by A. W. Cross
"I'm sorry. But you both must understand how massively insane this all sounds. I'm still skeptical and not accepting any of it."
Bernice turned back to check her controls when I noticed the windshield had frost slowly creeping upwards into her line of sight.
"Are we going to be okay?" I asked. Knowing if airships could fly there shouldn't be anything wrong with this so-called hovercraft.
"We are, dear. My question is, are you going to be okay? I can imagine how terribly overwhelming this all is. Unlike you, we both grew up with the knowledge of our powers."
"Are all of your siblings of magic?" I said to Cloe, realizing I didn't know if Bernice had siblings or not. "Bernice, what is your element?" Cloe answered first. "No. Only I am of magic. My parents kept me tucked away from most of society, as I had a bit of a challenge controlling my element. I was different from my fathers and until he found Bernice and her mother who helped me, did I start learning more about air."
"Oh! So, two are air? How interesting."
"Yes. Air and water are more common, then earth. But the fire is the least common. A fire elemental is much more difficult to find, especially these days."
"Do you know of any fire?"
Bernice looked to Cloe. There was obviously more to the story.
"I do."
Her voice grew somber as she looked away into the distance.
It seemed hardly fair to press her, but I was too eager to want to know more.
So much had happened in the week I'd been in Albercadia. The Horologium. The revelation of mechanical prosthetics. Elemental magic.
How exactly did all this fit in and with me?
Then there was that obnoxious Dominic de Pierre.
Wait! I said to myself.
"Dominic. Why is he so dangerous to me and not to the two of you?"
Bernice shifted uncomfortably in her seat and Cloe looked to her for an answer.
After a moment of silence, Bernice piped up.
"Sir Dominic..." she paused. "How do I put this. He's a siphon. He can feed off other elementals powers and make them his own. A siphon originally existed to remove an elementals power without killing them. However, we too are as flawed as any. Greed. Power. You name it, siphons wanted more. So, the spiritual realm decided to make a change. They couldn't take what they'd already given, as far as powers. But they could add conditions. A siphon now must have permission to take elementals powers. Which is why Dominic wouldn't think twice to lure you into his fold. Make you believe he loves you until you've succumbed to his every wish, including willing your powers to him."
"Look, Lily. The world is changing. We've been persecuted, killed at the stake, and accused of doing dark things. When it simply is not true. For doing so, will kill us, as you now know. We must live in hiding. And more and more elementals are either unwilling to have children or unable to. You need not look any further. Bernice and I are poster children for this." Cloe said as she looked me in the eyes. "Yet, man continues its technological advancements. Take this hovercraft for example, and they accuse us of being evil witches? Last I checked, we can't make anything fly on its own. I'd have to focus my elemental power on an object to make that happen. And all of that use is draining."
In the distance, I noticed a highly secured fortress. We'd arrived. There was no doubting.
Like everything in my companion's lives, everything was all grandeur and beauty. Had this all been possible because of their magic? I had to wonder.
13
As the aircraft glided in closer, Bernice lit up the controls with focused intention. A soft humming filled the compartment of the craft, and I could feel the fear caught in the edge of my throat.
"What's that noise?" I asked, Chloe watching me with a playful smile on her lips.
"Nothing to worry about, just signaling to the guards that it's me coming in. The fortress is covered by a no-fly airspace, within a certain range. This is to make certain no unwelcome guests can drop in for a landing,"
Bernice finished with a gentle wiggle of her brow, "Like back home, with Sir Dominic. I assure you my dear, we will be perfectly safe here."
I let out a sigh of relief, releasing the tension I'd been holding in my chest. "I'm sorry, I've never been in a craft so small before. It's all very new, I'm afraid every movement, every sound, has me on edge" I let out a nervous laugh.
"Don't feel bad, I was the same way when I first flew in this thing. You'll get used to it, and if you take up residence in Albercadia, heavens willing, you'll become accustomed to it quite quickly."
