Beggar Magic

by Burke, H. L.

  Leilani folded her arms over her chest. “How did you find me?”

  “I asked Captain Goodly. He said he sent Brick after you and gave me this address.”

  Flory came up behind Leilani. “Oh, hello, may I help you?”

  “I need to talk to Leilani, alone. It’s rather important.”

  Leilani sighed, nodded, and retrieved Goodly’s cloak. Though oversized, it was thicker and warmer than her own clothes.

  The girls strode into the courtyard. In the daylight, the brick houses looked homier. Laundry hung overhead, and potted plants, most past their prime and bound with twine for the winter, cluttered the ledges. Some embers still glowed in the firepit, and the girls settled there. The Strains murmured like running water, soothing and calm.

  “They're trying to comfort me, us, I suppose. I don't feel like being comforted, though. Everything’s gone so wrong.” Zeb kicked a loose coal, avoiding Leilani's eyes. “Anyway, it’s my fault. I am sorry I didn’t stand up for you last night.”

  “If you had, both of us would have most likely been kicked out of the manor.” As Leilani said it, she grudgingly realized it was true. Mistress Straight had been in no mood to show mercy.

  “At least we would’ve been together. That was the whole point of having you as my aide, and I bumbled it.” Zeb sniffed, her nose shiny red in the winter air. “I thought it would bring us closer, make us inseparable, but then the Strains and Brick–”

  “Don’t start on Brick again!” Leilani scowled.

  “No, no, that isn’t . . .” Zeb gave a whistling exhale. “He really likes you, doesn’t he?”

  Leilani nodded. “More than likes.”

  Zebedy grimaced. “I want to be happy for you, Leilani, but I’m miserable. You know, my parents are wonderful, but all they ever talk about is the almanac, what they’ll write for weather predictions, planting guidelines. Before you, the only person I had to talk to wasn’t even a person at all.”

  “The Strains?”

  “Yes, and now I might lose them and you at the same time. When I saw how Brick looked at you, my stomach started twisting. No one is ever going to look at me that way. Ever. When you marry Brick, I’ll just be alone.”

  Leilani grasped Zeb’s shoulder. “First, no one is getting married anytime soon. Second, no, you won’t be alone. You are gorgeous and brilliant.”

  “And odd.” Zeb snorted.

  “Well, yes.” Leilani smiled. “But I’ve never minded that, and I can think of at least one Civics fellow who doesn’t either.”

  The red in Zeb’s nose flooded her face. “Now you’re just being mean. Vickers . . . anyway, that isn’t important. What matters is that you can’t hate me. I’d go mad.”

  Leilani pulled her friend into a hug. “I will never hate you. I may want to slap you sometimes, but in a loving way.”

  Zeb laughed and squeezed back. “I want to try and get you your position back. Brash will understand you were acting to save the Strains. Once you tell him what you saw, he’ll be able to fix things. Everything will go back to normal.”

  “They won't let me just come back. Mistress Straight isn't letting me anywhere near her precious manor.”

  Zeb clutched her hands together. “I'll resign then, but we need to at least try.”

  Leilani swallowed. “I will talk to Brash with you, but we need to be careful. Kasan was the one who reported me to Straight. Brash could be involved.”

  Zeb looked past Leilani. “Would it make you feel better if we brought him?”

  Leilani followed Zeb’s gaze. Brick strode across the courtyard, a milk bottle in his hand. She watched him enter his mother’s house.

  “It would,” she agreed.

  The girls walked towards the house, but Zeb paused when she touched the doorknob. “I sent a message to Vickers this morning. After what happened in the tunnels last night, I figured we needed to get back, even if Straight wouldn't listen.”

  Leilani bit her bottom lip. “Will he be able to overrule Straight?”

  “Straight has a lot of influence in Research, but Vickers should be able to get us past her, because of his project about the tunnels but also because once Straight hears his last name, she'll melt into a kowtowing puddle.” Zeb snorted. “No one in the manors would say no to a Buffet.”

  “Except you.” Leilani chuckled. “Though maybe you should reconsider that.”

  Zeb blushed again and opened the door.

  Flory had set the table for four, each place with a bowl of steaming porridge and a tea cup.

  “I didn’t know if your friend would be staying or not,” she said.

