The Trilogy of Two

by Juman Malouf

  “They might still be alive!” cried Sonja.

  Moritz shook his head. “I’m afraid not.”

  Sonja looked away as the Tiffins dropped to the ground like ragged dolls.

  Alexandria clenched her teeth, and the carriage surged back up into the air. The Enforcers fired at them from the ground, but they were already too far in the clouds.

  A deafening cry filled the sky. Sonja looked up to see the hooded swans tearing toward them. “Here they come again!” she screamed.

  “We’re ready!” yelled Wolf Boy. He turned into a wolf and drew his claws. Alexandria shoved a knife into Sonja’s hand. “Get under the seats so I’ll have one less thing to worry about! I can barely keep this thing up in the air as it is!”

  The twins huddled under the back row.

  “Incoming!” shouted Wolf Boy as a swan hurtled toward the carriage.

  “I’ve got him!” exclaimed Moritz. He knocked into Alexandria as he leapt up and lassoed the swan with a seat belt. Sonja saw Alexandria stumble and hit her head on the edge of the carriage. She dropped to the floor, out cold.

  Again, the carriage began to plummet, but this time, thirty swans swooped down and caught the harnesses in their beaks.

  “Alexandria!” Moritz yelled, crouching over her unconscious body. “Can you hear me?”

  All at once, the rest of the flock bombarded the carriage. They thumped into the boys and flattened them to the floor. One swan darted its neck underneath the seats. Its little eyes narrowed and its razor-sharp beak snapped at Charlotte and Sonja. The twins screamed, and Sonja lunged at it with the knife. The swan clamped its teeth onto the blade and threw it across the carriage.

  “Pick on somebody your own size,” Sonja heard a voice growl. Wolf Boy had fought his way out of the writhing heap, and dove on top of the swan. The swan chomped his ear, crunching off a bite. Wolf Boy yelped.

  Without thinking twice, Sonja crawled across the floor and retrieved the knife. She thrust the quivering blade into the swan’s back. The swan spun around and squawked furiously. Wolf Boy bit its neck, and the swan’s eyes went blank.

  They heard a shout behind them and turned. The swans were dragging Moritz overboard. Wolf Boy leapt toward him, but he was too late.

  “Wolf Boy!” Moritz cried, falling away. His arms flailed as he stared up at his friend.

  “Moritz!” Tears rolled down Wolf Boy’s wolf cheek as he watched Moritz disappear into the smog.

  Sonja looked around at the empty seats. Alexandria was gone. A lump formed in her throat. She gasped for air. She felt both suddenly heartbroken and puzzled. The pain of it seemed to hit her as hard as losing Tatty.

  Beneath the waves she, silent, slips.

  A secret power in her fingertips.

  Charlotte jumped up and hung over the side of the carriage, searching the clouds. Her wreath of flowers fell off her head and dropped out of sight. “My crown!” she wailed.

  “Your crown?” spat Wolf Boy. “What about Moritz? What about Alexandria? She’s a Protector! What will happen to the Seven Edens now that she’s gone?”

  Charlotte started to cry.

  “Moritz only had one life left.” Wolf Boy sank to the ground, his tail limp. “He’s gone. Gone!” Sonja dropped to her knees beside Wolf Boy. She buried her face in her hands. She had gotten used to Alexandria. She had even started liking her. Now she had been taken away from them like so many others.

  The swans flew to the front of the carriage and circled it in the opposite direction. They were flying toward the City of Steel and Smoke.

  “They’re bringing us to her. To the Contessa!” Charlotte shook as she spoke.

  Sonja looked up. She said quietly, “That’s where Tatty is. We hope.”

  They flew over the spikes and tangled barbed wire on top of the high, metal walls of the City of Steel and Smoke. A deeper smog hung thick in the air. The streets were nearly dead silent. Even the trains that sped in and out and around the Million-Mile-High buildings made barely a murmur. Sleek, silver Flyers circled the buildings with the faintest propeller whir. Ribbons of coal smoke spiraled from their exhaust pipes. Enforcers in the cockpits shone searchlights out onto rooftops.

  The swans pulled them toward the tallest building. There was a large black swan on its facade under the words UNITE THE CITIES spelled out in tall, steel letters. The carriage clunked down and landed on top of it.

