed convincing. How dare he throw orders about! She had already tried twice.

  The first night he had not answered her quiet knocks and whispers of escape. She had slipped a quick letter under the door and left, having heard boots coming down the hallway. Brother’s boots.

  The second, a letter had been slipped the other way, saying only, “NO!” She had told him that Merion was alive, that he wanted to free him, rescue him, even. Witchazel had to be ready. And yet still the foolish lawyer refused to agree, whispering something unintelligible about the Bulldog and broken promises.

  Tonight, she would convince him. She would talk some sense into the lawyer or poke him in the eye with a needle through the keyhole. She wasn’t in the mood to get caught arguing with a door, not with so much zealotry afoot.

  She paused at a junction of three opulent corridors, heart beating harder than usual. The lawyer’s room was close, tucked inside an alcove. Calidae was about to move when she heard the whump of a closing door. A figure appeared in the hallway, adjusting his bowler hat as he walked away. It was a Brother, though she didn’t know which one. There were three of them now.

  When the sound of boots had disappeared, she crept on, ducking into the alcove and hunkering down beside Witchazel’s door. Tap, tap went her fingers on the wood.

  Something stirred. The door shuddered briefly as somebody pressed up against it.

  ‘Mr Witchazel. You need to recon—’ she whispered.

  ‘I have.’ Calidae wondered what the Brother had done to him to make him change his mind so easily. ‘I shall come with you. Just tell me when.’

  ‘The tenth of this very month,’ she whispered.

  ‘Four more days?’

  Calidae wished she could fix him with a glare. ‘You didn’t even want to—’

  ‘I’ve changed my mind.’

  If he interrupted her one more time…

  Calidae swore to herself. ‘Then you shall have to make do if you want to be freed. It’s Merion that wants you, not me.’

  ‘Fine. Thank you both.’

  ‘Just stay alive.’

  ‘Thank… you.’

  Calidae was already gone.

  *

  A city at night entertains all sorts of inclinations; from honest to dishonourable and everything in between. In the deeper parts of London, the narrow streets teemed as though it were day. Creatures of the evening filled the gaslit channels: factory boys headed to their shifts; prostitutes and pickpockets worked in tandem; high-born heirs sought debauchery; pedlars hawked items of all shapes and sizes and origins, some more dubious that others; and in some places, now that the rain had given up its game, night-markets
began to emerge, setting up their tables over drains and gutters that still gurgled with rainwater.

  In the western docks, the pubs and taverns acted as though the sun had yet to set and a drop of moisture hadn’t fallen all day. Those that didn’t blare their music and revelry through open windows rumbled on behind closed doors. Every so often one, a door would fly open and the cacophony would tumble out for just a moment, filling the dripping darkness with noise. Sometimes, a body would accompany it, landing in a moaning heap on the slimy boardwalk.

  The Brothers Eighth picked their way through the crowds. Here and there, they would pause to stand by a tavern door, gleaning what secrets they could from any drunks and shady characters who lingered there. Coin always seems to jog a memory, especially when its owner is in possession of empty pockets. The Brothers had already shed quite a few in this evening’s quest, and, in order to not arouse suspicion, they were also forced to buy drinks in the taverns they ventured into. Hanister would rush bat blood and listen to the roaring chatter, overhearing nothing but empty gossip. Their patience, and their sobriety for that matter, were like their coin; swiftly fading away.

  Hanister adjusted his tie. He was growing weary of the stench of bilge and drowned rat, and this was only the second night this week.

  ‘Congratulations once again, my dear brothers, for landing us with this superb mission!’ he said, irritably.

  Honorford sighed. ‘I would quit my whining if I were you.’

  Heck followed up. ‘You weren’t the ones crawling through muddy trenches and the frozen forests of Prussia, hunting down those leech bastards.’

  ‘No, I was at Clovenhall, apologising for your lateness and apparent uselessness. Dizali is not pleased with us.’

