Secrets in the Mist

by Morgan L. Busse

  “Everything?” Cass asked as she eyed the young man. He was hiding something, that much was clear. He wasn’t a commoner. His shirt was too clean, the stitching precise, and his boots hardly scuffed. Not to mention he was ready to pay a handsome sum for this trip.

  Too handsome. Both him and his price. And there was something familiar about him.

  “Who are you really?”

  “Mr. Byron.”

  “Never heard of Byron.”

  “I’d never heard of Gresley until this week.”

  “Touché.”

  He leaned closer to her, and she caught a whiff of something pleasant, a mixture of vanilla and wood. He didn’t smell common either.

  “If you don’t want to do it, just say it. I don’t have all day.”

  “Then give me a sum.”

  He didn’t even flinch. “A hundred thousand sterlings.”

  The amount rang in her ears. That was more than double what they had ever made on a job.

  Here was the answer to the prayer she had been whispering every night for the last couple of months. With this mission, they could pay off their debts and free the Daedalus. They would all be free.

  “We’ll do it.”

  He almost looked surprised. “You will?”

  “Yes.”

  A spark came into his eyes as he smiled. “Thank you, Miss Gresley.”

  “I’m not a Gresley. I’m Cass. If you’re going to be sailing with us, just call me by that name.”

  “All right, then call me Theo.”

  “Theo?”

  “Short for Theodore.”

  Cass stuck out her hand, thankful she had taken that first moment when he entered to clean the grease off her fingers. “My hand is my bond.”

  He hesitated, then reached forward. Her hand was small inside his as they shook. His fingers were warm, Cass noticed, but not sweaty.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow, Theo, bright and early. Be here and be ready. I expect a third of the payment then.”

  He grinned. “I’ll have it ready.”

  Theo gave Adora a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’m going out of town on business for a couple of weeks. Maybe even a month or two.”

  “You are? Where? And why?”

  “Private reasons,” he said, voice light.

  She looked at him steadily, which only accentuated her pretty features. His sister reminded him of the dolls she used to play with when she was younger. Her blond hair was currently curled in the latest fashion, and she wore an elegant yet simple dress of light green. Although pretty, she was as keen and smart as any man he knew. How long would he be able to put off the truth of his quest? “Did you tell Aunt Maude you are leaving?”

  “Yes.”

  “And how did she take it?”

  A chilly breeze swept through the foyer of the manse, reminding him that if he was going to arrive at the Daedalus on time, he needed to leave soon. “She was fine with it,” he assured her. His eyes grew serious. “Please watch out for her, Adora. And for yourself.”

  “Theo, does this trip have something to do with the Mist?”

  Theo debated within himself whether to answer that question. So far, he had been able to keep Adora in the dark. Or so he thought.

  “Your silence is your answer.”

  He reached out and gripped her hands. “I can’t leave it alone, Adora. There is more going on than you know.”

  “So why don’t you share it with me?”

  “Because there is too much as stake. Maybe when I get back.”

  She frowned. “All right.” Her face softened. “I trust you. But you don’t have to do this alone.”

  He gave her a tender smile. “I know. But in this case, the less you know, the safer you are.” He released her hands. “I need to leave now.”

  Adora grabbed his arm. “Be safe, Theo. I don’t want to lose you.”

  “I will.” He could at least promise her that. He picked up the two cases at his feet, one with his scientific instruments, the other with basic necessities. “Good bye, Adora. Do take care.”

  She sighed. “Good bye, Brother. Go with my love and Elaeros’s grace.”

  Theo quickly left the house. The day was clear, a definite change from the rain from yesterday. Almost like the dawning of a new hope. Theo met Arthur out on the landing pad and gave the older man his instructions. He settled back in the seat as Arthur started the zipper and took off. He watched as the Winchester manse and the sky island it was built upon grew smaller and smaller as they crossed the Belhold mountain peak and went over to the other side.

  Ten minutes later, they arrived at the landing pad he had used the day before. Theo gathered up his things, then left Arthur and the zipper behind after making sure Arthur would tell no one of the planned trip. Arthur was loyal enough to the Winchester family that Theo knew the older man would say nothing.

  After a brisk walk through the smog-tinted air, he arrived at the Daedalus. Sailors were already checking lines and yelling instructions to each other, readying the ship for its next voyage.

  Theo stepped onto the plank and headed up to the deck. As he reached the top, he spotted Cass and a tall, lanky man with honey-colored hair pulled back at the nape of his neck, exposing a slim serpentlike tattoo. They seemed to be deep in conversation.

  As he stood watching the movement around him, everything slowed, causing a silence to descend upon the ship. The young lady and the tall, lanky man looked down.

  “There he is,” he heard Cass say as she started for the stairs. The man followed, a frown on his face.

  Once down, they crossed the deck. “Bert,” said Cass, “this is Mr. Byron, the man I told you about.”

  “Mr. Byron,” Bert said and held out his hand.

  Theo placed one of his cases on the ground to shake the extended hand. “Good to meet you . . .”