  Sonja watched the swans soar back up into the air. Their wings stirred the polluted sky. They disappeared into an archway on the other side of the roof. She huddled with Charlotte under the seats. Her sister held on to her accordion like a life preserver.

  At the center of the roof, a red light popped on, blinking. An electronic beeping pulsed loudly. A motor whirred and clanked as a wide, steel panel in the floor slid open, and the three survivors watched in silence as an elevator platform slowly rose up from below.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  The City of Steel and Smoke

  “HOW-DI-DO, DUCKLIN’S,” DRAWLED A BOY WITH A crooked smile. “We’s a-meet again.” He stuffed a wad of black tobacco into his mouth and chewed.

  Charlotte squinted in the light. She recognized the boy from the night Tatty was kidnapped. It was Georgie. He had ginger hair, ginger eyelashes, and a round, chubby ginger face dotted with freckles. Georgie spat black spit onto the floor and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Raise ’em up, boys!” Arrows pointed down at the twins, and grinning faces stared. Two hyenas gnashed their teeth.

  “Where’s our mother?” yelled Sonja. “Where’s Tatty?”

  Georgie grinned. “She’s fars fars away. Brothers von Stralen hids her wheres she’ll never be founds!”

  Charlotte felt Sonja sink down beside her. It was all over. They had lost everybody and everything.

  “Dids you ducklin’s know that beasts are forbidden in this here city?” Georgie gestured to Wolf Boy. “Hidin’ or protectin’ such an-i-mals is punishable by death.” He drew out a club from under his belt. “What’s says you, ducklin’s? Thinks the wolfie wants to play?”

  Wolf Boy rose up slowly, growling. He leapt out of the carriage. All the Scrummagers at once began to swing their clubs and kick and punch. The hyenas snapped and chomped. A club with a nail on the end whacked into Wolf Boy’s side. He yelped and crumbled to the ground. “Gets you up, beast!” Georgie thundered as the others continued to thwack and pound away at Wolf Boy like an angry mob.

  “Stop!” Sonja screamed through sobs. “You’re going to kill him!” She remembered that like Moritz, Wolf Boy only had one life left.

  Charlotte covered her face with her hands. Tears flooded into her palms. If Edgar were here, he would save them. Charlotte felt a jolt of pain in her stomach. She doubled over and groaned.

  “Cry, cry, lil’ ducklin’s,” Georgie feigned a sad voice, “but it ain’t a-gonna do your wolfie no good.”

  Wolf Boy rolled over, bleeding, onto his side. A boy with pimples and buckteeth crouched over him. His hair was cut short and stood up on end. It was Georgie’s accomplice, Dirgert. “Thinks he’s dead?”

  Georgie nudged Wolf Boy with his boot. “Nah. He’s breathin’.”

  “Somethin’s happenin’ to ’im,” observed a third Scrummager.

  The Scrummagers stared dumbly as Wolf Boy’s body cringed and shuddered. His hair retracted, his snout receded, and in a moment he was human again.

  “He’s—he’s a boy,” stammered Dirgert. “Likes us.”

  “I’s knows ’im!” cried out Georgie. “He’s a Rain City Scrummager. Always thoughts hes was better thans the rest of us. Wolf Boy’s ’is name.” Georgie chuckled. “Nows I knows why!” He pointed at two boys, one with a flat nose and the other with drooping eyelids. “Bennie, Dickie Larue, gets the lil’ ducklin’s. We’s a-gonna haves us some fun.”

  The two boys seized the twins and d
ragged them out of the carriage, kicking and screaming.

  “Mine’s got somes kinda time bombs stuck to her.” Dickie Larue trembled as he dropped Charlotte on the floor. Her accordion was strapped over her shoulders.

  “It’s no time bombs, fool! It’s a music-makin’ machine.” Georgie spat the last of his black tobacco onto the ground and grabbed a walkie-talkie hanging from his belt. “Georgie, here,” he spoke into it. “Sends two Lifters. We’s gots gifts for Mother.”

  A boy’s voice crackled back, “Comin’s rights up!”

  Two trapdoors lit up on opposite sides of the floor. An alarm began to beep a pulse as the doors slid open. Two steel platforms rose up into place.

  Georgie stepped onto one, with Bennie and Dickie Larue dragging the twins after them. Dirgert stepped onto the other, pulling Wolf Boy behind him, followed by all the rest of the Scrummagers. The hyenas sniffed Wolf Boy up and down, slobbering into his wounds.