  “I’ve already eaten, but I would be grateful for a cup of tea, thank you.” Zeb smiled.

  Brick circled the table, pulling out chairs for each lady in turn.

  “Brick was just telling me that his captain has given him the day off to see to Miss Leilani.” Flory stirred sugar into her tea. Brick shoveled several spoonfuls onto his porridge. She frowned at him, but her eyes twinkled.

  “I’m Zebedy. I didn’t catch your name, Miss. . .?” Zebedy glanced at Flory over her teacup and took a sip.

  “Just Flory, dear.”

  Zeb leaned closer to Leilani. “Maybe she can help us explain everything to Brick.”

  Brick set down his spoon.

  “If you need to tell Brick something, I will help. He reads mouths well, but signs better,” Flory said.

  “What does he know about the Strains?” Zeb asked. “Our story involves them a good deal.”

  “He has seen others wield them,” Flory explained, watching Brick’s hands. Brick touched his ear, shook his head, then tapped his forehead and nodded yes. Flory laughed. “He says just because he cannot hear does not mean he cannot think.”

  Leilani tried not to smirk at Zeb’s blush.

  “Something is destroying the Strains,” Leilani began.

  Brick alternated between watching Zeb’s mouth and his mother’s fingers, nodding occasionally. Zeb explained about the dead spots and the amplifiers then allowed Leilani to relate what she’d seen in the tunnels. Flory’s face turned white.

  “I can’t imagine someone doing that to the Strains,” she whispered. Brick touched her hand. “Have you tried getting help?”

  “We tried telling Cogg, then Straight. No one wants to listen. Brash said he would help,” Zeb said.

  “And you want Brick to go with you to see this Brash?” Flory dropped her eyes. “It sounds dangerous. I have already lost so much.”

  Brick took his mother aside after breakfast. This time Flory did not speak as they conversed. Leilani and Zeb cleared away the dishes. Zeb had no idea how to wash a bowl, and instructing her kept Leilani’s eyes off their farewell.

  “I think I could use the Strains for this,” Zeb said as she whisked a towel over a plate.

  Leilani rolled her eyes. “You don’t need to use the Strains for every little thing.”

  “But I could.” Zeb took the next clean spoon from Leilani. “Anyway, do we even need to dry them? The air does that.”

  “Just do it.” Leilani pushed a teacup at Zeb who grimaced but obeyed.

  Brick approached and pointed to the door.

  “Time to go,” Zeb said. “Hopefully Brash can make some sense of this.”

  “I just want to get back into the tunnels and dismantle those devices.” Leilani gathered up her things, and the three of them started out.

  Vendors with carts and folk hurrying to and from the various manors filled the streets. The Strains swelled when they passed a large group of people, happy and carefree as if the night before hadn’t happened. With Zeb and Brick flanking her and the Strains loud and clear, Leilani felt brave again.

  The guards at Research Manor nodded to Brick and thankfully didn’t give Leilani a second glance. She breathed a sigh of relief. She had worried Mistress Straight might have ordered them to keep her out.

  “Brash will be in his workshop. Classes start in less than an hour.” Zeb pointed to
the building.

  The door stood ajar in spite of the cold winter morning. Zeb’s pace quickened, but Brick grabbed her arm. His eyebrows drew together. He pointed to the door, walked his fingers up his arm, then tapped his chest and held up one finger. He touched the hilt of his saber and started forward.

  Zeb glanced at Leilani. “What is he afraid of?”

  Leilani shrugged. “He’s a guard. Probably just being cautious.” But the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. The Strains wailed, still melodious, but in a loud, minor key.

  Brick kicked the door and stepped inside. A moment later he emerged, face grave, and beckoned them in.

  The girls passed him into the workshop then froze. On the floor, her face pale and her eyes staring at the ceiling, lay Straight. A trail of blood trickled from her ear and crusted in her hair.

  Cold chills swept through Leilani. Zeb made a gagging sound and doubled over.

  Leilani jumped when Brick placed his hand on her shoulder.

  “What happened?” Her voice shook, and her hands trembled. She scanned the room. All the vials and jars on the workbenches and several panes in the windows had been shattered. She stepped closer, into a dead spot. “The Strains did this.”