  “Bert. Current captain of the Daedalus. Cass told me about the job you want us to undertake. And that you’d have your first payment with you today.”

  Current captain. Interesting. “Yes, that is correct.”

  “We are glad to have you, Mr. Byron.”

  “Theo, if you will.”

  “Theo.” The acting captain nodded. “Let me take you to your quarters, then we can discuss the terms you named yesterday, as well as any information you can give me about the place we are heading to and what we are looking for.”

  “Of course.”

  He picked up his case and followed Bert to the door by the stairs. The hallway was cramped with a low ceiling. Theo angled his body sideways so he could bring his cases through. They went past the galley to a door in back. Bert opened it and stepped inside. The room was slightly smaller than the study back home, with a stretch of windows across the far wall, a single bed built into the bulkhead to the left, and a desk to the right, nailed to the floor.

  “It’s not much, but it’s the best we have to offer here on the Daedalus.”

  “Thank you,” Theo said, and he meant it. It didn’t take a second glance to realize he had been given the captain’s cabin. There was enough desk space for his instruments, and he could place his journals on the small nightstand beside the bed. Smoke plumes rose in front of the window from the factories below.

  “Cass said you wanted to learn how to dive so you could visit this Voxhollow place yourself.”

  Theo put his cases on the bed. “Yes. I’m not sure if it’s a journal, a stack of papers, or a book that I’m looking for. The person who conveyed the information to me was unable to give me more specifics. So I’ll need to go with you.”

  “It would be better to trust us to look in your stead. Diving is a dangerous business, and many things can go wrong. Many things.”

  The look on Bert’s face, and his emphasis on the last two words, made Theo wonder just what had gone wrong in the past. “I understand, and that’s why I’m willing to pay more for this job. I need to go with you. It is more important than you can imagine.”

  Bert narrowed his eyes
. “You’re not in any trouble, are you? We run a legit business and don’t want to get caught up in anything illegal.”

  Theo gave a slight laugh. “I assure you, my mission is legitimate.”

  “Then why the high payment?”

  “Because you and your crew are worth it. And the mission is worth it.”

  Bert studied him.

  Theo dug into the pocket of his coat and pulled out the promised sterlings. “One third, like I promised. One third when I have retrieved what I’m looking for, and the last third when I arrive back in Belhold.”

  “We will do what we can,” Bert consented. “I’ll have Cass teach you how to dive on our way there.”

  Theo handed him the bills.

  “Welcome to the Daedalus.” Bert took the bills and pocketed them. “We sail out in an hour.”

  The captain left, leaving Theo alone in the cabin. He could feel the engine gently reverberating through the ship and the soft whirr through the walls. He sighed as he picked up his case full of his journals and scientific instruments. He headed for the desk. He was finally doing it. He was heading to Voxhollow to search for a cure to the Mist.

  The next day Theo familiarized himself with the ship and the crew. He’d flown to a handful of other cities during his lifetime, but the sight of the endless Mist drifting below the ship, like an ocean of grey-green, never ceased to amaze him, despite its deadliness.

  The sun shone brightly across the expanse on the second day of his voyage. The light came streaming through the array of windows inside his cabin later that afternoon, bringing welcome warmth and comfort.

  He had finished reading his old notes when there was a knock at his door.

  “Come in,” he said as he shuffled the papers together and placed them inside the leather case.

  “Mr. Byron?”

  His head turned at the feminine voice. He and Cass hadn’t spoken to one another since he’d arrived. He was curious about her, about her history and how she came to be on the Daedalus—as a diver no less.

  “Yes?”

  Her eyes darted toward the various tools and papers on his desk with an inquisitive glance. Her bright green eyes came back to his face. “I’m here to start instructing you on how to dive.”

  Diving. One of the only professions where a person went willingly into the Mist. A flicker of fear startled him, but at the same time, he also felt the spark of excitement he had when he started an experiment or opened a highly desired book.

  Cass beckoned. “Follow me.”

  As they headed along the narrow hall, then down a set of stairs with lamps swinging overhead, Theo studied the young woman before him. She was different from Adora. Adora was the pinnacle of high fashion and elegance amongst the elite and Five Families. Cass was short, curvy, with almost a whole different air about her. And headstrong, he thought, as he remembered their first encounter a few days ago.

  It was a bit refreshing.

  They stepped into the second floor of the ship. Crates and barrels lined the walls, tethered by thick ropes to keep them from being jostled by the air currents and storms.

  Cass stepped behind a crate, then emerged with what looked like a very large and heavy pack with straps and cords. “This is the glider,” she informed him. “I’ll teach you how to wear it and secure it properly so the glider can lift you and move you through the air. First, step into it.”

  Theo did as he was told. The pack was lighter than he was expecting, although it was tight across his shoulders.

  Cass was detailed and thorough, fully concentrated on the task at hand. Her fingers pulled on the straps, adjusting them here and there—pause, then adjusting them again.

  She focused on the strap across his chest, giving him full view of her face. Her hair was the color of rose gold, and a wild mess of curls at shoulder length. Her nose was slightly upturned with the smallest scattering of freckles, something that no woman of high class would ever allow to show. And her eyes . . .