  “I’s proposin’ a-chall-enge!” announced Georgie. “Whos ever gets to the theaters first wins a double portion of goat’s stew!”

  Georgie pressed a button. “Ready!” The two platforms descended into two steel boxes. The walls were lined with levers, switches, and buttons. “Steady!” Georgie flipped a switch. The trapdoors slid closed and began to purr. “Go!”

  The Lifter glided sideways, rumbling through the building, as glowing words flashed by: PROPAGANDA ROOM, ENFORCERS RECRUITING, FILES DEPARTMENT, OFFICES OF ANIMAL AFFAIRS.

  The girls stood huddled together in a corner with their heads hanging. Charlotte prayed for Edgar to come back. She pressed her puffy red eyes shut and mumbled, “Please, find us. We need your help.”

  Georgie’s Lifter stopped suddenly. THEATER flickered in front of them. The ceiling cranked open, and the platform rose up into an alcove at the rear of a large, bright auditorium. The entire room was paneled with steel. A recorded concerto played over blasting speakers. Vents blew in cold, perfumed air. A small audience of fifty people sat with their back to them, facing an empty marble stage. A banner above it said, WELCOME, FRIENDS OF THE UNITE THE CITIES FOUNDATION.

  Stony Enforcers on either side of the proscenium held back growling white hyenas. A row of metal cages stood beside them with gorillas, orangutans, and chimpanzees inside. Some had been beaten and lay on the floor, tired and weak. Others shook the bars furiously and howled.

  “Goods evenin’, my allurin’ ladies and spruced gentlemen,” Georgie boomed. “Us adopted boys brings you traitorous engagers for your enjoyments!” He prodded the twins with his club. “Nows smiles, ducklin’s.” Charlotte glimpsed through cloudy eyes Richers on either side of them as they walked up the center aisle. The women were draped in feathers and furs and wore dead birds in their hats. The men, masked and bloated, sat beside them in black, starched uniforms laden with medals. They sipped on bubbly, silver drinks in crystal tubes.

  Charlotte grabbed a fat woman’s arm and pleaded, “She’ll kill us! She’ll kill us!”

  The woman swatted Charlotte’s hand with an embroidered fan. “Away with you, little pest!”

  Some of the Richers tittered. Others whispered to one another excitedly.

  “Where’s you been, Georgie?” a voice echoed from offstage. The other boys walked out into the spotlight. “We’s been twiddlin’ our thumbs a-waitin’ for you.”

  Georgie dumped Wolf Boy on the ground. His face darkened, and he glared at Dirgert.

  Dirgert grinned. “I’s guessin’ that means we gets double rations of goat stew this here evenin’!”

  “Shuts your gobs, or I’s be shuttin’ it for you.” Georgie stormed up the steps onto the stage. Dickie Larue and Bennie followed, dragging the twins behind them.

  “Yous can’t backs out now, Georgie. We’s a-beat you faired and squared.”

  Georgie gripped his club. “Ifs you mutters another word about it, I’s be clobberin’ you.”

  “I’s dares you.” Dirgert pulled out his own club.

  A door slammed in the shadows. High heels clacked across the marble floor. A puff of smoke spiraled in from the wings. “Now, now, boys,” said a crisp, clear voice sharp enough to cut glass—and, probably, bronze, brass, and iron, too. “There’s no need to threaten each other.”

  Charlotte could not bring herself to look up. She was too scared.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  Contessa von Stralen

  FIRST TO EMERGE FROM THE SHADOWS WAS HER CIGARETTE, bright white at the end of a long, slender holder. The Contessa slithered out after it, six feet tall, and in black from head to toe. Her hair was snipped short, jet-black, and slicked straight back. Square-cut diamonds covered her arms, wrists, and fingers like armor. A white-gold choker was clipped tight around her swan-white neck.

  The Contessa swiveled and stared at the twins. Black makeup circled her cold gray eyes. She looked like a hungry tigress stalking her prey. Sonja felt her throat tighten. She gasped for air. Her twitching fingers tapped restlessly against her legs.

  The audience burst into a round of applause. Some stood up and yelled, “Bravo, bravo!”

  “Bow’s in fronts of Mother!” Georgie shouted, pushing the twins to the floor. Their knees slammed against the marble tiles.