  Zeb straightened up. “That’s insane. The Strains can’t kill people. They wouldn’t.”

  Leilani grasped her friend’s arm and pulled her into the emptiness. Zeb’s breath escaped in a silent shriek, and she pushed Leilani away.

  Zeb hugged herself, shrinking away from Leilani. “What are you doing?”

  “Trying to get it through your thick skull that this is real. Someone has weaponized the Strains, and considering this, it is a safe bet it is Brash.”

  Wide-eyed, Zeb shook her head. “It couldn’t be him. He passed the Strains test . . .”

  “So did I when Straight caught me, and we both know how.” Leilani crossed her arms over her chest.

  “But I trust him!”

  “Well, where is he?” Leilani stuck her hands on her hips.

  Zeb scanned the room, her mouth clamped shut.

  Leilani turned to Brick and fished out her notepad again. She wrote and spoke, as much for Zeb's benefit as his. “We have to get into the tunnels. Whatever he’s doing, that’s where he’ll be.”

  Brick nodded. He tugged up his sleeves and undid the clasps on his wristlets. He held one out to Leilani and the other to Zeb. Leilani shook her head even as Zeb took hers.

  Leilani pushed the cuff away. “No, then what will protect you?”

  Brick smiled a cocky smile and tapped his saber hilt. He fastened the silver cuff around Leilani’s wrist. It fit loosely. Wherever the metal touched, her skin tingled. The Strains still sang to her, but they sounded muffled, as if she had water in her ears.

  Zeb put hers on and shuddered. “Oh, I don’t like that.”

  Leilani resisted the urge to pop her ears. “He’s right, though. If the Strains are weaponized, we need all the help we can get.”

  Brick pointed to Straight’s body, touched his lips, then saluted.

  Leilani nodded. “Yes, we should tell Captain Goodly. We can’t just leave her like this.”

  “Leave who like this . . . by the Strains! What happened?” Goodly rushed through the door and knelt by Straight’s body. He touched the side of her neck. He glanced up at the three young folk. “What do you know about this?” he signed as he spoke. Brick made several rapid hand motions.

  “We were looking for Brash and found her like this,” Leilani said. “Brash must’ve done it.”

  Goodly’s brow furrowed. “That is a serious accusation, Miss Leilani. Do you have any proof?”

  Leilani bit her bottom lip. “No, but she’s here.”

  “As are you. I have only your word that this is how you found her.”

  “Strains test us, then!” Zeb exclaimed. “I don’t know if it was Brash, but it certainly wasn’t us.”

  Goodly exhaled loudly and stood. “That would clear you, but unfortunately, not Brick. Come with me, all of you. We will sort this out.” He stepped towards them.

  Leilani backed away. “We can’t. We have to get to the tunnels. Brash will be there.”

  “Brash isn’t even in the Manor. He canceled his classes today. That’s why the open door caught my eye. Now, please, let’s go talk this out.”

  “It could be too late by then.” Leilani grabbed Brick’s arm. The young guard glanced from his superior to her. “Run,” she mouthed. He raised his eyebrows.

  Goodly’s hand grazed his saber hilt.

  Zeb’s frame stiffened. “You have to listen.”

  “No, you do.” Goodly’s frown deepened. He signed as he spoke. “Brick, come with me, or I will put you and your friends all under arrest. Hand me your saber and pistol.”

  Brick’s jaw dropped.

  Goodly raised his hands then continued to sign. “I don't like it either, and I believe you are innocent. However, there are protocols for such situations. We need to follow them. Come with me, and we'll have this cleared up in a few hours.”

  Brick began signing furiously.

  “Whatever is going on can wait,” Goodly said. “Your weapons. Now.”

  Zeb’s eyes met Leilani’s. Zeb’s nose wrinkled, and her lips moved in an inaudible whisper.

  The Strains trilled shrilly. With a clatter, Brash’s wheeled table skidded across the floor. It bounced off the shield created by Goodly’s wristlets, but he turned towards it, breaking his stare from Brick.

  “Run!” Zeb shrieked.

  Leilani pushed Brick. He stumbled out the door. Zeb shoved it shut and used the Strains to lock it.