  Suddenly she looked up. Theo glanced away, his cheeks burning. Gales, what was he doing staring at her?

  “There.” She gave his chest a slap and stepped back. “How does it feel?”

  He lifted his arms and twisted right, then left. “I can still feel the weight, but otherwise, it feels amazing.”

  Cass looked pleased. “That’s how it should be. The pack—and your glider—are a part of you. And trust me, when you’re down below, your pack is the last thing you want to be thinking about. It should be a like a second skin or a shell on your back.

  “So when do I start diving?”

  “I’m not sure. The island I trained at is not in the same direction we are heading. And I don’t think Bert will allow you to dive from the ship on your first run.”

  “How did you become a diver?”

  Cass jerked her head up at his abrupt question, and he could see something akin to recognition dawn across her face. Was she finally remembering? “I . . .” She blushed and looked away.

  “We’ve met before,” he admitted.

  Her blush deepened.

  “Do you remember me?”

  Her head shot up. “Yes, I do,” she snapped.

  Theo took a step back, surprised by the change in her demeanor.

  “But I’m not that young woman from the streets. I have a home now, and a job.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Yes, I remember you. And those other three people. And that strange building full of echelon. Hoity-toity rich people who couldn’t give a care for someone like me, except to run me off like some rat on the street. If it wasn’t for Captain Gresley and the Daedalus, who knows where I would be—” She clamped her mouth shut as if she had said too much, and he spotted tears sparkling in those green eyes of hers.

  Gales. He hadn’t meant to stir up such emotion.

  “Anyway, let me show you how to take the pack off. Then I want you to spend the next hour learning how to adjust your own straps and to put on and take off the glider.”

  The tears were gone, and Cass was all business again. But he wasn’t fooled. He’d touched a nerve, a deep one. And she did give him some clues as to her past. One, she referred to herself as a rat on the streets. Two, she had a home now, which seemed to indicate that she hadn’t had one before. Three, she had a job. Only two groups of people didn’t work: those of the lowest class and highest class. His peers had no need to work, other than the work of a gentleman. And the women of his stature certainly did not. So Cass had once been a scavenger. Then a thought struck him. How did she escape the Purges?

  “You think you can handle this?” she said.

  “I believe so.”

  She raised one eyebrow that, if their previous words hadn’t been so serious, he would have found charming. “I have work to do. If you run into any trouble, I’ll be on the main deck.”

  Theo watched her go. It was one thing to desire to end the Purges and find a way to dissipate the Mist, but it was becoming clear he didn’t really know the people that had been living in its shadow. People lost between the cracks of life, whether because of the Purges or just finding a way to eke out a life on overpopulated scraps of land.

  He began to work the straps across his chest as he readjusted the pack. Perhaps he had been so focused on research he had forgotten the real reason for finding the cure: to help all people.

  Cass leaned against the narrow wall just outside the galley and placed a hand on her forehead. Why was she so brusque with Theo? She hadn’t realized how much pain she still carried until he touched upon it with his words.

  And he had remembered her.

  Cass recalled that day almost a year ago, when she had been driven up toward the higher tiers of Belhold, and that beautiful white building with the colorful glass. She still didn’t know what it was, but she remembered how the people made her feel. Unwanted. Undesired.

  Except him.

  Not that he had stepped out to help her, but his gaze had been different than those around
him. Studying her. Curious.

  She glanced down the hall where she had left him to practice with the gliding pack. Who was he? It was clear by the amount of money he was spending for this expedition that he was someone of high stature. She wondered if Byron was his real name.

  Well, sooner or later, she would find out who he really was.

  As Cass took stock of their diving supplies and checked the filters on the gas masks, Bert walked in. She glanced up, gas mask in her hand, the filter already fitted and ready for use.

  “Cass, I’m going to need you to teach Mr. Byron how to glide soon.”

  “Sure.” She stood and put the mask away with the others on the shelf. “That’s been the plan. Will we be landing somewhere?”

  “No. With the route we are taking, there are no sky islands between here and Duskward.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “So how am I going to teach him?”

  “That’s what I wanted to tell you. You’re going to tandem fly.”

  “Tandem fly?” Cass’s eyes widened. “You mean together? But how? I’ve never done that.”

  “It’s not much different that diving solo. He will be strapped to your glider and holding onto you. You will run together, fly together, and dive together, but you will be the one steering the glider. You’re the perfect candidate because of your size and weight. It’s no different than the emergency strap we keep in our gliders, although we haven’t had a reason to use one yet.”

  The emergency strap. The one used if something happened to a glider down in the Mist, that diver could be brought back up to the ship.

  “It will be good practice for both of you, especially since he will be accompanying us down to Voxhollow, and who knows what could happen.”

  Cass looked at him. “Are you worried that something will happen?”

  Bert shrugged. “I don’t know. But you and I both know Voxhollow is near . . .” He let out a long breath.

  “Near Magmire,” Cass finished.

  “Yes. I never thought we would go back to that accursed place.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t like it.”