I sighed nervously, "Hmm, you may have to give me a little time." I said honestly, my stomach spinning as the craft hit a bit of turbulence coming over the fortress walls. Bernice and Chloe took my reactions in good stride, laughing along with me, while Chloe stroked my hand reassuringly.
When we landed, and the craft came to a stop, the top opened with a soft whooshing, and I tried to contain my excitement as we climbed out quickly. The moment my feet hit the ground, it took every ounce of self-control not to drop to my knees and kiss the ground.
"You're looking a bit woozy, are you all right?" Chloe asked, her eyes sparkling. The familiar hint of magic lighting her eyes. I didn't know how I had missed it before. It was as clear as day now that I knew.
"I'm fine, just need to be on steady ground for a moment."
"It's been a day, how about we make the ground unsteady in a way we can all enjoy?" Bernice winked at me, and together the three of us linked arms and entered the heavily guarded doors. The guards to the right and left, smiling in recognition as we walked through. Guards inside the walls? Yes, I was going to be perfectly safe here, if they didn’t try to get me to go up in the hovercraft again.
The entranceway was like that of a palace, with opulence and elegant, expensive paintings hanging throughout.
A metal robot greeted us almost immediately, its feminine-like voice startling me.
"Greetings, may I get you a drink?" It said mechanically.
"Yes, Alice, please bring us a bottle of the Bordeaux de Cherie, we'll take it in the common room." The bot bowed slightly, and wheeled away quickly, while Bernice led us forward. After a moment, we turned left through a door off the main hall, and then another right. The large cherry oak doors that opened before us, revealed a room that was anything but common.
A large, elegant fireplace adorned the right wall, the massive opening I swore could swallow the three of us together, and no one would even know.
"Go ahead, dear. Get comfortable," she motioned to the glorious velvet settee, and hesitantly, I took my place. They both sat on either side of me, Bernice giving me a knowing look. "You feel out of place, don't you dear Lily?"
I nodded my head, "I'm afraid I do. I'm still wrapping my head around everything, and just when I get used to one thing, my mind is introduced to a whole slew of other things, and I'm not even talking about the magic." I let out a long sigh, taking another look around. Glorious bookcases, with stacks upon elegant stacks of books, statues of leaders I vaguely recognized. More paintings. It was possible the fortress was more elegant then the place they called home.
Alice wheeled back in the room, setting out a silk cloth, with the bottle of wine and glasses over a silver tray. Her body making gentle whirring sounds as her arms moved, and wheels took her from one place to the other.
"Anything else I may do for you, ma'am," she folded her metal hands in front of her.
"Yes, Alice, please see to the fire, and fetch some blankets for us."
Alice nodded again, wheeling about quickly, as she hurried to get the flames going. When she disappeared, a gentleman appeared in her stead, looking very stern and asked pointedly, "Bernice, how lovely to see you," he nodded, "It's been too long, may I have the chef cook something for you and your guests?" His voice was very harsh, and I got the feeling he was not happy that we had shown up unannounced.
"Coddlebrook, how lovely to see you. Just a light snack would be lovely, I'm afraid we
've just eaten."
He bowed and disappeared, just as Alice appeared with luxuriously soft blankets. The three of us cuddled up together on the matching settees, discussing our magic, and a little later a large tray with cheeses and fruits, and crackers and pastries was wheeled in by Coddlebrook, who barely murmured at us to enjoy, as he left the room.
"Not a very chatty fellow, is he?" I asked.
"Coddlebrook? No, I'm afraid not. He'd never admit it, but one of his arms is robotic. That's why he wears those gloves. He was dealt a bad hand, nearly died in a fire, in which his daughter and wife were lost. My husband found him clinging to life, helped him get fixed up, and brought him here. In case you haven’t noticed, those with artificial limbs are looked down on."
I nodded, "I've seen it a time or two. Though I don’t know what’s so shameful about it, I think it's a marvelous thing. Think of all the people who will be saved by it?"