  The Contessa snapped her fingers. A little box lowered from the ceiling at the end of a long wire. She flicked a switch on it, and the music stopped. She faced the Richers. “Friends of the Unite the Cities Foundation, I welcome you to our annual meeting. You were listening to what used to be the Sacred Heart Youth Orchestra. Those children now work in one of my factories attaching tails to hyenas. You, my dear comrades, are drinking a little taste of what was once their Talents.”

  The audience oohed and aahed as they sniffed their glasses.

  “I’ve invited you here this evening because you’ve all contributed greatly to our ever-growing, ever-strengthening establishment. Our achievements have been remarkable. We’ve nearly rid the earth of beasts and forced accelerated growth in our cities.” The Contessa flicked the cigarette out of her holder. It spun to the floor, and she stubbed it out with the tip of an alligator high heel.

  “A year ago, I promised you a fighting army, each with a drop of my own blood to make them really vicious.” She winked. “Well, comrades, I have kept my promise. We shall soon have a battalion large enough to squash any rebellion. We will finally get what we’ve always wanted! What we’ve always dreamed about! A world made of one puffing, vibrating city!”

  Sonja stared blankly as the audience burst into another round of applause. The prophecy Uncle Tell had told them was coming true. The Contessa and her foundation were trying to cover the world in steel. They worked toward a day when the cities would grow large enough for their borders to touch. Eventually, the world would become a single, united entity. Under her control.

  The Contessa smiled benevolently and motioned for silence. “There is someone I’d like you to meet. An individual who’s made it all possible.” She gestured with her hand. “Join me, darling.”

  A youthful man in the first row stood. He was wearing a rooster’shead mask with a high red comb. He ascended onto the stage, took the Contessa’s hand, and kissed the only skin showing between diamonds. “I see you’re wearing my gifts, Ignatia. You’re dazzling.”

  The Contessa’s cheeks flushed through layers of white foundation.

  Sonja recognized the boy’s voice. “It can’t be,” she murmured.

  The young man pulled off the rooster’s head and shook out his blond hair.

  “Edgar!” Charlotte’s face lit up. “You came! You heard me!” She flung off her accordion and leapt to her feet.

  Georgie caught her. She bit one of his thick, freckled hands. “Ow!” he squealed, letting her go. Charlotte ran to Edgar and threw her arms around him.

  Edgar stood stiffly. “I told you it was all going to end if you didn’t come with me,” he sa
id quietly.

  “End? I don’t understand. You’re here to save us, aren’t you?” Charlotte pressed her face against his chest. “I’m sorry. I made a mistake. I should have gone with you. I will now. I promise.”

  “It’s too late, Charlotte,” snapped Edgar.

  Charlotte straightened. She blinked. “I thought you loved me.”

  Edgar’s face softened for an instant, then hardened again just as quickly. “No.”

  Sonja saw the Contessa lunge toward her sister like a giant spider. “Watch out!” she yelled. Charlotte was thrown across the stage and landed on the floor beside Sonja. Sonja pulled her up. Charlotte looked at her blankly.

  “Edgar’s not feeling well,” she said, dazed.

  “Can’t you control the prisoners?” hollered the Contessa. Georgie grabbed the twins and barked orders to the two boys standing next to him. They disappeared offstage and returned dragging a large, steel cage. Georgie shoved Charlotte and Sonja inside.

  Something stirred behind them. Sonja turned around, startled. She stammered, “M-M-Monkey?”

  Monkey, huddled and shivering in a corner, looked up at them. His eyes nearly popped out of his head. He leapt into Sonja’s arms, barking excitedly.

  “Oh, Monkey!” Sonja said, kissing him. “It’s really you!” She froze, horrified. She said softly, “What did they do?”

  Monkey touched his ear, now a tangle of scabs. He trembled.

  “Some of my handiwork,” a voice purred from above them followed by a puff of smoke. Sonja looked up. The Contessa stood over the cage. Her cheekbones were chiseled like two sharp rocks, and fine scars ran curved around her ears. Sonja had heard about face-lifts, but the Contessa’s face was so taut, she thought it might crack like plaster.

  “You two remind me of someone I used to know.” The Contessa’s pungent perfume mixed with her minty, stale breath made Sonja feel sick. She shrank to the floor, pulling Charlotte with her. Monkey cowered between them. “I didn’t care for her much either.”