  ‘Evidently,’ Heck snapped. At that moment a man burst from a doorway, dashed four paces and proceeded to vomit over the Brother’s polished shoes. Heck didn’t bother to restrain himself. The Brother’s fist caught the man under his chin with such force that it sent him head over heels and down again, face-first into his own puddle of spew. It was a mercy he didn’t kill the drunken fellow.

  ‘Delightful.’ Hanister shook his head.

  ‘This Tonmerion is nowhere to be found,’ said Heck. ‘Are you still rushing carp, Honorford?’

  ‘Strong and true, brother. And yes, I would tell you if I felt anything. Just minor rushing skills here and there, nothing else.’

  ‘Ugh.’

  By the time night had blended into early morning, they had tried every pub they could find except one; an establishment that sat out on a pier among the tall ships rather than nestling in the jumble of warehouses like the others.

  Hanister pointed at it. ‘I say we try this last one.’

  Honorford shook his head. ‘And waste our time with more revellers and drunkards?’

  Hanister sighed. ‘Deal with a few more battered poltroons or have good Lord Dizali cut us loose. Up to you.’

  ‘Fine.’

  And so it was decided. The three Brothers strode along the rickety planks of the pier and made for the tavern. It looked like an upturned boat with walls shoved under it. The door even had a porthole, and through its grubby pane, they feasted their eyes on a debauched sight indeed. A man was furiously attacking a fiddle in the far corner, sending the crowds of drunkards into a frenzy of dancing and whirling. Drinks and punches flew left and right. Those without the stomach for dancing—nor for any more ale—were slumped over tables or sprawled across the grimy floor, painted black with tar-scrapes and decades of spillage.

  ‘Wonderful!’ said Heck.

  ‘Follow me,’ said Hanister, tipping his bowler hat low and striding inside.

  They reeled from the stench of old alcohol, sweat and shame. Heck had to hold a handkerchief to his nose, drawing more than a few bitter and rather cross-eyed looks.

  ‘Three, sir!’ Hanister waved to the bar-keep. The man looked as drunk as his patrons, but somehow he managed to fetch them three pints of the “finest” ale. He even found them the right change in his apron.

  The Brothers began to look around, getting the measure of the place, as they had in the other taverns. ‘Anything, Honorford?’

  ‘I would tell you, you know,’ Honorford groused around the rim of his glass. Heck murmured something unintelligible and altogether unhelpful.

  As he and Honorford began to drift around, folding themselves into conversations and hovering near tables, Hanister slipped a vial into his palm. Miming a stretch, he downed the crimson and pushed it into his veins. He let it take root gradually, expertly, letting the noise flood into his ears. Within moments, he could focus in on every shoe-tap, every scrape of the fiddle, every wag of a lip and slurp of a drink. He closed his eyes and roved through the discord, picking apart conversations until he found what he wanted.

  They look official-like.

  Hanister tilted his head, concentrating on this voice. The rest of the pub faded to a murmur.

  Two men, western accents. One had the sound of sea-spray in his throat.

  ‘Don’t they just? Suits and hats in this sort o’ place. An’ they all look the same.’

  ‘ ‘Igh-born spies, maybe?’

  ‘Spies? Spyin’ on what, exactly?’

  ‘Oh, there’s lots to see in the docks. Lots of things.’

  ‘Like what?’

  ‘Saw a Spaniard ship the other day. It didn’t look like one, but I knew it was. Changed their colours.’

  ‘How do you know they were Spaniards?’

  ‘Their hats.’

  ‘Right.’

  ‘Saw an American ship, too.’

  Hanister’s ears focused harder.

  ‘Ironclad thing.’

  ‘I don’t believe you.’

  ‘You listen ‘ere. A great black thing, it was. Came in a week ago or more. In the fog.’

  ‘Then ‘owd you see it?’

  ‘Got good eyes, ain’t I?’

  ‘You’re blinder than me and I got one eye missin’.’

  ‘There’s more.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘All they did was drop off two people and then left right away. Important-lookin’ people.’

  ‘Yeah?’

  ‘In cloaks and all.’

  ‘Then ‘owd you know they was important?’