Bernice nodded, and Chloe smiled at me. "I think it's wonderful too," Chloe said, nodding her approval.
Bernice poured us glasses, and as the fire blazed, sleep slowly overtook us one by one. It was the most relaxed I'd felt in a long time.
Sunlight interrupted the most wonderful dream I had, where General Jensen and I danced gloriously across a ballroom floor. Just he and I, with no one else in sight. His smile had me enraptured, until the rumbling started, and the brilliant light hit my eyes. I woke up with a start, glancing around. Where was I? How did I get here? I felt slightly groggy, and out of place.
Looking around, I didn’t recognize the glamourous settings, until Bernice slowly sat up from the other Settee.
"Good morning," she said softly, and I nodded, suddenly remembering everything. We were holed up in a fortress, somewhere in the mountains because Dominic de Pierre had shown up to our little Soiree at Bernice's house the night before, uninvited. The gentle rumbling continued, and I don’t think either of us knew to worry, until it got louder and more prevalent.
"What is that?" Cloe said, yawning as she sat up, with the maroon blanket pulled tight up around her chin.
"I don't know," I answered honestly.
"It feels like an earthquake, but it hasn't stopped." The rumbling was followed by noise, but none of us could recognize the sound.
"Come with me," Bernice tugged the blankets away, motioning for us to follow her. She led us through the fortress back towards the main hall, and then down another, where a staircase led us in swirling motion around and around. Where we stopped was a glorious tower, lovely cream furniture adorning it, and large windows, where a cranking of lever allowed panels too to be removed, and suddenly we were surrounded by the morning light on all sides.
"Look there!" Cloe said, pointing off in the distance to what appeared to be a group of people moving in our direction. "It's like a mob, storming the gates!" She joked, but none of us laughed. We couldn’t do anything really, the group of people weren't storming in any sense of the word, but it was true that they were indeed moving in precision directly towards the fortress. The rumbling we'd felt was their stomping across the ground, but it was odd because there was no artillery, or engines accompanying them.
"Do you think it's anything to worry about?" I asked Bernice, completely unsure of what I was seeing, and not understanding why a group of people, any people would be moving so rhythmically towards us.
"I can't say that I’m worried, so much as curious," she said, leaning out farther, blocking the sun from her eyes as she strained to get a better view. It’s what all of us were doing, and then, as they got closer, the sun reflected off them in ways it shouldn’t.
I was blinded by it, unable to look at their faces, or see the style of their clothes. Everything was so reflective, and then I realized.
"They aren't people." I muttered.
The recognition came over Bernice's face, as well as Cloe's. The color drained from their cheeks.
"Dadblammit, he's come after us anyway," Bernice said.
"With his automaton army," Cloe confirmed.
None of us could move, or even breathe. Hardly believing our eyes as we realized just what was about to happen.
"How had he found us?" I asked.
"Worse, how did he know that we were coming here?" Bernice questioned on her own.
The fear in my heart, caused my heart to skip a beat. What was going to happen to us?
14
The lodge fortress was the Marquis del Castillo's, Cloe's husband. However, Bernice was awfully familiar with the grounds, probably more than its owner. We followed her toward another section of the tower, a more secure area where we peeped through discreet holes in the walls.
"Why is it that you know this place better than Cloe?" I asked.
Bernice smiled without looking in my direction. "I spent a lot of time here with the former misses."
I looked to Cloe in confusion.
"They were friends. Its Bernice who introduced me to the marquis."
Just another layer of questions with these two, I thought to myself.
Suddenly, toward the back, we heard a great explosion. We scrambled to look through the peepholes.
"Darn it!" Bernice hollered. "We need to get out of here. Those robots are pushing through and the guards are barely making a dent."
Cloe turned to me. "We have to change out of these dresses. We'll run through a secret passageway to my room and there you can grab whatever fits and will allow you to move freely. Don't hesitate for too long, as we've got to get out of here. There is something about our magic..."