  Leilani grabbed Brick’s right hand and Zeb his left, and somehow they got him to run. By the time they reached the tunnel gate, Leilani’s side ached. She placed her hands on her knees and gulped air. Somewhat steadier, she turned her attention to the lock.

  Zeb sank to the floor. “What was I thinking? Oh Strains, what was I thinking?”

  Brick stood a few feet away, casting his gaze up then down the hall. He didn’t seem winded from the run, but his gray eyes looked wounded.

  Oh what did I get him into?

  Leilani’s pin hit the last tumbler, and she opened the gate. “Let’s go.”

  Zeb lit her fingers. Brick took Leilani’s hand, and they walked through the darkness to the first fork. Leilani stopped. The floor down both paths had been swept clean, leaving no tracks.

  “Which way?” Zeb asked.

  Leilani hesitated. She remembered the first fork. Right, she thought. No, knew. She knew it was right. However, each choice after that grew progressively fuzzier.

  Zeb closed her eyes. “What do you think? You were here with her. Do you remember?” She opened her eyes and smiled. “This way.”

  With Zeb in the lead, they navigated the twists and turns, finally arriving at the ladder to the pillar room.

  “And without Vickers’s maps and compasses.” Zeb beamed.

  Leilani glanced down the tube. No light shone below. “Perhaps Brash isn’t here after all.”

  “I still want to see these devices.” Zeb held up her glowing fingers. “Makes sense for me to go first.”

  As first Zeb, then Brick, lowered themselves into the hole, Leilani concentrated on the Strains. They sounded calm, like her mother’s humming.

  “We’re going to save you,” she whispered. She descended into the darkness.

  Zeb investigated the machines in the middle of the room, her light illuminating a few yards about her. Brick stood in the darkness at the bottom of the ladder. He grasped Leilani about the waist to help her down the last little bit.

  “Oh, this is diabolical,” Zeb said as Leilani and Brick reached her. “Somehow they condense and store the Strains, like a gas. These dials display the pressure. Oh my. That’s way too high.” Zeb stepped back. “I think they are off. If they were going, this room, and everything above it, would be a dead spot.”

  “I saw the man filling a smaller canister from t
hese,” Leilani said. “When he threw it at me, it exploded.”

  “This reminds me of Verge’s focus boxes. Remember how he accidentally blinded an aide then demolished his workshop? His boxes were on a much smaller scale than this. If these went off, it would take a chunk out of the manor above.”

  Brick tapped Zeb on the shoulder and raised his palms in the air.

  She bit her bottom lip. “Can I have your notepad, Leilani?”

  Leilani raised her eyebrows but handed over her writing utensils.

  Zeb scratched out a note and passed it to Brick.

  His eyes grew wide. He put his hands together then threw them apart.

  Leilani’s heart felt cold. “Do you think that’s their purpose? To blow up the manor?”

  “Oh no, from what you said, they are collecting Strains to use elsewhere. It is still dangerous, but there are any number of harmless reasons to do that. Concentrated Strains have a myriad of uses.” Zeb passed Brick a second note, and Leilani had to smile.

  At least she's trying.

  After reading it, Brick shook his head, held up two fingers, then slashed across his neck.

  “He’s right.” Leilani nodded. “If it were harmless, they wouldn’t have killed two people to cover it up.”

  Zeb shuddered so dramatically her shoulder raised to her ears. She then shook her head and circled the tank, reaching out every so often to touch a knob or a dial. “I can figure these out. Perhaps we can dismantle them, break them.” She knocked on one with her fist, causing a dull clang. “Sturdy, though. We might need tools.”

  Leilani swept the edge of the room with her gaze. She saw only shadows. On the wall opposite, a thin yellow line formed a rectangle. Light slipping around a door? She touched Brick’s arm and pointed. He squinted and frowned.

  Moving on the balls of his feet, Brick crept towards the door. He kicked it open and dove inside. Someone cried out. There was a crash, then a series of bumps. Leilani and Zeb rushed to the doorway. The space appeared to be a storage room. Shelves filled with crates lined the walls. In the back a lantern sat on a table surrounded by stacks of paper. Brick sat on Brash. The man kicked like a three-year-old having a tantrum.

  “Let me go!” Brash snarled, rocking back and forth.

  Brick stood and forced Brash to stand. Blood dripped from the fellow’s nose.