  Hanister’s eyes flicked open. There, in the back of the tavern, by a fireplace, a man in a floppy cap huddled close to another man with one eye and grey mutton-chops. He caught Heck’s gaze and pointed left, Honorford to the right. The Eighth wandered casually through the tables, heading for the pair.

  ‘They’re coming. Shh!’ He caught their whispered words before he quelled the shade’s effects.

  ‘Good morning, gentlemen!’ said Hanister over the screeching fiddle-work. He took a seat directly next to One-Eye and smiled at them both.

  The man with the floppy cap tried to stand, but Heck’s hand was on his shoulder, holding him down. Heck scratched his shaved head under his hat.

  ‘Why don’t we just stay seated, eh?’

  The man did as he was told. Heck took a seat, leaving Honorford to linger nearby, looking nonchalant but dangerous.

  ‘An American ironclad. Tell me about it,’ said Hanister, still calm and friendly in tone. ‘Mister…?’

  Floppy-Cap spluttered. ‘I don’t know mu—’

  ‘Mister…?’

  ‘Grippen. Eli Grippen.’

  ‘Eli! May I call you Eli? Good. Now, Eli. There is a war on, isn’t there?’

  ‘Yes, sir.’

  ‘And who are we at war with?’

  Eli actually had to think for a moment. ‘The Rosiyan Empire.’

  ‘And?’

  More thinking. ‘Greeks?’

  Heck slapped the cap from Eli’s head in annoyance, causing him to whimper.

  Hanister turned to the man next to him. ‘No! Do you know, Mr One-Eye?’

  ‘Tanigan.’

  ‘Do you know, Mr Tanigan?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘We
ll, the answer is everybody who isn’t our ally. Understand? That means the Americans, too.’

  ‘Are you with the constabulary or somethin’?’ Tanigan ventured.

  Hanister ignored him. ‘Do you think we should be letting American ships slip unnoticed into the heart of our capital?’

  ‘No.’

  Hanister nudged Mr Tanigan with his elbow. ‘Then you should do your patriotic duty and tell me about this ironclad and who exactly stepped off it.’

  Eli gulped. ‘Right, well. Three masts. Ship o’ the line. Flagship class. Clad all over with iron plates, all black. ‘Undred cannons easy. Looked American to me.’

  ‘It flew a flag?’

  Eli looked put out. ‘No, but I know their lines. I watch a lot of ships come and go, from just right outside ‘ere. It’s all I got after me leg got bust up in a storm. I seen enough ships in my time, and only Americans build ships like that. If I had to guess by her size, I would’ve said it were the Black Rosa ‘erself.’

  Tanigan snorted in disbelief.

  ‘Who disembarked from this ironclad?’ said Heck. ‘Did you see?’

  ‘Docked just over there. Some nobles, I think. Boy and a woman. Both all trussed up in cloaks.’

  ‘Old? Young?’

  ‘Woman looked older. Blonde. Boy was young. Maybe fourteen. Also blonde. But you don’t mistake steps like theirs. Only ‘igh-born walk like that.’

  ‘Both of them?’ Hanister shared a look with Heck.

  ‘You sure she was older?’ said Heck.

  ‘Sure enough. Docked right down there.’ Eli motioned to the left. ‘Wrinkles on her face and all that.’

  ‘Good man, your friend Eli,’ said Hanister, again nudging Tanigan. ‘Patriotic man. Well, gentlemen, thank you for your cooperation.’

  ‘Stay out of trouble,’ Heck added as they got to their feet, leaving Mr Tanigan and Mr Grippen to sip their ales with wide eyes and thumping hearts.

  One by one, the Eighth filtered out of the tavern and into the damp, dark morning.

  Chapter XII

  UNDERING

  7th August, 1867

  ‘Troll blood is a fascinating thing, don’t you think?’

  Rhin tried to spit at her, but the insult barely made it past his lips. He hadn’t drank in a day and had barely eaten since the mole fight, three days ago. He had been given only pain; endless pain of every kind to be found under the Lonely Star.