She stopped herself.
"Oh, for heaven's sake, Cloe. Just spit it out. This isn't time for explanations, give the poor girl a crash course. But do it now!"
Cloe blinked a few times and grabbed my hands. "It is easy to get caught up in the surroundings as our emotions run high. But it is equally dangerous as our thoughts sometimes will turn into action and some of that can be deadly, to all involved."
I knew what she was saying, it made as much as sense as it could at that moment. "Okay then, let's go," I said giving her a little tug on the hands.
We rushed down the stairs and slid behind a painting into the wall.
A musty-smelling empty passageway led us down a winding path as we rushed toward our destination.
Cloe pushed a section of the wall and light broke through as we climbed out of the wall a few steps into a dressing room.
She pointed toward an armoire and dresser. Off to the side were many pairs of boots.
"In the case toward the back, you'll find some items that should come in handy."
Bernice grabbed a midcalf skirt that tied in the back, leaving on her long-sleeved tan blouse. She pulled a double-breasted coat from a hanger and pulled on some short lace-up flat boots.
I turned my attention to a pair of riding pants, much like the type the men used only cut more to a feminine physique.
Immediately I pulled them under my skirt, and moved to Bernice so she could help me out of the tight fitting corset. As soon as she was finished I put on a white long sleeved blouse, and a form fitting vest. A pair of long boots beckoned to me. We were probably going to have to move on foot so I knew protecting my lower extremities would be important.
“Do you have socks?” I asked knowing it seemed like the last thing I should’ve been thinking about. However, I’d tried boots with simple stockings before and the result wasn’t an experience I never wanted to experience.
Cloe snagged a pair from a drawer and tossed them to me. She opted for an almost identical look to my own.
Bernice was rummaging through the case and grabbed three pairs of goggles, gloves, and scarves.
“Here.” Cloe said giving me a coat with a velvet lapel and cuffs.
We quickly gave each other a once over and were back into the passageway, moving deeper from what I could tell.
“What now?” I asked.
Bernice looked to Cloe. At that point, it almost seemed like we were just making it up as we went along.<
br />
“Deep in the cellars, there is an old escape. My husband keeps a few weapons and more recently, he has added two rather unique vehicles. I’m not going to lie. I don’t know exactly how they work. However, it is much scarier to stick around here.”
As if on cue, we picked up on our pace until we exited into a very distinguished wine cellar. It was obvious the place was not abandoned, as seemed very well cared for. Then we moved passed a pair of heavy wood doors and into a creepier area.
“Is this a dungeon?”
Cloe smiled, “No. Not in the least. But there is a lab down here. Come on, this way.” She said yanking me in a hard-left turn.
“Oh!”
Even Bernice looked surprised.
“It’s like a big bird and a bicycle, all in one.”
We all circled around.
“If I’m correct, we ride it like a bike and steer it more like an airship.”
“Right. Because I fly one of those every day.” I said, unable to hide the obvious.
Bernice was keen on the unusual machines and hopped on one straight away, fussing with the gadgets until she got it to turn on. “By golly, I think I know who invented this. Never mind that right now, we must get going. You two ride together. Your combined weight probably matches mine.” She laughed. “Turn this nob, flip this switch and that back engine will spark to life.” She said showing us what to do. “Then if I’m correct, we pedal out of here and use these levers just like the hovercrafts and maneuver out of here and to safety.” She paused. “This machine should take in the vapor of its surroundings to get going, then I don’t know from there.”
Cloe jumped on the other machine, and I after her. “Wait, someone has to open the doors.”
“I’ll do it.” I said.
I ran toward the two large iron doors. After turning a handle, a quick movement kicked into play. Wheels clicked, turning from a locked position as a center barrel slowly lifted a metal hook causing a low chime as the doors flung open enough for me to pull them each toward the walls.